Microsoft Previews Windows 8 with Cues from iPad and App Store

[ten-oak-druid]

In the US 1/3 of Windows users are on Windows 7 and 1/3 are still on XP. The rest are using Vista and other OS. I wonder if Windows 8 will grab Windows 7 users first or the XP and older people?

Snow leopard is the dominate OS X used. OS X overall is around 15% market share last I heard.

 

[Apple...]

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Do you not understand what he's trying to get at?

Do you not understand what I am trying to get at?

It was a joke, but all I'm seeing from you is... trolling? Hmm.

 

[AppleScruff1]

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Proof? Ha! You have none.

I read the Apple forums. I know what they want.

 

[rorschach]

Yea, those iOS icons are works of art.

I never said they were "works of art"...but icons are a lot easier to distinguish than big blocks of white text on solid-colored backgrounds.

 

[InsanelyApple]

Real Apple fans don't like competition. They envision a world where Apple is the only company on earth, selling all products and making record products.

One of the downfalls of a Mac forum...

 

[Claefer]

Is the new Start screen and tiles concept different from Dashboard and widgets?

 

[InsanelyApple]

Do you not understand what I am trying to get at?

I'm just going on trends. Like the new iPhone every summer.

 

[Apple...]

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Proof? Ha! You have none.

I read the Apple forums. I know what they want.

Gotcha. BUT it doesn't have to be that way. Am I not a fanboy then?

 

[InsanelyApple]

ChromeOS? Are you serious? It's a complete joke at this point. Have you tried running it? It's basically the Chrome browser with a few addons.

See my previous post.

Come on guys. What's with the thumbing down? What's wrong with wanting ChromeOS to succeed?

1) I had a Cr-48. It was great. One of the best laptops I ever owned. I bricked it though so I'm going to buy a Chromebook when they are released June 15th.
2) Competition is good for the consumers, so you all should be cheering for ChromeOS and MeeGo to get some market share, so Microsoft and Apple will have to do more and not get lazy.
3) Is it because Google makes Android?

 

[AppleScruff1]

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It was a joke, but all I'm seeing from you is... trolling? Hmm.

I'm trolling by asking someone who says an operating system that is under development sucks about their experience with it? If he knows how bad it is, he should share the knowledge here.

I never said they were "works of art"...but icons are a lot easier to distinguish than big blocks of white text on solid-colored backgrounds.

You could learn them by color code so you don't have to read anything. Like those toys for infants to teach shapes and colors. This is even simpler than iOS, I thought the Apple guys would be all over it.

 

[Michael Scrip]

I'm not sure I see where a Tile-based UI for a desktop environment makes any sense. My day-to-day computer usage is roughly divided between the following applications:

Textmate
XCode
Photoshop
Aperture
Email
MS Office
OmniGraffle
Web Browser (where I regularly browse between roughly a dozen different sites, plus occasional surfing).

Other than email, how are "Tiles" going to help me with any of those applications? What kind of "live information" would an "Aperture" or "Photoshop" tile usefully be able to tell me?

I think the same thing. But not just with tiles... with the touch interface in general.

1. I will probably never buy a Windows tablet... I'm just too efficient with a mouse and keyboard.

2. See #1

The Windows 8 launcher-thingy looks cool... but the underlying applications aren't built for fingers.

 

[scottsjack]

Don't forget - competition is a good thing.

Exactly. The fact that most desktop computers, including the Mac Pro look very similar and that most mice (except for goofy gaming ones) look similar is just because there is usually a design concept that works best. Copying has nothing to do with it.

More competition has always produced great results for computer users.

 

[Eso]

I use Windows but wow, does this look unappealing

 

[AppleScruff1]

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Gotcha. BUT it doesn't have to be that way. Am I not a fanboy then?

Nope, you can't be a fanboy if you think that way. Sorry.

 

[nunes013]

i feel this is where Apple is going in a few years. Lion is the beginning. Like Windows 8 being a mobile, tablet, and desktop OS, Apple will soon combine iOS and OS X to make an OS for phone, tablet, and desktop. I think in a few years when technology is even more advanced, Apple will implement it. That means maybe there will be Mac os x 10.8 and finally OS 11. Or maybe Lion will be the last iteration of the cats. I dont see them going past 10.9 as an extreme anyway as 10.10 sounds just weird.

 

[InsanelyApple]

I'm trolling by asking someone who says an operating system that is under development sucks about their experience with it? If he knows how bad it is, he should share the knowledge here.

It was like 60% joke and 40% serious. The problem with the interwebs is that jokes have a hard time being transmitted.

