Windows 8
Last September (at the BUILD developer conference) Microsoft took the wraps off its next generation Windows OS. Currently known as Windows 8, the software which is scheduled for a 2012 release is largely seen as Microsoft's answer to the threat from Apple's iOS and Google's Android platform.
Windows 8 will be designed to run well on tablet computers, but is also targeted to the 'normal' desktop/laptop PC market.
Microsoft itself calls the new design "reimaging Windows". The need for a complete overhaul is clear: today more than 60 percent of computing devices are mobile (laptops, netbooks, notebooks, tablets, slates, etc.). Nearly all of these devices are capable of wireless connectivity. Screen sizes range from under 10" to wall-sized screens. Storage has jumped from megabytes to terabytes and also starts to include "cloud based" storage. The increasing popularity of smartphones with the touch-screen capabilities they bring, have changed the way users view computing. Most of all, computing is much more focused on applications and on people than on the operating system itself or the data.
The big change most users will note is of course the Metro style user interface. Metro is an app-centric design that's more than just a GUI. Metro is the code name for design language Microsoft created for use in Windows Phone 7. Metro's design principles will not only be introduced in Windows 8, but Microsoft also plans to add these to the Xbox 360 and Windows Live which will create a unified look across its consumer products and services.
An updated 'classic' desktop also exists under Windows 8, something that has sparked some criticism. Some people are calling for a radical break with the past, but that is something Microsoft isn't willing to do. If it did, the outcry of users with non compatible software would be enormous. This also shows the problems Microsoft faces when competing with Android and iOS based hardware: both of these don't have the base of legacy applications they need to support.
Microsoft's stated goal is to make both user interfaces (new Metro and classical Desktop) work together in the most harmonious way possible.
Another first for Microsoft will be that Windows 8 will support ARM microprocessors, the low power CPU design currently found in the majority of smartphones and tablets. Current information suggests that when running on ARM designed processors, only the Metro language will be available, which means that current x86-based applications won't run on devices running the ARM designed processors.
Right now the development timeline looks like this: After the Developer Preview this fall, a public beta is expected by year (2011) end, a Release Candidate (RC) in the first half of 2012 and the Release To Manufacturing (RTM) by mid-2012.
There's a possibility that there won't be a public beta. If you look at the build quality of the Developer Preview released last September one could see why that build could also be seen as the public beta (since it is available for public download). We'll then get the RC build early next year with the RTM build in April.
Reviewing Windows 8 Developer Preview
December 14, 2011 - 20:15 GMT
I'm reviewing the Windows 8 Developer Preview with focus on running Windows 8 in a PC environment. That means I'm not using touch and have little interest in the Metro apps that are included in this developer preview.
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