Paul Thurrott comments on Windows 8 UI and release date

Posted by on January 31, 2011 in Architecture, Tablet, User Interface, Windows 8 Beta, Windows 8 Builds, Windows 8 Development, Windows 8 News, Windows 8 Release Date, Windows 8 Rumors, Windows 8 Speculation | 3 Comments

Windows 8 tiles

So Paul "the man" Thurrott just wrote an article about Windows Phone 7, Windows 8, IE 9 and a bunch of other tools.

Here are the relevant parts of the article..

According to sources at the company, Microsoft is going to change the Windows UI in the next version and offer a tiered experience that changes based on the form factor and other considerations. One of the UIs on offer will allegedly be a tile-based UI very similar to that of Windows Phone, which should answer complaints from users who were hoping to see a Windows Phone-based tablet.

My take - DISASTER. If Windows for the PC is changed that radically, let me be the first to say I smell Windows Vista 2 - the Sequel. If it's just tablets that have a radical change I'm still not impressed. I havent seen sales figures that can rationalize the widespread adoption and promotion of the Windows Phone 7 interface.

I believe that so far IOS and Android are wiping the floor with it.

Either way, we'll know more soon enough: You can expect a first beta release of Windows 8—likely a private beta—in time for the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) in September or October, followed by the final release in 2012.

Another prediction for Windows 8 beta this year. Once again, I am skeptical. We will see.

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  • Timiteh

    To the contrary i think that such an U.I is welcome.
    It is not because WP7 is not as successful as iOS and Android that we can conclude that it is U.I is poor.
    I personnaly consider the WP7 U.I to be superior to both iOS and Android U.I.
    I think that the 4 reasons why WP7 is not as successful as it should be are:
    1) The poor marketing of Microsoft which really need to take lessons for that
    2) The lack of availability of WP7 devices through some key operators
    3) The limitations of this O.S linked to its youth
    4) It is not an Apple product, something which could have made it much more successful even if it was as limited as the first iteration of iPhone which it is obviously not.
    Of the 4 reasons i think that the fourth is the most stupid and one of the reason why i am quite upset by the current state of this world.

    This said WP7 has a quite innovative and interesting U.I which would be great on a tablet.
    Thus this is very interesting that Windows 8 will have an optionnal U.I similar to the WP7 U.I for tablet.
    This does not mean that this U.I will be available or forced upon users for any kind of devices like traditionnal PC or laptops.
    I personnaly think that Windows 8 will have several different U.I. In fact i think that there will be at least 3 U.I.
    Thus each device will be able to offer one or several U.I depending of its form factor, its purpose and the power of its hardware.
    For example a Tablet would offer only a Tablet U.I(MOSH?).
    A laptop or PC could offer either a classic U.I and a more advanced U.I(Wind?).
    A Tablet PC or Touch screen PC could offer Tablet U.I,classic U.I and a more advanced U.I (depending on the power of its hardware).

    Seriously, i think that there are some things you have a hard time to get about Windows 8 and what Microsoft is trying to achieve with this O.S. Though it is true that Microsoft is poor at communicating or building enthusiasm and excitation for some really great things they aim to achieve.

    • http://www.windows7update.com Onuora Amobi

      Just concerned that Microsoft does not repeat the Vista experiment.

      Less usually is more when it comes to changes to the Windows OS...

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