Xaby Info. Web Design and SEO Stuff: Windows 8: Microsoft's Radical Move

Tuesday, 2 August 2011

Windows 8: Microsoft's Radical Move

Microsoft decided to whip back the curtain on Windows 8, with demonstrations at the 2011 Computex conference in Taiwan and D:All Things Digital Conference in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif.

If things stay on course through the final release, Microsoft's next-generation operating system will represent something of a sea change from previous versions of Windows. At least in the tablet version demonstrated at both conferences, Windows 8's user interface relies on large, colorful tiles that display active information and open applications at a finger-touch. ("Windows 8," by the way, is apparently Microsoft's internal codename for the OS, and not necessarily the moniker for the final version.)

Windows 8 features multitasking, including the ability to display two apps side-by-side on the screen. Users can "snap" applications to one side of the screen, a feature heavily reminiscent of the "Aero Snap" present in Windows Vista and Windows 7. A swipe of the finger will cycle through apps. There's a virtual keyboard, adjustable Interface aside, Windows 8 will apparently support the full version of legacy applications such as Office.

Microsoft has also provided a video of Windows 8 in action:

"This represents a fundamental shift in Windows design that we haven't attempted since the days of Windows 95, presenting huge opportunities for our hardware partners to innovate with new PC designs," Mike Angiulo, corporate vice president of Windows Planning, Hardware and PC Ecosystem, reportedly told the audience at the Computex conference.

Windows 8 on a tablet certainly looks pretty. The question is whether that streamlined, sleek interface can support the heavy-duty needs of hardcore PC users, who are used to the old Windows interface that allows for multiple open windows and documents and applications. Microsoft has shown how Windows 8 can play, particularly on a tablet; the question now is how Windows 8 can improve people's daily workflow--not to mention, how seamlessly it can reconcile this new interface and apps with the legacy baggage that so many users and developers bring to the proverbial table.