Hasta La Gadget!

We’re live from Microsoft Windows president Steven Sinofsky’s keynote at D9, and there’s something rather exciting on stage — a pair of experimental Windows 8 dev boards running an OS that looks very much like Windows Phone 7’s Metro UI. All Things D actually sat down with the man earlier today and got a sneak peek at what to expect starting with the live tiled screen you see above — and yes, like Windows Phone 7, this OS is designed for touch.

There’ll be two kinds of applications for Windows 8, one that runs in a traditional desktop, and the other pseudo-mobile apps based on HTML5 and Javascript, but both environments — rather, the entire OS — have been designed from the ground up for touchscreen use. Keyboard and mouse will still be options for both sets of programs, but there are multiple virtual sets of keys for different form factors, including a split keyboard for vertical slate use. Multitasking is simply a matter of swiping running apps into the center of the screen, and you can pull windows partway to “snap” them in place alongside other windows — even mixing and matching traditional desktop programs with web apps simultaneously (like Twitter alongside your spreadsheet). There’s a new version of Internet Explorer 10 (which runs Silverlight) and an app store built into the touchscreen interface, along with integrated services like Office 365. Microsoft says the new OS will run on laptops, tablets and desktops when it appears — whenever that might be.

All Things D didn’t have any details on when we’ll get pricing or availability, but we’re looking at some Intel Atom-based demo units on stage right now, and Microsoft says it will have ARM designs (the OS will support NVIDIA, TI and Qualcomm) viewable on the Computex show floor, and more will be revealed at the Build Windows developer conference in September. We should note that “Windows 8” is just a codename for what we’re seeing here — “we’ll figure out the real name in due time,” Sinofsky told the crowd — but we don’t see much harm in calling it Windows 8 for now.

Update: Video after the break!

Continue reading Microsoft unveils Windows 8 (video)

Microsoft unveils Windows 8 (video) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 19:05:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A trio of sources speaking to Bloomberg have seemingly shed light on Acer’s concerns with Microsoft’s new tablet strategy. Seems that the boys beneath Ballmer hope to speed delivery of the company’s new tablet OS by limiting variations. To accomplish this, Microsoft is offering incentives to chip and computer makers that agree to form sole alliances (i.e., one chipmaker works exclusively with one computer manufacturer) including enhanced feature sets and lower prices on Microsoft software. Under the plan, chip suppliers will be able to select a second company to produce a clamshell-style laptop using Microsoft’s next wares. The plan is not mandatory and does not apply to desktop use of Microsoft next operating system, according to Bloomberg‘s sources. However, if true, then it represents a dramatic departure from Microsoft’s traditional war-of-attrition approach to the laptop and tablet market that has resulted in a near limitless choice of brands and configurations so synonymous with Wintel. It all sounds incredible until you consider Microsoft’s approach to Windows Phone that already marries its mobile OS to a highly restrictive specification sheet. With Windows Next (or Windows 8, if you prefer) set to support both Intel architectures and ARM (and all its licensees), we can understand Microsoft’s desire for tighter control over its partners in hopes of accelerating development and testing. After all, Microsoft is conspicuously absent from the tablet discussion these days. We guess Steve wasn’t kidding when he called this OS Microsoft’s “riskiest product bet” yet.

Update: And now DigiTimes has jumped in with support for Acer CEO, J.T. Wang, claiming that Taiwan’s PC makers have been excluded from Microsoft’s Integrated Development Program (IDP) for Windows 8 tablet PCs. According to the Taiwanese rumor rag, long time Microsoft partners Acer, ASUS, and even HTC have been shut out of the proceedings. Instead, DigiTimes claims that chipmakers Intel, AMD, TI, Qualcomm and NVIDIA have been invited by Microsoft to choose manufacturers from a first-round list of participants limited to Dell, HP, and Samsung. Hopefully Microsoft will add some clarity to all this later today when we get our first look at its next generation OS. [Thanks, Pradeep]

