Microsoft Previews Windows 8 with Cues from iPad and App Store

[AidenShaw]

- Retina Display
- Thunderbolt
- first App store

Retina display - would be interesting coupled with resolution independence, rather than crude doubling of dpi

Thunderbolt - complete unknown at this point, no devices exist, price points are unknown, will co-exist with USB 3.0

First App store - Apple did Handango in 2003? I didn't know that.

 

[ZipZapRap]

The UI is touch based, but can be disabled.

No it can't. It's the default Start Screen for ALL devices, tablets, laptops, slates adn computers.

I think it's an absolutely brilliant move by Microsoft... Especially seeing as mobile devices are going the way of PC in the pocket.....

Take a phone or tablet and use a touch based UI, get home or to work and dock it to a monitor, keyboard and mouse and you can fire into a non-touch based UI like Excel etc... do REAL work, and then undock and go back to touch.

The snap feature looks like a real viable way to multi-task on a touch based ui... this is looking REALLY good.

^ someone gets it. If I could up your comments x1000, I would.

I could see users flipping through apps trying to figure out what the heck they have running. It could be a mess if there's no "home base" (desktop) to come back to. IMO you need something that is a known location so you don't get lost in the UI.

Watch the videos again. There is a home screen. The "home button" (windows logo) is brought up by dragging from the right.

Have to agree there. WMC works very very well. There are also some very nice plugins that make it almost "Apple" like in its slick and "just works".

That "just works" thing is BS.
Both systems have their faults. Apple phones "just work" only if you hold them right and don't live in an area with daylight savings.
Apple are also busy plugging "arbitary code execution" gaps in their OSX security updates.. meaning there are holes in OSX where software can install and run without user input.

"Just works" doesn't apply to any system. Nothing's perfect.

 

[Demosthenes X]

I think it looks great. For a lot of people who spend most of their time web surfing and doing email or chat, the simple interface is great. And it still does serious when the situation calls for it. I think this interface looks nearly ideal for a tablet - I love the iPad, but sometimes would like to be able to run regular OSX.

 

[kalsta]

Yes, users can, but Apple is officially claiming it can't be done

I call BS. Source?

And what I meant was I can't understand why people use the lack of license key as a big advantage OVER WINDOWS, it makes little difference.

Right, and I tried to bring you back to the point.

Legal discussions aside, do you still think it's ok that Apple require their new iPhone customers to pay an additional $129 for an upgrade for their 5 year old iBook while not requiring any such thing from a customer with a 10 year old Windows PC?

I'd expect Apple is capable of better. Hey, I never said they were perfect.

When did I say anything like what you're implying here? I was just pointing out why you can't compare the price of OS X to the price of Windows and that to cite the price of OS X as an advantage over Windows is stupid

I wasn't trying to turn this into a Mac vs Windows debate — I'm just questioning what on earth it is you expect from Apple here. They set their hardware prices, and the price tag is written there for all to see — no lying or deception going on, no one forcing you to buy a Mac. But if you do choose to buy, and then later want to upgrade the OS, Apple sets very reasonable prices for that. On the other hand, if you really think you're better off buying a big plastic box at your local PC fair, and later paying Microsoft $399 for your upgrade to Windows 7 Professional, go for it. I don't see the problem.

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

The only thing I would considering copying something from Apple is the fact that there is only one edition of Windows 8, instead of several like previous releases. Even that is a stretch. I see a lot of originality in this update, a lot more originality than Apple's piss poor Lion update that has one functional update: application resuming.

And to everyone complaining that the new Windows interface isn't integrated as part of the OS, but more of an application on top of the OS. You guys have no idea how an Operating system works, all GUI, including the desktop are basically parts of applications. No part of the user interface is the OS itself. In fact an OS is just a collection of applications and other resources.

 

[liquidsuns]

Looks pretty cool. Never thought I'd say this again, but with Xbox, WP7, and Windows 8....I'm kinda diggin what microsoft is doing.

 

[brandnewfunk]

NEWSFLASH: Windows 8 isn't out yet. Nor does anyone know when it will be.

Kinda hard to win a race when your car isn't even at the track.

Oh, and you may want to work on the anger issues.

P.S. I do own Apple stock.

Well, since you own all that Apple stock, you might want to tell them them to get their **** together at the next investors' meeting. Thanks. (Though you missed my point altogether--that you shouldn't have the BIAS that a parent would have for a child--your owning stock doesn't negate that MAC OS/iOS sucks! haha.)

And I don't care if it's out or not. Windows 8, as demoed, on its current trajectory, is SUPERIOR to Mac OS and iOS. Sorry, Bub. And you sound stupid ("it isn't out yet") when this is a RUMOR site and you all demonstrate y'all's unwavering Apple team mentality on actual AND rumored/demoed offerings ALL. THE. TIME. Put another way, Lion isn't out, but that doesn't change the fact that penultimate Windows 8 kicks penultimate Lion's ass! haha.

