Microsoft BUILD: Windows 8, A Pre-Beta Preview
by Brian Klug & Ryan Smith on September 13, 2011 12:05 PM EST- Posted in
- BUILD
- Windows
- Microsoft
- Windows 8
- Trade Shows
First Thoughts
With under a day to see, play with, and write about the Windows 8 pre-beta it’s hard to fully digest what we’ve seen and to come up with a meaningful opinion. With Microsoft it’s a safe bet that there’s more to be seen when they’re still this far away from shipping the final product.
For a tablet-focused event I don’t think you will find much disagreement that Microsoft has hit the mark with Metro. Metro feels like it belongs when used with a tablet – it’s smooth, it’s easy to use, it’s gesture-driven, and it’s finger-friendly. Virtually everything Windows Phone 7 did well as a touch screen OS has been ported over to Metro and it shows.
The converse of that is that Metro feels awkward and out of place when used with a mouse and keyboard as a laptop/desktop. It fails to take advantage of the precision of the mouse or the fact that not everything needs to be in size 28 font when sitting down to use a computer. At this moment it feels like trying to use a tablet with a mouse and keyboard, which isn’t far off from what it really is in the first place.
The underpinnings look interesting, but there’s still a great deal left to see such as DirectX 11.1 and WDDM 1.2. I believe that in the long run the class driver additions will help further simplify using Windows, and integrating Microsoft Security Essentials into the OS is a long overdue change. At the same time if nothing else Metro will go even farther to improve security thanks to the fine grained permissions system.
Ultimately this is just the beginning, in fact it’s the beginning of a beginning. Windows 8 is still at least a year off – Microsoft isn’t even close to committing to a date – and the pre-beta is pre-beta in every sense of the word. The real fight starts today when Microsoft pitches it to developers. Because so much rides on Metro, Microsoft needs to convince developers to start writing Metro applications, otherwise most of the work Microsoft has put into Windows 8 will languish. Microsoft looks to have the tools their developers need, but will it be enough? Perhaps this is what BUILD is meant to find out.
Stay tuned as we’ll have more from BUILD this week, including coverage of today’s opening keynote.
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A5 - Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - link
They don't even bother to C&D the people who make explicitly LCARS skins for Android, so they would lose horribly if they tried to sue MS. You have to consistently defend your IP to keep it.UMADBRO - Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - link
What are you smoking, and why arent you sharing?damianrobertjones - Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - link
"The converse of that is that Metro feels akward and out of place when used with a mouse and keyboard as a laptop/desktop. "tell that to a new user who's using a computer for the first time.. they'll love it
MacTheSpoon - Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - link
Hmm... well, it is just a pre-beta. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it gets the kinks worked out.araczynski - Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - link
...bad enough pc games get basterdized console versions, now they're making their main OS consolized too...if this is their new norm, i'm just switching to apple, at least their crap is more stable.
sviola - Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - link
Then you're also going to be disappointed. THey seem to be moving OS X in the direction of iOS. But you can always install FreeBSD and run prompt only...damianrobertjones - Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - link
Windows Media center was out before the Xbox and that used nearly the same look.Wellsoul2 - Thursday, September 15, 2011 - link
"Windows Media center was out before the Xbox and that used nearly the same look. "I agree. It's very similar to WMC which makes it usable on my TV with a remote control.
Sure it's dumbed down and clunky. WMC is very clunky IMHO.
I really like the idea of using this OS with my HTPC though since it will make it
easier to use all my programs with a remote control. The article didn't address
that but the future may also be using your computer hooked to a TV alot of the time.
For that purpose this is a good beginning.
I'd be totally happy if I could switch between Metro and Win 7 desktop for the higher
resolution desktop.
ph0tek - Wednesday, September 14, 2011 - link
Apple will do the same eventually. Only difference is Apple will pretend they did it first, as usual.Adapt or die.
Dug - Tuesday, September 13, 2011 - link
Business users want something like this. Portable, lightweight, easy to use.
If they can have a full os and run the many apps they are used to without using a dumbed down version like on other tablets, it will be very well received.
Look how hard companies try to make business apps on an ipad and android platforms. And how many people are using them but wish it to function like a full blown os.
With this you get the best of both worlds.
Plus you can easily use a mouse and keyboard when needed. You can't do that on android and ios because there is no mouse cursor.