Today, at the D9 Conference, Microsoft demonstrated the next version of Windows, internally code-named “Windows 8,” for the first time. Windows 8 is designed to scale from touch-only small screens through to large screens, with or without a keyboard and mouse.
Microsoft also seems to have run a “find and replace” on their marketing materials, replacing “programs” with “apps” everywhere. Wonder why.
Microsoft demoed a few aspects of the new “Windows 8” interface, including:
• Launching of programs apps from a tile-based Start screen, which replaces the Windows Start menu with a customizable, scalable full-screen view of programs apps.
• Live tiles with notifications, showing up-to-date information from your programs apps.
• Switching between running programs apps.
• Capability to snap and resize a program an app to the side of the screen.
• Web-connected and Web-powered programs apps built using HTML5 and JavaScript.
• Touch-optimized browsing, with all the power of hardware-accelerated Internet Explorer 10.
The video below introduces a few of the basic elements of the new user interface:
Microsoft is working to get “Windows 8” ready for early testing. No release date has been disclosed.
MacDailyNews Take: Taking into account that demos are, of course, designed to make products look good no matter what, our initial impression is that Microsoft, in trying to cram everything into Windows 8 in an attempt to be all things to all devices, will end up with an OS that’s a jack of all trades and a master of none (which, after all, ought to be Microsoft’s company motto).
By the time this hybrid spawn of Windows Phone ’07 + Windows 7ista actually ships, one can only dream where Apple’s iOS and Mac OS X will be! For Microsoft, it’ll be more like a nightmare. Perhaps Microsoft will someday put some scare into Google’s Android/Chrome OS, but only time – and a lot of it when measured in tech time – will tell. We simply do not see the world clamoring for the UI of an iPod also-ran now ported to an iPhone wannabe that nobody’s buying to be blown up onto a PC display.
From what we’ve seen so far, Windows 8 strikes us as an unsavory combination of Windows Weight plus Windows Wait.
Not to mention that probably no one on earth knows how much or what kinds of residual legacy spaghetti code roils underneath it all (shudder). Is Microsoft giving up on backwards compatibility? If so, people might as well get the Mac they always wanted. If not, then Microsoft’s unwilling to do what it takes to really attempt to keep up with the likes of Apple or even Apple’s followers. No matter what, if Microsoft’s going to ask Windows sufferers to “learn a whole new computer” (and that’s exactly how they’ll look at it, regardless of how Microsoft pitches it), millions will simply say, “Time to get a Mac to match my iPod, iPhone, and iPad!”
As if they needed it: More good news for Apple.
Dudes don’t let the content of their, “oh shit what can I put out before Apple’s WWDC”, video distract you from the main goal here. Monkey boy is trying to save his job by having an I beat steve jobs finger to wave to the clueless ms board.
Trying to take a too-late response to iOS and pitch it as the future of their cash cow. They better hope for their sake that video was a Longhorn.
http://themacadvocate.com/2011/06/01/windows-8-demo-show-tma-on-the-pad-where-apple-touched-you/
In that link the guy said MS had stuff on the wall to inspire their designs. They must have taken all the Apple stuff down before they started filming. Or maybe the wall behind the camera guy is plastered with Apple screen shots.
Microsoft is always touting the “familiarity” of Windows as one of their strengths. This blows that out of the water.
Because no one can tell a poorly written html document from an app. Good luck M$
All the boxes remind me of the intro to “The Brady Bunch”.
Windows weight + Windows wait. Outstanding.
I like John Gruber’s response:
http://daringfireball.net/2011/06/windows_8_fundamentally_flawed
Is that bald f*%#er in the video J Allard the Second or Steve Ballmer the Third?
My hats off to Microsoft for this bold step forward! Many of us (me included) continue to beat up MS for not having an original creative idea in their head.