And if Apple comes out with something better, I'll be on this forum praising it and on others arguing w/ MS zealots (albeit they don't have the numbers that Apple zealots have).

GO TEAM "BEST USER EXPERIENCE"!

I think the guy you're responding to is trolling. And I had Apple stock but sold it (a bit before the peak )

DUDE... WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT "TROLLING"... I. AM. AN. APPLE. SUPPORTER! Duh... MACRUMORS IS ONE OF MY HOME TABS!

What's more: I'm such a geek for good Apple products that I listen/watch (when possible) streaming video of its events and have posted pics from bloggers who blog during them on my Facebook wall. I OWN AN iPhone. Will be getting the iPhone 5 likely. Will be getting an iMac definitely.

You, zealots. Haha. And to repeat, the point of mentioning owning Apple stock was to highlight that you behave like a blind parent and to implore you all to be UNBIASED. When you mention that you indeed own Apple stock doesn't disprove that you are BIASED. It... HELPS TO PROVE IT. haha. Clown.

 

[mosx]

- Retina Display

Android phones had already had more than double the resolution of the iPhone LONG before the iPhone 4 was announced. In fact, the Droid, released in 2009, had a resolution of 854x480. Compared to the iPhone 3GS at that time, when you do the math, thats 2.6x the resolution. The jump to the iPhone 4 display was only 1.5x the resolution in comparison.

- Thunderbolt

PCs have had higher speed ports than Macs for years. eSATA has been standard in PCs for many years now. USB 3.0 is a regular and standard feature and has been for some time. Where are the Thunderbolt devices? Nowhere? Thats right.

- first App store

Windows Mobile, Blackberry, etc. all had "apps" before iOS did. Apple just popularized it. Even jailbroken 1.x iOS devices had 3rd party applications.

 

[KingCrimson]

The only thing I would considering copying something from Apple is the fact that there is only one edition of Windows 8, instead of several like previous releases. Even that is a stretch. I see a lot of originality in this update, a lot more originality than Apple's piss poor Lion update that has one functional update: application resuming.

And to everyone complaining that the new Windows interface isn't integrated as part of the OS, but more of an application on top of the OS. You guys have no idea how an Operating system works, all GUI, including the desktop are basically parts of applications. No part of the user interface is the OS itself. In fact an OS is just a collection of applications and other resources.

Cool story bro, but we all know that it's just a piss-poor dashboard on top of a rickety structure MSFT claims is an OS. Registry, really?

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

Cool story bro, but we all know that it's just a piss-poor dashboard on top of a rickety structure MSFT claims is an OS. Registry, really?

Do you even know what the registry is?

 

[KingCrimson]

Do you even know what the registry is?

Believe me I know. It's a horrific hierarchal settings database that you want to avoid at all costs!

 

[ZipZapRap]

Believe me I know. It's a horrific hierarchal settings database that you want to avoid at all costs!

Only if you have no idea what you're doing.
If you do, it's a very powerful tool.

 

[kalsta]

The only thing I would considering copying something from Apple is the fact that there is only one edition of Windows 8, instead of several like previous releases.

Only one version? Okay, I missed that. Wow, that's a huge change for Microsoft. Great for Windows users if Microsoft keeps the price down to say, Home Premium sort of pricing or less.

Microsoft has to be feeling the hurt with this one. I'm guessing it has less to do with copying Apple and more to do with the fact that so many people are still using XP. Wow, according to Wikipedia, XP is still at around 40%! That's even more than I realised. For an OS released back in 2001, that's quite incredible. I guess Windows users have sent Microsoft a pretty clear message that the Windows upgrade pricing model is way out of step with OEM pricing, and they'd rather wait until they get a new PC. Either that, or they just don't trust newer versions of Windows. It will be very interesting to see whether Windows 8 can change all that.

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

Only one version? Okay, I missed that. Wow, that's a huge change for Microsoft. Great for Windows users if Microsoft keeps the price down to say, Home Premium sort of pricing or less.

Microsoft has to be feeling the hurt with this one. I'm guessing it has less to do with copying Apple and more to do with the fact that so many people are still using XP. Wow, according to Wikipedia, XP is still at around 40%! That's even more than I realised. For an OS released back in 2001, that's quite incredible. I guess Windows users have sent Microsoft a pretty clear message that the Windows upgrade pricing model is way out of step with OEM pricing, and they'd rather wait until they get a new PC. Either that, or they just don't trust newer versions of Windows. It will be very interesting to see whether Windows 8 can change all that.

Exactly, this kind of fundamental operating system overhaul along with pushing lower spec requirements will help sell consumers a lot of highly functional hand held devices. These are less tools or appliances, like desktops that people are content with buying once and keeping until it breaks down. These fancy cutting edge and cheap tablets, netbooks, smartbooks, cell phones, and ultraportable laptops people will be willing to buy more often.

