Another Glimpse of Windows 8
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Microsoft also used the WPC to provide
another glimpse of Windows 8, which many pundits and analysts believe will be
released sometime in 2012. In place of the "traditional" Windows desktop and
Start button, Windows 8 will offer a variety of color tiles designed to be
equally tablet- and PC-friendly. In many ways, the system takes cues from
Windows Phone, which also embraces a tile-centric architecture.
Even after Ballmer left the stage, the big
announcements kept coming: During the July 12 keynotes, executives revealed the
upcoming release of a System Center 2012 beta, which lets IT administrators
manage machines and applications across a system of public and private clouds.
An App Controller feature gives those pros an aggregated understanding of all
their private clouds, along with services deployed on Windows Azure.
Those executives whipped the curtain back
from the next version of Windows Server, codenamed Windows Server 8, which will
apparently boost the ability to manage private cloud infrastructure. However,
the company is keeping a somewhat tight lid on details until September's Build
conference, where Windows 8 will make a fresh appearance.
In conjunction with the conference,
Microsoft is offering up SQL Server Code Name "Denali" Community Technology
Preview 3 (CTP3) and SQL Server 2008 R2 SP1, both of which are available via
the Microsoft
SQL Server Team Blog.
On the strategy side of things, Microsoft
COO Kevin Turner revealed some crucial details during his own July 13 keynote.
Backward compatibility with Windows 7 will be embedded into Windows 8. The
company will open some 75 branded stores over the next two to three years. And
the company is more intent than ever on moving its customers away from
antiquated platforms, such as Windows XP and Internet Explorer 6.
Windows 8 will be widely available on
tablets, thanks to Microsoft's commitment to SoC (system-on-a-chip)
architecture, in particular ARM-based systems from companies such as Nvidia.
Turner suggested that Windows' presence on both ARM- and x86-based systems
would "open up a whole array of opportunities in which to compete." One area of
near-term focus for Microsoft and its partners, apparently, will be pushing
this vision of Windows as an operating system capable of running on a wide
variety of devices, not just on desktops and laptops.
Turner also took care to push flagship
products, such as Office 2010, which continue to contribute substantially to
Microsoft's bottom line despite the company's embracing an "all-in" cloud
strategy.
That cloud strategy has yet to contribute
substantially to the company's bottom line. Nonetheless, based on the products
unveiled at WPC, Microsoft has lots of other revenue-drivers ready for release
over the next 18 months or so.
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Nicholas Kolakowski on Twitter
