Microsoft’s Windows 8 Operating System has been the subject of talk and debate since some time, well ever since the rumors started surfacing at least. Most of them based on how Microsoft would improve the Windows 8 platform. And just when we started thinking about it, new rumors surfaced on the web which suggested that Microsoft could well be preparing an OS optimized for tablets as well, given the recent trend and demand of the tablets. And yesterday, the company formally unveiled the Windows 8 OS at the Computex 2011 Expo in Taipei and the All Things Digital D9 Conference in California.
What does this new and improved OS mean to the tablet industry?
With the tablet industry booming and at its peak, the addition of the Windows 8 OS could be an interesting one. With the inspired metro UI looks, we think Microsoft could go a long way with these tablets. We however wish that Microsoft doesn’t waste any time in launching the tablet, because manufacturers are already geared up to launch Android 3.1 running tablets.
The new Windows 8 would be brought to tablets too, as we had expected before, but previous reports stating that Windows 8 will be a tablet only OS have been proved to be wrong, which means the Windows 8 platform will be common to tablets as well as desktop computers, with some changes here and there of course. Microsoft has published a demo video of the Windows 8 operating system which makes you feel as though Microsoft has ported the Windows Phone 7 platform to tablets. And that is because of the presence of the live tiles or in other words Windows Metro UI. Even though the Metro UI seen on WP7 is pretty plain to look at, we can’t deny the fact that it brings some functionality with it. You would be baffled to know that applications from the previous versions of Windows would run just as smooth as it would run now in the current version of the OS.
What to expect from Windows 8?
- 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.
And going with the trend or rather policies, Microsoft has planned to impose certain rules on the manufacturers to keep in mind when making a Windows 8 powered tablet. Firstly, Microsoft wants the manufacturers to get a display with a resolution of at least 1024×768 or 1366×768 if you take Microsoft’s suggestion. Could this prove to be a barrier to the makers? The answer is no because with the technology being so advanced, they will have to bring some changes to the device, and after all, Microsoft it to be on par with the current technology, or exceed it rather.
Watch how the demonstrator explains the working and functionalities of the Windows 8 platform in the video below, here we see him demoing the OS on a tablet, there is no information about the device though.
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