Wondering what buying apps in Windows 8 will be like using Microsoft's new app store, dubbed the Windows Store? Microsoft shared some details about its plans during the company's keynote at the BUILD developer conference.
If you've used a Windows 7 laptop with a "multitouch" touchpad, you've likely been a little disappointed to see that it offers only a few gestures: pinch to zoom, twist to rotate, two-finger scrolling, maybe three-finger swiping. The functionality is handy, but it's a long way from having a touchpad that behaves like a little multitouch touchscreen.
Photos from the event in Anaheim, Califfornia
Windows 8 looks awesome! I watched the keynote -- a couple times actually. I am impressed. There are too many cool, "gee whiz" features and capabilities to even cover in a single post. Even with all that, though, I am having trouble getting caught up in the breathless excitement of it all.
Microsoft has spent so much time at the BUILD conference this week talking about how Windows 8 will operate like a tablet OS that you might feel left out if you plan to continue working on a desktop or laptop. But whether you're an IT manager, PC enthusiast, or professional just trying to get some work done, Windows 8 will have enough new features to make it worth your interest.
Microsoft has unveiled a preview beta of Windows 8. CIO Australia has compiled related articles following the announcement.
Now we know. Microsoft's president for Windows, Steven Sinofsky, today revealed a "reimagined" Windows, which boasts a very different, tile-based user interface called Metro based on Windows Phone that is touch-savvy, runs on ARM processors as well as Intel x86 chips, and yet will also work on traditional keyboard-and-mouse PCs and run anything that runs on Windows 7. The new version, code-named Windows 8, is now in developer preview, with no release date yet set.
Want to give Windows 8's new look a try? Starting tonight, you'll be able to download a Windows 8 developer preview release straight from Microsoft.
Microsoft showed off many tablet-centric features from its radical redesign of Windows 8 at its BUILD developers' conference on Thursday, but still promised to support desktop and laptop users who own interact with their computers using traditional keyboards and mice. All the swiping and pinching aside, the BUILD conference gave us a peek at some advantages the upcoming operating system might have for laptop users.
Microsoft took the wraps off Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10 on Tuesday, revealing a dramatically different Windows for both users and application developers. It validated some of the rumors about the new OS and squashed others.
Microsoft has been teasing us for months with drips of promises for what the next version of Windows -- code-named Windows 8 -- will offer. It's said that Windows 8 and its radically different user interface will run on both Intel and ARM chips; thus, it will be available not just for traditional desktop and laptop PCs but for iPad-style tablets. Microsoft has said Windows 8 will not run on smartphones, which will use Windows Phone 7 instead. However, the Win8 UI seems to be based on that of Windows Phone.
The buzz is building over Microsoft's BUILD conference that starts Tuesday, where the company will provide more details about Windows 8, which the company bills as the most radical change in its OS since Windows 95. "In 1995, Windows changed the PC," Microsoft says. "BUILD will show you that Windows 8 change everything." But what everyone's wondering is whether Windows 8 will change everything for better or worse?
We already know a lot about Windows 8. We know it’ll have a new, touch-focused interface and application framework for tablets and touchscreen PCs. We know it will still have a traditional desktop, with enhancements to Explorer (among other features). It will have versions that run natively on ARM-based CPUs in addition to the x86 architectures we’re used to. It will integrate USB 3.0 support and cloud services.
Nvidia CEO Jen-Hsun Huang has raised an interesting possibility about Windows 8, speculating that it will be able to run Windows Phone 7 apps.
With Microsoft's big BUILD conference right around the corner on September 12, people are buzzing about the Windows 8 news that's sure to come, and for the last couple of weeks, Microsoft has been parceling out information. So far, the features we’ve seen look colorful, fast, flashy, and flexible—but how much of a difference will they make for small business users?