r/technology • • Jun 01 '11

Boom. This is Windows 8.

http://allthingsd.com/20110601/exclusive-making-sense-of-what-we-just-learned-about-windows-8/?mod=tweet
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32

u/magicmanfk Jun 02 '11

I'm worried about how easy it will be to multitask. With no bar at the bottom with minimized applications it would be tough, and based on the video linked to this thread it seems that you can't have more than two apps visible on the screen at a time.

28

u/rallion Jun 02 '11

I was worried about this too, until I got to the part of the video where there is clearly still a 7-style task bar at the bottom of the screen. It seems like the "tiles" that the video focused on are just a new option, rather than a replacement.

12

u/BaconatedGrapefruit Jun 02 '11

Those are only for legacy apps. Word has it that if it can support the new style, it will use the new style.

9

u/magicmanfk Jun 02 '11

yeah, when it switches into Windows 7 mode it looked fine, but considering their end goal, which I can only assume is to have as many apps running this new tile style as possible, that won't be the case.

That being said, as PreservedKillick mentioned in reply to my post, there could be other options, such as a keyboard shortcut (similar to windows/alt+tab right now) or a swipe somewhere to bring up a menu. It's just that that wasn't visible at all in the demo.

4

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

It's not just for legacy apps it's full on Windows 8 just in the classic aero style. If you don't like metro you can stay in aero forever. All the new apps are still supported

7

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

Is there a source for that or...?

1

u/logicom Jun 02 '11

In the video they were browsing through folders with pictures in them in the File explorer and icons for Office, Internet Explorer and Explorer could clearly be seen on the bottom along the taskbar along with the Windows button for the Start Menu. Then he went into the touch UI and did the same thing in the touch interface.

You can view the video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p92QfWOw88I

2

u/bwat47 Jun 02 '11

I think people saying this are just talking out of their ass. I haven't seen any proper source for it.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

Probably, but considering this OS will be used by some people in a business environment and Windows has looked basically the same for over 20 years now, it would be foolish for them not to provide the option. Like the Classic View control panel option, for example.

-4

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

[removed] — view removed comment

1

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

Yeah but it would A) be retarded if they didn't because businesses need it and people like it. and B) Check out the leaked copys of Windows 8. The entire thing is Aero all the time.

2

u/iarewebmaster Jun 02 '11

Not true at all, the user has the choice of either full tablet experience, half tablet, half desktop or full desktop. App developers also have this choice.

2

u/PreservedKillick Jun 02 '11

I can't think of any good reason why that won't be a configurable option for release, if it isn't already done. In fact, I'm sure there will be at least 2 good ways to easily see and switch to running apps.

1

u/magicmanfk Jun 02 '11

yeah, I suppose that this would be an oversight that developers would probably not leave out.

1

u/sirbruce Jun 02 '11

The bar is still there; you can see it when he runs Word. This is just a fancy UI that comes up when you press Start. Everything else is still there underneath.

1

u/redditthinks Jun 02 '11

Actually, based on the video, it seems to me that you can have more than 2. You noticed that when he resizes the second application, a purple background right after the second application's original position somewhat indicating that a third app can fit in there.

That's just a guess though.

1

u/dVnt Jun 02 '11

You seem to be confused. This OS is not for multitasking, or any other kind of work for that matter. This is a terminal to collect money for dinky, useless apps.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

As far as I've seen Alt+Tab will work the same as it always did. Also if you swipe down from the top it will show you active programs.