Tech Link (Industry): Previewing ‘Windows 8’

This is a very interesting demo from Microsoft. I have always been a Windows user, and while I don't loath or hate other OS, I just got too used to this operating system. I don't even have to "hard learn" new stuff whenever MS came out with new OS, well, except during my transition from MS DOS to Windows 3.1/WFW (Windows for Workgroups). So anyway, the big news is super cool: touch interface for the upcoming Windows 8.

It's such a long time coming for the interface to show up. While "touch" has been implemented on desktop PC before this version of OS, it requires 3rd party hardware/software and it doesn't really operate differently than having a mouse (yeah, that was too long ago). Anyway, so now MS comes up with cool-looking interface and if this proved to be stable, it is a definite winner. I mean, it can run your usual Windows program, and then you can have both touch and "traditional" desktop interface, a marriage of both world = awesome. Check out the video and then read on more to see the official MS statement.

REDMOND, Wash. – June 1, 2011 – Today, at the D9 Conference, we demonstrated the next generation of Windows, internally code-named “Windows 8,” for the first time. Windows 8 is a reimagining of Windows, from the chip to the interface. A Windows 8-based PC is really a new kind of device, one that scales from touch-only small screens through to large screens, with or without a keyboard and mouse.

The demo showed some of the ways we’ve reimagined the interface for a new generation of touch-centric hardware. Fast, fluid and dynamic, the experience has been transformed while keeping the power, flexibility and connectivity of Windows intact.

Here are a few aspects of the new interface we showed today:
•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.

Source:Microsoft