Yesterday at D9, Microsoft officially revealed Windows 8 to the world. Taking hints from their desktop and mobile operating systems, Windows 8 is clearly created for use on a tablet although can be utilized on a PC as well. The UI for Windows 8 borrows heavily from the Metro UI seen on the Windows Phone 7 devices, complete with live tiles and a minimalistic design. Command input can be done using a keyboard and mouse setup but it is obvious that touch command is the preferred method.
Applications for Windows 8 will come in two flavors: traditional desktop programs and mobile apps by way of HTML5 and JavaScript. Both types of apps will be accessible through the UI, so you'll be able to use desktop versions of programs like Microsoft Excel and Word alongside mobile apps for things like weather and Twitter. Browsing on Windows 8 will be brought to you by Internet Explorer 10. Navigation through the system relies on a gesture-based system and swiping apps and menus in and out is not unlike what we've seen on HP's webOS. Multitasking is included and allows you to "snap" multiple applications onto a single screen for viewing, an extremely handy feature that we have yet to see implemented well on a mobile device.
Windows 8! Back from Mac?
Posts: 560
Ah,finally there's a reason for the snapping of open windows into place. When I saw them going on about it in the Windows7 ads I just thought "lazy feckers won't just resize their windows" and also that anytime I use multiple windows or applications theyre usually differing shapes and size so it's useless!!
I guess it'll make life easier on a tablet instead of fiddling about with the sizes.
I much prefer the 'Expose' function on Mac to the window snapping, shaking general weirdness, it's quicker, simpler and doesnt effect window size.
Love the expose feature. Best thing about OSX
I have no idea what any of you are talking about.
Crosspost:
One of the features I'm most looking forward to is the ability to push out (native) apps that are built just using HTML and Javascript.
This opens up app developement massively. If they get this right, they may have just revolutionised the way in which 'normal' people can interact with their computer. I could create a dedicated app to view this forum, for instance, in a matter of hours (granted it would be rubbish, but you get the idea)
This is seriously impressive.
The forum-judas formerly known as Peter117
The bear room: http://www.thebearandbadger.co.uk
It does look pretty, but I am a little concerned about the 'one size fits all' approach that Microsoft is taking towards two different platforms with radically different input methods. It seems to me that what you may end up with is an OS that isn't really optimised for either platform. But, we'll see.
It will be interesting to see how they handle certain features - the scrolling desktop boxes, for instance, works fine on a touch screen but I imagine it'd be far less fluid to use with a mouse.
Hopefully they'll put as much effort into its usability as they have its visuals - it really does shift the idea of how a PC should look/function, and I think that's only to be applauded.
The forum-judas formerly known as Peter117
The bear room: http://www.thebearandbadger.co.uk
What yoss said basically. It feels like it could be a jack of all trades master of nothing type deal in terms of platform optimisation.
I dont think it looks that great personally, looks more stylish than functional. And my opinion counts because I glanced at it for a full three seconds.
Hmm, I'll stick with OSX for now.
PSN: its_dan_dan_ey
Just been playing around with the fucker.
Pretty and snappy. Yus.
Built in apps aren't up to much, but that's to be expected.
Mouse support is middling to poor currently. Navigating horizontal space on a laptop is horrible, arrow keys are far too slow, it doesn't recognise the slidey bits of the touch pad and pressing space brings up IE.
Metro IE don't do flash so that ain't no good. I'm guessing flash will be able to be part of desktop apps, like facebook viewers.
Needs the ability to tell an app to fuck off.
Promising start but sill needs a fair but of tuning up.
This forum look a lot better on it than it does on firefox on windows 7. but that wouldn't be hard.
Just typing the app name is the quicker way to navigate if you're using keyboard.
Not being able to close an app is weird at first but if you look at task manager they're completely put to sleep using no CPU or memory.
Have firefox now as default browser, the metro IE is of no use to me on a lappy, and I'll be able to sync with my win 7 fox.
