While Apple is making it clear that Mac OS X and iOS are separate beasts for different platforms (at least for right now), Microsoft continues its efforts to shoehorn Windows onto the tablet by simply making a new version that also works well on the desktop, with a big nod toward their own Windows Phone 7 smartphone platform.
Engadget is reporting on the big happenings at Microsoft’s Build 2011 conference, where Windows Division president Steven Sinofsky gave attendees a big walkthrough of the forthcoming Windows 8 on Tuesday. The new operating system promised for next year borrows heavily from the Metro user interface introduced with the company’s Windows Phone 7, and Microsoft is stacking up their chips (figuratively) that Windows 8 will be the great unifier for both PCs and tablets alike.
Perhaps the most bold move Windows 8 has shown thus far is doing away with the Start menu as we know and love (?) it. The Start menu is now its own animal, displaying all of your applications as finger-friendly tiles in what Microsoft calls its “Metro style.” While it sounds a bit like OS X Lion’s LaunchPad, the Windows 8 Start menu goes well beyond that relatively simple feature, promising to do away with traditional application icons.
Because Microsoft is intent on using Windows 8 for both traditional PCs as well as tablet devices, multitouch support and gestures are a big part of the new offering, including the new Internet Explorer 10 web browser which also gets a Metro style user interface overhaul. Microsoft claims that all Windows 7 applications will run under Windows 8, and the company plans to include built-in antivirus software for the first time.
The best news is that everyone can join the Windows 8 party, because Microsoft released a Developer Preview on Tuesday night in both 32-bit and 64-bit x86 flavors which requires no activation or even a formal invitation. Simply hit up the Windows 8 Developer Preview website, pick your poison and enjoy. There have been some scattered reports of Mac users getting the preview working on Parallels Desktop 7 and Boot Camp, although driver support is understandably spotty -- here’s hoping Parallels will add official support soon for the preview as they did for early betas of Windows 7.
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(Image courtesy of Engadget)
macmusings
September 14, 2011 at 9:18pm
Can u download the preview and use it and boot camp or do you have to have a previous Windows OS and upgrade from there?
dakoster
September 14, 2011 at 8:42pm
I downloaded it and I'm using VMware Fusion to access it. but I can't seeem to install the Bootcamp tools. soo I can't connect to the internet.
Caballera
September 14, 2011 at 12:36pm
I've downloaded and tried out Win8 on my Desktop, it's ok, but I don't see anything to special about it. Maybe in the future when we have touch displays, or on a tablet, but currently it's more like the an extra layer on top of the desktop. Doesn't seem any faster or snapper then Win7, but it is an alpha build so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt.
For my Day to Day computing I prefer my OS X Lion. Thank you.
MacMike
September 14, 2011 at 11:31am
Windows 8 sounds better than Vista 2. I'm sure Microsoft is hoping this will be more successful than Vista, but from what I've read it looks like more bloatware, clunkiness and interface nightmares for Windows users.
