Windows 8 running on a quad-core tablet could be given to attendees of September's BUILD conference, according to a rumor.
Microsoft could offer attendees of September's BUILD
conference a quad-core tablet running Windows 8, speculate a number of reports
emerging online.
Those reports have their origin in Microsoft's recent TechEd
New Zealand conference, where Microsoft principal architect Patrick Hevesi
apparently offered up a glimpse of this rumored tablet.
IT consultant Alan Burchill, attending the conference, snapped off a couple of
quick images, which he subsequently posted on his blog at
Smartergeek.info.
From there, the story broke into the larger blogosphere.
Burchill's photos don't offer a glimpse at the tablet's operating system, but
speculation is rampant that the device will be handed out to BUILD attendees
loaded with a test version of Windows 8. "Most Microsoft watchers are expecting
Microsoft to provide paying attendees with a test build of Windows 8," Mary-Jo
Foley wrote in an Aug. 25 posting on her
All
About Microsoft blog, "and maybe some kind of PC or slate prototype to use
to develop applications for the coming operating system."
The BUILD conference kicks off in Anaheim, Calif., on Sept.
13.
Microsoft is designing Windows 8 to work on tablets in
addition to traditional PCs, something the company likely hopes will allow it
to make inroads into a segment of the mobility market currently dominated by
Apple's iPad. In order to bridge the gap between touch-centric and traditional
keyboard devices, Microsoft went back to the drawing board with Windows 8's
user interface: in place of the "desktop" that defined older versions of
Windows, the newest operating system will feature colorful tiles reminiscent of
Microsoft's Windows Phone.
"So much has changed since Windows 95-the last time Windows
was significantly overhauled-when the -desktop' metaphor was established," Windows
and Windows Live division president Steven Sinofsky wrote in the inaugural Aug.
15 posting on the
"Building Windows 8"
blog. "Today, more than two out of three PCs are mobile (laptops, netbooks,
notebooks, tablets, slates, convertibles, etc.). Nearly every PC is capable of
wireless connectivity."
Among Windows 8's new features: an app store, support for
USB 3.0, and a streamlined file-management system. The presence of a
Microsoft-branded App Store would also let Windows 8 on tablets compete on
equal footing against rivals such as the iPad (which offers access to Apple's
App Store) and Android devices (which include Android
Marketplace).
Windows 8 is supposedly due to arrive sometime in 2012.
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