Microsoft will
almost certainly use this year’s Mobile World Congress in Barcelona as the
venue for whipping back the curtain from its Windows 8 Consumer Preview. The
company has sent eWEEK and other
media an invitation to a “Windows 8 Consumer Preview”-themed event at 3 pm Feb.
29 at the Hotel Miramar.
If a release
of the Consumer Preview is indeed in the making, that’s in line with
Microsoft’s previous predictions that the Windows 8 beta (“Consumer Preview” is
a fancy synonym) would arrive sometime in February. It’s widely expected that
the release version of the next-generation operating system will hit the market
late in 2012.
In a bid to
expand Windows’ reach to tablets and more mobile form factors, Microsoft’s
engineers have subjected the operating system to some fairly radical alterations.
Chief among them: a start-screen based around large, colorful tiles linked to
applications. That interface conforms to the same “Metro” design aesthetic
underlying many of Microsoft’s properties, including Windows Phone and the
latest Xbox dashboard. In theory, those big tiles—along with other features
such as a mobile-applications storefront—will facilitate Windows 8’s operation
on tablets.
By hosting the
event at the Mobile World Congress, Microsoft is again re-emphasizing its aim
to make Windows 8 a major player in the mobile arena.
Those who want
a more “traditional” Windows experience can flip from that start-screen to a
desktop interface with a single tap or click. For power users, Microsoft’s
teams are busy tweaking Windows 8’s file systems for more streamlined and
powerful operation. While many of those adjustments are in
response to feedback—at least according to Microsoft’s official Building
Windows 8 blog—some of its revisions have proven a bit controversial:
the company’s decision to include a “ribbon” user interface for Windows
Explorer, for example, attracted ire from those who dislike that particular
feature.
Provided it
releases in late 2012, Windows 8 will arrive exactly three years after Windows
7 hit the market. That could make it a hard sell to customers and businesses
that recently upgraded. Over the past few months, Microsoft executives have
taken pains to emphasize Windows 8’s enhancements and tweaks to longtime
Windows features.
In the tablet
arena, Microsoft will face competition of an altogether different sort: Apple’s
iPad, currently the dominant device in that segment. The burgeoning number of
Google Android tablets also present significant competition.
During his
keynote address at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, Microsoft CEO Steve
Ballmer suggested that Windows 8 on tablets would surpass those rival devices
by offering heavy-duty functionality. “People don’t want to compromise on what
they have today,” he told the audience. “They want the best of what they have,
and the best of what they want.”
The Consumer
Preview will give consumers their first chance to see whether Windows 8 indeed
achieves that lofty goal.
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