Windows 8 is scheduled for launch sometime in late 2012 but last week a bunch of developers got their hands on a beta version and from most accounts its going to be a game changer, not only for Microsoft but in the way people use PC to navigate the Internet.
Your PC (for those 90% of the people not using a Mac) is going to operate a lot more like your smart phone than your current machine.
Touch Screens and Apps will be at the forefront and according to USA Today, “the mouse and keyboard, at least in terms of early emphasis, seem to have been relegated to second-string status.”
Windows 8 will be paired wit Internet Explorer 10 and a new “attractive customizable user layout called Metro”.
“On this IE 10 version, a navigation bar appears only when you need it.”
“The conventional “Start” screen that has been in place since Windows 95, is entirely replaced by a set of tiles with live information. Although users will be able to revert to the familiar Start-based interface, Microsoft is aiming at the new system as its way of combating the threat from tablets”
In a blog post from Microsoft, the Julie Larson-Green write
“It works touch-first, but then if there’s a machine with a mouse and keyboard then it works the same as before with them”
Here are some other features:
| • | Fast launching of apps from a tile-based Start screen, which replaces the Windows Start menu with a customizable, scalable full-screen view of apps. |
| • | Live tiles with notifications, showing always up-to-date information from your apps. |
| • | Fluid, natural switching between running apps. |
| • | Convenient ability to snap and resize an app to the side of the screen, so you can really multitask using the capabilities of Windows. |
| • | Web-connected and Web-powered apps built using HTML5 and JavaScript that have access to the full power of the PC. |
| • | Fully touch-optimized browsing, with all the power of hardware-accelerated Internet Explorer 10. |
So it looks like your PC will soon enough look and run more like your iPad.
I known on my iPad I basically use Apps and rarely navigate by typing in URL’s into the broswer.
If this follows through with PC’s we may see further drop off in type in traffic when Windows 8 hits the market
You can read more about and get a preview of Windows 8 here, and here.
Microsoft is always late in anything …
They just buy stuffs now or file more lawsuits and repackage it.
late 2012——— is way toooo long
So, how about some little ads on your OS, Mike?
windows8ads.com, adsonwindows8.com..
Not my OS
I’m on a Mac
It’s going to be weird using it on a PC. Not everybody has a touch screen monitor.
I can’t see how dramatically they can change it. Whatever they do will be an enhancement. It won’t be a dos to a windows.
Will microsft still be around 50 years from now? I know IBM will.
Poor
I won’t be around 50 years from now.
I’m just trying to deal with the next 5 right now
Cnd dealing with 5 years from now is a daunting vask in this evep fast changing nandscape.
But these are indeed game changers for typein traffic but did we really expect it tobe different ?
Vhough speech software never tooi off 😉
the classic desktops and notebooks will never die
touch screens and on screen keyboards are not comfortable for common use
the keyborad with real keys and the mouse are ways better
this kind of OS will have a big success only for mobile devices
The thing I find funny is that many years ago, well before smart phones, “apps” and “appz” used to be warez/piracy terms for software. Then Apple comes along and names its smartphone software programs “apps”, and flashforward to now, it’s not only a mainstream term for programs on smartphones and tablets, but with Windows 8, it’s coming full circle and we’re all talking about apps on PCs.
What a funky evolution of a term…was popular before its popularity today, with a crowd of mortal enemies of the modern pioneers of the term.
As for type-ins, I don’t think they’ll be dying completely anytime soon. For getting business done, you still can’t beat the traditional computer with keyboard and mouse/touchpad.
Plus, what is the price difference between a notebook and a Windows 8 tablet? @MHB should enjoy one, but the rest of us can stick with a laptop and enjoy the full-feature regular apps like Photoshop.
“I won’t be around 50 years from now.”
Mighty negative, aren’t we ? 😉
Not When your 100 already like me
these e-readers and tablets would make great monitors for viewing documents/video if only one did not have to submit to the passive computing paradigm they’re pushing (no input, just hit a “button” or two and sit back an watch).
can users easily connect their desktops, laptops and netbooks via cable or wifi/bluetooth to their kindle/ipad and take advantage of the enriched display?
can they even connect a full-size usb/wireless keyboard?
doubt it.
type-in has only become more difficult thanks to not giving users the ability to connect a real keyboard. the likelihood of typos is even greater.
making typing even more cumbersome only encourages use of search over domain names. it’s easier to just type a keyword than try to get the domain name exactly right.
re: handheld computers – the ipaq was the right direction. it was expandable. it was a phone. an mp3 player. the possibilities were wide open. it was a computer. then jobs hijacked the industry with his beautiful but limited use ipod. a crippled computer. then the iphone. now the ipad. now every device is locked tight and each is limited in capability. not my idea of a handheld computer. they look great. but the anti-tinkering efforts have gone too far.
I guess this comment is directed to @Ted.
I recently bought an LG Thrill smartphone. It’s Android. 4.3″ display so it’s big enough to use an ereader. Plus, it has dual rear facing stereoscopic cameras that take 720p 3D video and 1080p 2d video. Yes, Louise and friends, 3-frickin-D. Plus, it has a parallax barrier LCD display for glasses-free 3D viewing. I can connect my bluetooth headphones and now it’s my main music device as well.
Seriously, the phone rocks. I’ve had other smartphones and devices, even the old Compaq iPaq that you mention Ted. But, you can’t say that things aren’t getting better. I know my mom picked up a new Windows Mobile 7 phone which is radically different from the previous versions of the OS and she loves the simplicity. And tablets and scaled down ereaders serve a purpose. It’s about tailoring products to users’ needs.
@BullS, Microsoft actually had smartphone devices before Apple, it’s just that Apple made it slick and simple and piggy-backed on the success of the iPod.
But, now if you want real performance and features you should go with the new Android devices. The Thrill is 4G, sports a dual core TI OPAM 4430 platform, dual channel RAM, and HDMI out port (it even comes with a cable).
Sorry if it sounds like an ad for the phone but the device is amazing and I’m looking forward to what the future holds as far as changes in how we interact with our desktop devices.
sounds great for recording video, send/rec calls and listening to tunes.
but then, a small computer can do all those things and more. and it’s easier to get bits into it (not just out of it). it’s just more flexible.
not only is it difficult to type in text like domain names, but getting input into these phones from another device (e.g. a laptop) often is either impossible or requires jumping through brainless hoops – like using some stupid proprietary connector or installing some crappy software.
why bother? if these are really smart devices, why can’t they are not interoperate with others?
small storage devices have now greatly exceeded capacities where you could carry around every last bit of digital information you will create or consume in your entire lifetime. you could record your entire life and store it in your pocket. you could fit more of the internet on these storage drives than you will ever be able to access even if you are online 24/7 every day of your life. and still, a buzzword term like “cloud storage” can catch be effective.
never underestimate effective marketing.
smart phones. they are the last try of the aging telcos to keep you on their old networks. yet they make it seem like this is a new beginning. the future.
it’s going ok for now, but voip (or some similar) is the inevitable future. and no one owns that. computer = phone. “smart phones” are not normally smart enough to access ultra low cost or free voip. i wonder why?
in the end, technology wins out. the least expensive solution wins. cheap storage. cheap calls. cheap software. (how much does android cost?)
Domain names will still be meaningful to utilize the “free” searchbased webuse, as a sort of “homebase”. For big players they will remain essential vehicles.