Microsoft Unveils Its Next-Generation OS, Windows 8

[anyweb]

BARCELONA — Microsoft showed off the newest version of the company’s operating system, called Windows 8, on Wednesday.

Windows 8 is the biggest redesign of the company’s software since Windows 95, said Steve Sinofsky, the president of Windows, who introduced the new operating system during the Mobile World Congress at a poolside event where waiters handed guests glasses of champagne and small tapas and snacks were served.

“Windows 8 is a generational change in the Windows operating system in the design, functionality and implementation,” Mr. Sinofsky said.

Microsoft has planned two versions of its Windows 8 software. One is designed around a touch interface and will be available on Microsoft tablets, and the other is for PCs and is designed to work with a mouse and keyboard. Both share the same aesthetic and navigation.

Mr. Sinofsky said that company worked to make sure that people who were switching between using Windows on a smartphone, tablet and laptop would not be confronted with any break in their use of the software as they cycled between devices.

“There are too many hard stops between tablets and devices and smartphones,” he said. “This makes them much more harmonious and seamless.”

Julie Larson-Green, the head of design for Windows 8, demonstrated the new software on a specially designed Samsung tablet and said that the company aimed for the interactions with the software to be “fast and fluid.” The new interface, which looks similar to the software used by Microsoft’s new line of smartphones, Windows Phone, takes some cues from the app-centric home screens popularized by Apple and Google. It revolves around animated tiles, called Metro.

After users sign in to their Microsoft account, the software populates the tiles on their home screen with information from accounts around the Web, including Facebook, Twitter and Skydrive, Microsoft’s cloud-based storage system. Ms. Larson-Green said that several applications would also come installed on the Windows 8 software, including Xbox Live, Internet Explorer and a custom-built video and music player that lets users purchase and stream albums and movies. For Windows users who prefer the familiar, drag-and-drop desktop-oriented layout of the operating system, there is also a desktop application that whisks away the tiles to reveal the original Windows interface.

Although Microsoft demonstrated an earlier version of the Windows 8 software last fall, Mr. Sinofsky said that company had made more than 100,000 changes to the code, based on feedback from developers and designers who tested the early version. The preview is available for download, although Microsoft executives did not provide details about when the software would officially go on sale. During the preview, however, users will be able to download applications from a Windows Store, although the only applications available will be free. The company will add a buying mechanism, most likely before the final version of the software is released.

“It’s the only operating system that lets you switch between devices,” Mr. Sinofsky said. “So you can truly pick the form factor that you want to use without compromising.”

 

via > http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/29/microsoft-unveils-its-next-generation-os-windows-8/

[matt.milbourne]

I have downloaded the iso and loaded it on to my VMware and it works great- only thing i would like to see is for Microsoft to add a shutdown button on the home screen-

 

Matt Milbourne

[anyweb]

you can right-click on the Metro thumbnail and you get an extended menu including power options and the control panel

 

have you looked at any of the options there ?

 

[anyweb]

theres even more options for power on the right side of metro (bring your mouse pointer to the bottom right of the screen), click on settings and theres power options, and shutdown is available