 

[Apple...]

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Gotcha. BUT it doesn't have to be that way. Am I not a fanboy then?

Nope, you can't be a fanboy if you think that way. Sorry.

Dang. What's your definition then?

 

[rorschach]

You could learn them by color code so you don't have to read anything. Like those toys for infants to teach shapes and colors. This is even simpler than iOS, I thought the Apple guys would be all over it.

No, but the Microsoft fanboys sure are. "toys for infants" indeed.

 

[Mr Fusion]

Interesting stuff! I welcome evolution, no matter who it is. I'm sure we'll see a lot of the same type of evolution from Apple next week.

The desktop/laptop OS is the last piece of the puzzle, moving from the mouse to the touch interface. The keyboard isn't going anywhere on a desktop, but the mouse will probably be replaced with a Magic Trackpad type interface to better navigate a touch tablet-oriented OS. I think laptops will disappear in favor of tablets, and if a keyboard is needed it'll be a bluetooth accessory.

I particularly liked the part in the video where they showed a "thumb" keyboard for holding the tablet at the corners and typing with thumbs. I remember seeing concept ideas similar to that before the iPad was introduced, looks convenient!

 

[Reach9]

I use Windows but wow, does this look unappealing

Agreed.

I've used Windows upto 7, and i was so confused when i saw the video. It looks nothing like the Windows i know. It looks like a clash between 2 types of UI when he dragged an Excel spreadsheet onto the screen while 'snapping' with a Windows 8 UI. Hopefully the finished product will be better.

 

[MacFly123]

It has some cool ideas but the transition to legacy Windows apps is VERY harsh and there is one thing I know for sure about Windows users.... THEY DO NOT LIKE CHANGE!!!

This is a VERY risky move even if it is better!

Nice to see Microsoft finally try to unify things though.

 

[costmo]

I, for one, am very glad to see Microsoft attempting to innovate their UI. I'm not going to get into a war about who stole which ideas from whom. I am just happy to see that MS is really trying to do something different with its UI -- really the first major change since Windows 95. The old one isn't working any more, and it's been time to move on for 10 years.

However, it may be too much, too fast. Doing a complete and total paradigm shift in one step is likely to offend many Windows users. I don't think that even Apple would have gotten away with that in the switch from OS 9 to OSX if it weren't for the fact that their user base was both small and fanatic at the time.

I expect for Lion to be a step in the direction of a new UI paradigm (one that is more touch friendly), but I think that the entire transition to the new way of doing things should happen in several steps so as to not be too jarring for the less adventurous.

My hunch is that many will jump to Mac OS if such a radical change is made to Windows in one step because Windows will no longer be familiar territory for those who are hanging onto it for only that reason.

 

[Mattsasa]

-Buy iPad 2
-Get Windows 8
-VNC Client
-???
-PROFIT!!!

NO!!!!!

1. buy ipad 3
2. buy windows 8 for ARM
3. jailbreak ipad 3
4. install some hacks and bootloaders and ****
5. install windows 8 natively on ipad 3
6. (optional) dual-boot with ios 6

 

[wickedking94]

Glad to see Microsoft is trying. However I do see a bit of copying from apple, mainly the fact that apple is bringing iOS features to Mac OS, and now MS is bringing Phone 7 features to Windows. Also the fact that they're now using the term Apps, where as in previous versions they used the word programs, and the "windows App store" idea. The new interface could be good to reduce the high amount of graphics capability needed to run vista/7.

That being said, If I were a windows user, I probably wouldn't upgrade to Windows 8 purely because I cannot stand that kind of UI.

And Mac OS 10.6 still has my favorite UI, at least until Lion is released

 

[Eidorian]

I like the idea of the Tile-based UI for a mobile device, where the device's purpose is various quick-scan information-based apps.

I'm not sure I see where a Tile-based UI for a desktop environment makes any sense. My day-to-day computer usage is roughly divided between the following applications:

Textmate
XCode
Photoshop
Aperture
Email
MS Office
OmniGraffle
Web Browser (where I regularly browse between roughly a dozen different sites, plus occasional surfing).

Other than email, how are "Tiles" going to help me with any of those applications? What kind of "live information" would an "Aperture" or "Photoshop" tile usefully be able to tell me?

Granted, most of these are Mac applications, but substitute the above applications for Windows-centric apps, and I still fail to see how my work day is in any way improved by a "Live Tiles" UI.

You will not use the tiles at all and get on with your life.

It makes sense for frequently updated information. That narrows it down to e-mail.