This unique, creative and looks cool, time will tell.
the method for running two apps side by side was appealing… wish I could do that on my ipad…
Here is where i have to laugh… Mac OS looks dated and Windows 8 looks awesome like Microsoft actually did something great…
With Apple Mac OS Leopard, Snow Leopard and Lion they all look the same with a few different UI tweaks! These OS changes are not WOW factors either! They are minor and that is troublesome for 2011!!! With Windows 8, they take it to a new level. It is well though out unlike the Mac OS! It seems Apple is no longer innovating the Mac. Even the iOS platform is dated – 2007 with no major UI changes. People like myself get bored fast and I know many who make the switch because 4+ years and counting is too long. Only the real fanboys will continue to buy Apple products – the best thing that is happening right now is the Malware situation for Mac. Apple is losing ground and as it becomes bigger, more of it will be out there including more viruses and the Mac OS will be like Windows and everyone will require an Anti-virus! HAHAHAHA Karma is great! Isn’t it?
As far as karma is concerned, Mac folk have so far banked so much of it to last them five lifetimes.
I don’t know about you, but vast majority of people actually DON’T want to have to learn new UI every few years. That is why iOS is so successful; it gives us UI that is extremely powerful and consistent.
What MS did here was in hope to actually break with their legacy and past. From Windows 3.1 all the way through Windows 7, MS had maintained legacy support for (by now) 20-year old application code. With Win 8, they would like to break from that. They have very strong chances of failing because of that departure. The primary user base for Windows (enterprise users) are stuck with Windows precisely because of that legacy code support. If that support is gone, they will be forced to evaluate between two equally daunting choices: migration to Win 8, or migration to Mac. It is quite likely that many will choose Mac.
Cute visual glitz only works if it actually works. And I know that a LOT of people (like me) do not have time to constantly learn NEW systems. I use some old versions of software cause they work and work the same as they used to.
When I retire and make my millions (LOL) I may just want to spend time learning new things like ribbons (oh just wonderful….. now where did they put that darn control panel???) 🙂
Just a thought.
en
Marco likes to tinker with the UI. He gets more satisfaction exploring the operating system and the many ways he can make tweaks and adjustments.
Marco derives his satisfaction from constantly tuning the OS, exacting every ounce of performance he can from his computer.
Marco doesn’t really do anything with the computer other than monitor its performance against known bench marks to ensure it hasn’t lost any power.
Marcos only true barometer for performance is FPS.
Marco is drawn to bells, lights, and whistles and the more the better.
Marco doesn’t do anything productive with a computer. He doesn’t make anything and the only thing of value on his computer is his last saved game file.
Marco works hard for a living, using his hands and back. He’s a good joe and is dependable and gets along well with his co-workers but doesn’t hang out with any of them and he struggles with his interpersonal relationships, resulting in very long periods between romantic trists.
Marco is the one you see when Windows begins acting up, because that’s the one area where he distinguishes himself.
So, it’s understandable why he is looking forward to Win8, even if it means upgrading the components of his white box. I mean what else does he have to spend his money on?
Don’t get too hard there Marco. You were only looking at a movie, not a product demonstration. Remember the Microsoft Courier. It’s only vaporware.
Yup @Marco,
@althegeo is right.
Since when did Microsoft ever give the consumer the end product OS that had the features they showed in the preview video? Ok, they did execute the “Squirt” feature with the Zune, and that turned out to be a game changer, didn’t it?
Look Microsoft hasn’t done anything “great” other than showing a video with cool features their people are still working on until 2012? Maybe?
Correct me if I’m wrong, but aren’t they building Windows 8 on top of their desktop Windows OS? So that’s a touch UI on top of Windows? Isn’t that really “taking it to a new level?”
It’s no coincidence that this was released a week before WWDC and the Lion/iOS announcement. Microsoft wants to give the impression that if they do anything that matches Apple, they’ll be able to imply that they got there first (because they showed it first), or that they were working ahead on their own, before Apple ‘gave them the idea’.
And of course, they want the current Windows users to hold on ‘just a little longer’ (again! *snicker*) for something ‘really cool’ so that they don’t have to make the ‘scary leap’ to the Mac OS. It’s the one smart thing they are doing, marketing-wise (did you see their ‘idea’ room? It’s about what I’d expect from Windows ‘creators’).
We know they aren’t pitching it to existing Mac users, because there’d be no point.
That’s a given. Bill Gates always said, get it out there and we’ll fix it post launch.
