Operating system is radically overhauled for first time since 1995
THERE WAS a sense of anticipation in Anaheim this week, a level of excitement that’s usually limited to the under-12s heading to nearby Disneyland.
But this week, things were different. Instead of Mickey Mouse ears, T-shirts with slogans such as “I see dead code” were the accessory of choice as 5,000 developers descended for Microsoft’s Build event, eager to hear about the plans for its latest operating system which, Microsoft said, would change everything.
Aimed at software developers and partners, Build offered the chance to get up close with Windows 8 and to see it put through its paces in a live environment – with varying success at times as the unfinished system fell prey to the curse of the live demo.
Build was not the first time that elements of Windows 8 had been revealed. In June, Microsoft unveiled its plans for the new operating system to the All Things D conference, demoing the Metro interface, which signalled a new direction for the tech giant. But Build would be the first time that developers would get a preview of the new system to try out.
Windows 8 is certainly a major move, the first time that the operating system has been drastically altered since 1995. The upcoming operating system makes some controversial changes to how Windows looks and works.
There’s no more desktop; instead Windows 8 will use tiles to represent programs and applications, which can be scrolled horizontally. The end result is a start screen that looks more like Windows Phone 7 than Windows XP, with more immersive applications that use the full screen and have less “chrome” than ever before.
“This start screen, it’s not just a launcher for programs. The start screen represents a unification and integration of program launching, switching between running programs, and also notifications and gadgets that are all integrated into one start screen,” said Windows president Steven Sinofsky as part of his keynote speech on the first day of the conference.
Many of the rumours that had been circulating in the days leading up to the event were confirmed over the course of the conference. Support for ARM devices was announced for the first time. The rumoured Windows 8 tablet from Samsung was also true, although it turned out to be a developer preview machine rather than a definite product that will be available to consumers.
Microsoft’s aim is clear: to give users one familiar operating system across a range of devices. Regardless of whether users are on tablets, netbooks or desktop PCs, Windows 8 looks the same.
“That’s what’s so bold about this product. We envision an operating system that scales from small form factor keyboard-less tablets all the way up to the highest-end services running hundreds of processors,” Sinofsky told attendees. “It’s an incredibly bold vision, and one that we’re executing on and delivering it.”
It’s a drastic shake-up, but one Microsoft needs to implement. It’s already feeling the pressure from Apple and Google and, so far, attempts to introduce Windows tablets have met varying degrees of success. Mobile computing is more important now than ever before, and it’s a competitive market these days.
Which is where Windows 8 excels. Leaner than previous versions of the operating system, it uses fewer resources, so it’s more suitable for running on, for example, a low-powered netbook.
The Metro interface may work well for tablets and mobile devices, but it may be a little more difficult for the average consumer to grasp the drastic change to the once-familiar operating system.
But as legions of Microsoft speakers were keen to show, Windows 8 can work just as easily with a mouse and keyboard. Using a mouse in the Metro interface means the scroll function is transferred to the mouse scroll button, and you get a nod to the old familiar start menu.
Apple’s former chief executive, Steve Jobs, said last year that people didn’t want touchscreen PCs, that the vertical form factor was wrong. But could Microsoft prove Jobs wrong?
Sinofsky seems to think so.
“As soon as you’ve used touch on a PC, you want touch on all your PCs,” he said.
Planning for Windows 8 has been in the works for some time, even before Windows 7 was widely available to the public. But the team developing the new operating system wanted to top the capabilities and innovation of Windows 7. “We were the first major operating system to put touch into the operating system. We were excited about what the possibilities of touch were,” said Julie Larson-Green, the corporate vice-president of Windows program management. “At the same time, while we were developing Windows 7, touch really took off everywhere. Any screen you saw, people expected be touch.”
Microsoft appears to have had its eyes opened with regards to its operating system and what users want from it. “We wanted to rethink the opportunities for Windows to make mobility better, mobility not only in the interaction model, in the way you use the product, but mobility in terms of how the operating system works underneath,” Larson-Green said.
There are new opportunities for app developers with the new system. “We’ve always known that applications are critical to the success of Windows, but applications have evolved and are different, and we really wanted to understand some of the changes and opportunities we had,” she said.
The new platform gives developers new APIs, now known as Windows Runtime, and the freedom to choose the language they want to build their own applications. Apps will also be subject to approval by Microsoft before being offered in the Windows Store.
Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer warned in his speech on the second day of Build that there was still a slog ahead of the firm.
“While it’s clear we have a long way to go still with Windows 8, we’ve been gratified, certainly, by the reactions and the interest,” he said. There have been 500,000 downloads, in addition to the developer machines that were distributed at the event.
“As we move to re-imagine Windows for new hardware types, in no sense is the phone anything other than one of our most important targets. X-86 and ARM will both be important chip families as we move forward.”
So it seems it’s a good start for Windows 8, but the real test will be if Microsoft can ignite the same enthusiasm. With no definite release date for Windows, that day seems like a long way off.
STEVE SINOFSKY PROFILE
WHEN THE Build conference kicked off on Tuesday, the man on the stage giving the keynote wasn't chief executive Steve Ballmer, but another Steven. As head of Windows and Windows Live, Steven Sinofsky is responsible for the overall Windows business, from development to business strategy and marketing for Windows, Windows Live and Internet Explorer.
He has worked his way up through Microsoft, having started out as a software design engineer in 1989. He has been involved in the development of the Microsoft Office system of programs, servers and services, in addition to the product development of the 2007 Microsoft Office system, Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft Office XP, and Microsoft Office 2000.
Before taking his new role in 2009, Sinofsky was senior vice-president of the Windows and Windows Live engineering group, where he contributed to Windows 7. He previously oversaw the development of the Microsoft Office system of programs, servers and services, and was responsible for the product development of the 2007 Microsoft Office system, Microsoft Office 2003, Microsoft Office XPand Microsoft Office 2000.
This week, he took centre stage. Telling the audience he was "super-excited" about the "reimagining" of Windows, Sinofsky put in an enthusiastic, energetic performance that has earned him praise all around the web.
Already, the performance has been compared to the benchmark of keynotes: former Apple chief executive Steve Jobs. Casual yet engaging, faintly satirical at times and always willing to poke fun at both Microsoft and its rivals, Sinofsky commanded the attention of everyone in the room – not an easy feat.
There may not be the same level of hyperbole – Sinofsky refrained, at least in general hearing, from referring to any Microsoft products as "magical" – but he can clearly hold his own on the stage.