This will allow Microsoft to sell people a new device more frequently and therefore their userbase will update more often and these devices with more of a cheap app-centric (vs. full scale application) market will bring in a lot of revenue from the average Joe who up until now never really bought software, other than maybe Microsoft Office.

 

[petvas]

Only one version? Okay, I missed that. Wow, that's a huge change for Microsoft. Great for Windows users if Microsoft keeps the price down to say, Home Premium sort of pricing or less.

Microsoft has to be feeling the hurt with this one. I'm guessing it has less to do with copying Apple and more to do with the fact that so many people are still using XP. Wow, according to Wikipedia, XP is still at around 40%! That's even more than I realised. For an OS released back in 2001, that's quite incredible. I guess Windows users have sent Microsoft a pretty clear message that the Windows upgrade pricing model is way out of step with OEM pricing, and they'd rather wait until they get a new PC. Either that, or they just don't trust newer versions of Windows. It will be very interesting to see whether Windows 8 can change all that.

They didn't say one edition. They said one version. I am sure we will see many editions coming to satisfy all licensing needs.

 

[petvas]

I think it looks great. For a lot of people who spend most of their time web surfing and doing email or chat, the simple interface is great. And it still does serious when the situation calls for it. I think this interface looks nearly ideal for a tablet - I love the iPad, but sometimes would like to be able to run regular OSX.

It looks very nice and I guess it will also work good on devices with appropriate input devices. Imagine using a mouse to control this OS. It will be a nightmare. Another thing to consider is that the new home screen doesn't really take advantage of big monitors. It makes sense for tablets, but not PCs.
I don't want to pass judgement on Windows 8 yet. I will wait to hear more about it on their next event in September.

 

[CSpackler]

Boy it looks terrible. I still use Windows XP on my custom build which is solid and gives easy control over nearly every aspect of the OS. And it's extremely fast. Secure? Well... don't download unknown torrents and you'll be ok.

Anyway I can't see Windows 8 taking off more than a tablet OS. I sure as heck wouldn't switch to it.

 

[TuffLuffJimmy]

They didn't say one edition. They said one version. I am sure we will see many editions coming to satisfy all licensing needs.

I'm confused. What would be the difference between version and edition? Do you mean like how Apple has a family pack edition of its software and a single user? Or how they deliver their software in more than one way; dvd, download, USB?

 

[macsmurf]

Cool story bro, but we all know that it's just a piss-poor dashboard on top of a rickety structure MSFT claims is an OS. Registry, really?

It's not a story. A GUI is just an app. Two GUIs are just two apps.

It continues to amaze me that people are willing to make stuff up about Apple's competitors.

 

[Geoff.]

This will fail as a touch device, but as a desktop/laptop OS it's just windows 7 with a pretty skin layered on top of an already bloated operating system. Microsoft is trying to kill two birds with the one stone by creating an operating system that is meant to be able to run on touch and non touch. It would of fine been if they created a new operating system with the new UI for tablets and created windows 8 as a updated version of windows 7. If you take a look at the demo of windows 8 at All things digital you can see why it's going to fail. Watch the part where she goes onto excel, she can't even move the folder she has open by touch and resorts to just exiting out the old UI and back to the new.

Microsoft has to learn that,
New UI = good for touch, bad for non touch.
Old UI = extremely bad for touch, good for non touch.

Combine the both together and you have a complete disaster.

 

[Luis Ortega]

Only if you have no idea what you're doing.
If you do, it's a very powerful tool.

Indeed.
I had a netbook with windows 7 with a limited screen resolution of 1024 x 600.
I went into the registry and changed a few variables and now I have 1024 x 768 and a higher setting of around 1150 x 900 (not sure the exact numbers).
It's amazing what you can do in the registry if you know how.

 

[kalsta]

They didn't say one edition. They said one version.

Now I'm confused… But then I always have been by the multitude of different versions — sorry, editions — Microsoft forces you to choose from.

I am sure we will see many editions coming to satisfy all licensing needs.

Marketing speak for 'let's milk as much money from enterprise and government clients as we can'.

 

[kalsta]

Indeed.
I had a netbook with windows 7 with a limited screen resolution of 1024 x 600.
I went into the registry and changed a few variables and now I have 1024 x 768 and a higher setting of around 1150 x 900 (not sure the exact numbers).
It's amazing what you can do in the registry if you know how.

Wow. The ability to change to a non-native resolution to make your crap screen look even crappier? What other fun things can you do by tinkering with the registry?

 

[Lennholm]

Wow. The ability to change to a non-native resolution to make your crap screen look even crappier? What other fun things can you do by tinkering with the registry?

Nothing, that's all. The registry was specifically designed for the single purpose of messing with the screen resolution.

 

[bwillwall]

Why does everyone besides apple just seem to have so much trouble making seamlessly smooth multi-touch interfaces? They did it 4 years ago people... stop being so freaking lazy!