As long as they can say, we’re still relevant.
By the time Win8 debuts, the entire UI could change dramatically, resembling nothing we’ve seen in the video. Between now and then they’ll pour over the press releases and field the crits, and make any necessary adjustments.
Criticizing, or praising something that is still a year or more from release, especially where Microsoft is concerned is just mental masturbation.
The problem with Microsoft is that they never actually demonstrate a working product but only hype and hope based on vaporwares. As was their wont over past years, demonstrations are only attempts to frustrate and bully their way against their competitor’s advance. This strategy worked previously because they were the only 200-pound gorilla whose bluff was enough to kill promising technology. But not now: Microsoft has not demonstrated themselves as an innovative leader for years and this use of an outdated strategy will only bring more grief for them rather than frighten their competitors.
WAY too complicated! A geek only OS!
As for the interface, I’m not really impressed…
Just in… the fake ads are already starting. I looked at the video and Youtube shows more of the same. Well, there was one where someone at Microsoft gave a copy to this geek guy who is presenting it for all to see…..
Except the first thing he does is give a run down of the new and improved features with a slide show…. you know, like in an advertisement…. so funny.
and pathetic.
PS, I did like what I saw with the video above but MDN is totally right, This is not Win 8 but a video presentation of what they hope to sell you that win 8 will look like. Remember Courier???
Just a thought,
en
it looks like launcher meets webTV. Way to bring back the 90’s Microsoft! (They really liked things back then)
Is it just me or is a picture of an Apple keyboard on their “idea’s to copy” wall?
All the video is showing is the new UI layer, which is really nothing more than a different interface run as an application. Just like Media Center in Windows 7.
The ‘old’ windows UI is still accessible and this can be turned off.
I should add, I’m more interested in Lion then Windows 8.
I have not been ‘excited’ about a windows release since Windows 2000. Well I guess I was for a very brief moment before Vista actually shipped and left an aftertaste of sh*t in my mouth.
Microsoft have said they want the same OS on every “screen” and I think that is mistake. Apple’s strategy of subtly merging OS X with iOS via Lion but still recognising that different machines serve different purposes and have different priorities (like battery life for example) is going to be much more slick and well thought out. MS therefore had to cobble this together before the WWDC announcement so as to appear not to have been left behind. To me it looks like a very basic webpage with links to your apps.
It looks halfway decent. I probaly won’t be very fluid on non touchscreen devices and the WP7 OS on a computer doesent seem like a good idea
The video shows off an OS that seems to me to be too busy, too cluttered, and too unsightly. Mac OS X is very elegant and pleasing to the eyes when you compare the current version of Apple’s OS X to this preview of Windows 8. Also it seems to me that all the desktop content is mainly limited to a strip of space in the middle of the screen (sort of like a 16:9 letterboxed image on a 4:3 video screen) which is especially noticeable when all the swiping occurs. How Windows 8 will play on smaller monitors, based on this preview, may be a big challenge to the eyes. When OS X Lion goes live very soon I think it will make this version of Windows 8 seem outdated immediately – and Windows 8 would still be in development and not close to a release date. This is an interesting attempt by Microsoft to recreate their desktop experience but when you eventually compare the finished product of OS X Lion and Windows 8 when both are released, OS X looks to still be the much better OS by a wide margin.
Watch the video and check out the blurred iPad screens on the right side wall in the Design Room.
Copy-soft is at it again! Proof positive!
at 4:34 you can see blurred out pics on the right of the video.
I know what you mean, but what can you do? A fool and her money are soon parted.
No shit Batman! Why is this at the top of the thread list? Has this site become Ballmer’sDailyNews?
Wrong! Programs should be changed to exes if M$ insists on imitating Apple again. Apps are misleading unless they change their .exe extensions to .app also.
MS new special offer: Turn in you ex, and we´ll give you a brand new Windows 2L8 computer!”
Maybe best stay with the foe you know. Seems like a no win situation to me 😉
anybody remember this early preview of Windows Vista, then called Longhorn?
Yeah, Vista ended up being Nothing like what they promised in the preview. Get ready for a replay..