Microsoft incentivizing chipmakers and tablet manufacturers to form ‘sole alliances’? (updated) originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Jun 2011 06:44:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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A web of rumor and suggestion has been spun in recent weeks about a new tablet-oriented version of Windows. But when major players like Acer start moanin’ and complainin’ about how they’re going to make hardware to run the new OS, that’s when you know something has to be afoot. According to Bloomberg, Acer CEO J. T. Wang spoke up at Computex to berate Microsoft for being too restrictive in what processors it will permit to carry its new baby, saying it is “really controlling the whole thing, the whole process.” And he wasn’t just speaking for Acer either, because he added that chip suppliers and PC makers “all feel it’s very troublesome.” It begs the question, if Steve Ballmer is borrowing Apple’s approach and becoming a control freak, why doesn’t he just go whole hog and build a Microsoft Tablet from start to finish?

[Thanks, Tiago]

Acer says Microsoft is too ‘controlling’ of Windows tablets, restrictions ‘troublesome’ originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 31 May 2011 15:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer talks about the future of Windows at CES 2010. Photo: Jonathan Snyder/Wired.com

Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer got ahead of himself on Monday when he publicly blurted out a general roadmap for the next version of Windows.

Ballmer told an audience at a developer forum in Tokyo that Microsoft will have news to share about Windows 8 on tablets, slates and PCs over the next year.

“As we look forward to the next generation of Windows systems, which will come out next year, there’s a whole lot more coming,” Ballmer was quoted in a transcript provided by Microsoft. “As we progress through the year, you ought to expect to hear a lot about Windows 8. Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors.”

However, later Monday afternoon a Microsoft spokesperson retracted Ballmer’s statement.

“It appears there was a misstatement,” a Microsoft spokesperson said in a statement the company issued. “We are eagerly awaiting the next generation of Windows 7 hardware that will be available in the coming fiscal year. To date, we have yet to formally announce any timing or naming for the next version of Windows.”

Besides Ballmer’s hiccup, little is known about Microsoft’s next operating system. In June 2010, an Italian Windows blog published what it purported to be slides showing Microsoft’s plans for Windows 8. The slides hinted that Microsoft hopes to replicate Apple’s App Store model and instant-on capability for devices in order for Windows 8 to succeed.  Microsoft did not confirm the authenticity of the slides, though observers agreed that they look credible.

A looming question about Microsoft as a whole is just what it plans to do in the tablet market in the wake of the iPad. Apple, Google, and dozens of other small companies have produced tablet products, but Microsoft has not yet announced a credible tablet strategy. Microsoft’s retraction of Ballmer’s statement about Windows 8 on tablets suggests that the company isn’t quite firm about its plans.

See Also:

• 7 Reasons You Won’t Want a Windows 7 Slate
• Microsoft to Announce iPad-Challenging Slate Next Month
• Official: HP Slate Will Run WebOS
• Microsoft Cancels Courier Tablet

Bad Intel! Microsoft has issued a strongly worded response to comments this week from Intel SVP Renee James describing the future of Windows 8 on ARM as fragmented and backwards-incompatible. Those statements, says Microsoft, were “factually inaccurate and unfortunately misleading,” though we’re left without clarification as to what specifically was untrue. James claimed that legacy x86 programs won’t be running on the ARM architecture, requiring a re-write for developers and probably a re-purchase for users. She also went on to suggest that each of the four hardware suppliers for Windows 8 systems-on-chip will have a different code stack, incompatible with the rest, which sounds like a far worse allegation to us. Now the issue is to try and figure out which of those two big accusations Microsoft has taken offense to. The Redmond team had nothing more to say on the matter, offering only a reminder that Windows 8 is still at the tech demo stage and there’s still a long way to go.

Microsoft rebuts Intel’s claims about Windows 8, calls them ‘factually inaccurate’ originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 19 May 2011 05:07:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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