If the apps are using no cpu etc then that's fine, it would still be nice to remove them from the snap in feature, for example if you open the wrong app.
Seen a reg hack to re enable the start menu, It would be nice to have the option of a true start menu when in desktop mode.
Microsoft Can Remotely Kill Purchased Apps.
(Emphasis my own.)
The article mentions that Microsoft "may" refund you for an app that gets deleted. Either way, fuck that noise. If it's a security risk, email me. If the program has somehow gotten onto the market place and then becomes illegal, I'll deal with it, thanks.
I don't know about you guys, but for me, this is a deal breaker.
{Xbox, YouTube: Blue5wirl}{Steam, Twitter, Last.fm: BlueSwirl}{3DS: 0602-6557-8477}
Well, not too concerned about the Microsoft part of that TBH - but if the ability is there and someone like EA gets a sniff that they could somehow legally force Microsoft to deactivate FIFA 2012 when the next version is coming out... hmm, could get dicey.
Is that not just in the store, rather than on the person's machine though?
I'm falling apart to songs about hips and hearts...
Live Gamertag - Upper Echilon
PSN - UpperEchelon
This is just a safety measure isn't it? If some malware or whatever slips through their approval system, they can rip it off the store and stop people using it on their phones. Google have done something similar with one app on its market place I think.
Although there is something dodgy in that statement:
That Siri thing was an app on the iphone before the 4s came out. Apple discontinued it when they realised they needed a USP for their new model. It had more limited functionality in app form though. But I think that was a free app.
I'd like to think there's a limit for how much people will put up with changes to the market like the FIFA one djchump suggested. Pay the same price but can only play the game for a year for instance.
I'd like to think that but then I see some of these freemium and social gaming pricing models and can only conclude that theres enough cretins in the world to make any business model viable.
Thing is, there's probably similar terms (if not more draconian) in the Apple EULA thingy that everyone clicks and never bothers to read.
You can think of the Store like the Apple App Store or the MS Marketplace. They're the ultimate controllers, if something needs yanking it gets yanked.
Interestingly this happened the other day on the phone. Someone extracted the Nokia Ovi Maps application from a Lumia and re-upped it as a free app. Everyone who downloaded found out a day later that MS had yanked it from their devices remotely.
It won't affect your ability to download and install applications as dodgy or as dangerous as you like through the traditional method. You can officially side-load apps on your WP7 phone if the fancy takes you.
You can do this on an iphone. You just need a paid developer account. Is it a similar thing on WP7 - i.e. do you need to give MS money to do it?
You need to give Chevron Labs $9 (I think that covers you forever (or at least the life of the phone))
http://labs.chevronwp7.com/
Or you could sign up for the Developer program for the same $99 pa Apple charge.
Bargain if there's a reasonable amount to download off the internet.
I assume at some point the development and rollout process will let people publish more or less the same app to WP and Metro. At which point the amount of apps for windows phone could explode.
You still have to use silverlight for WP don't you? But can't use it for Metro on Win8
You use Sliverlight or XNA. Silverlight for "apps" or XNA for games seems the basic distinction. Although there's moves towards native code in some recent high profile apps.
The whole Silverlight situation is sort of up in the air at the moment, they seem kinda stuck with it even though they'd rather not be. I noticed the apps on Xbox are written using a branch of Silverlight.
I thought you could use Silverlight for Metro apps but I'd have to go and check.
Metro apps are Html 5 CSS, C# C+ and Javascript sitting on a layer of metro API stuff or something.
I forget.
That's what Silverlight is, XAML for the interface and then a .NET language (usually C#) underneath.
Fuck it, search to the rescue...
Anyone tried the preview?
i did, alraedy back when the dev release came out back in 1990.. didnt like it, and i even own a fancy touch screen
ive heard others say this metro stuff will be the new vista, maybe metro 2 will be the shite, but this one looks and feels totally shit indeed
(but then again, nobody lieks the bloated lion osx either.. we all have to wait for the nextnext great thing then itseems)
i give it [4/10]
virtual means unlimited