Windows 8 Features and Screenshots : The Future of Windows

Today at a developer conference called BUILD being held in California, Microsoft Corporation finally unveiled the next major release of Windows (the true follow-up to today's Windows 7), code-named Windows 8.

"We reimagined Windows [...] from the chipset to the user experience," said Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft's Windows and Windows Live Division President in his keynote, "Windows 8 brings a new range of capabilities without compromise."

Windows 8 Features and Screengrabs

I know that a great majority of Filipinos are Windows users so there's a big chance that you - yes you, TP Friend - are reading this post using a Windows PC. Not sure if you'll be as excited as I was when I first saw these, but here are a few screenshots giving us a glimpse into the future, showing the user interface that we'll be facing everyday, a year or two from now:

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Windows 8's personalized lock screen shows unread emails and other app notifications.


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See your content and applications in a glance on the start screen


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Windows 8 introduces a simple and organized Metro style UI built for touch, which shows information important to users. The Metro style interface is at home with keyboard and mouse as well.


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Internet Explorer 10 provides what Microsoft calls "Touch-first Browsing" not just browsing on a touch device.


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Metro style apps are the focal point of the Windows 8 experience, filling the entire screen so there are no distractions. This screengrab also shows Windows 8's large touch keyboard.


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The thumb-type virtual keyboard should come in handy when you're holding a Windows 8 tablet on either sides with 2 hands.


TP Thoughts

1. Given that Windows 8 can run on computers with mice and keyboards just as well as on tablets, I think Windows 8 will be a bigger hit than Windows 7.

2. Windows 8 being an OS that can run on a variety of devices greatly highlights the difference in the strategies of both Microsoft and Apple. Apple has an OS for its tablets different from the one running on its notebooks and desktops. So which strategy is more effective? Right now, Apple is making a lot of money with what they are doing. Personally, I think Microsoft's strategy is more consumer-friendly.

3. I really don't think Windows 8 will greatly change the way we, the actual consumer, use our PCs -- if anything, it will simplify the experience. However, Windows 8 will definitely cause a revolution in the way developers create software and applications.

TP Friends, what are your thoughts about Windows 8? Let me know. :)

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