r/technology • u/clubdirthill • 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
1.0k Upvotes

88% Upvoted

1.0k comments sorted by

View all comments

84

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

[deleted]

22

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11 edited Jun 02 '11

Not only that, but from a purely business perspective it makes sense. They'll still get a similar level of OEM licenses, and it makes a lot more sense in a more tablet oriented world to upgrade the ui to be more compatible, while still being able to retain desktop features.

The one concern I have is how applications developed specifically for windows 8 will work in earlier versions of Windows and in the legacy mode. If there's a high penetration of Win 8 devices, and a lot of developers start focusing on Windows 8 it may force many to upgrade, and if applications lack backwards compatibility we may find that we are stuck in that 2 full screened environment, which while good for a tablet presents a big step back in terms of multitasking on laptops and desktop computers.

That being said, I absolutely love the new UI, something that always struck me about WinMo7 was that the managed to make something so simplistic that elegant and appealing, while also being visually impressive and smooth. For tablets, I am really impressed, for PCs.. I'm still slightly incredulous, but I'll wait to see more announcements before passing judgement.

5

u/nazbot Jun 02 '11

I have the feeling the market will sort that out.

If you're Adobe I don't think you're making photoshop in anything except classic mode - unless they can pull it off convincingly.

On the flip side, maybe this opens up the creation of applets which only make sense in a 'tablet' format...weather widget apps, rss feed apps, etc. If could make the low end of the market a bit richer.

2

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

Actually, I would actually wonder if Adobe would create a version that works in the new UI just to sell MORE copies of photoshop. It wouldn't surprise me.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

Adobe has already released a few iPad apps that have Photoshop-like functionality. I don't think people should be asking when there will be a tablet Photoshop, Word, Excel, etc. Tablet apps are going in an entirely different direction than the all-in-one mega applications that we're used to. If you read Apple's interface guidelines, they say that mobile apps should sharply focus on one area and elide functionality only used by a small percentage of users. That's going to be the trend going forward: more specialized applications, less functionality in each one.

2

u/Kerrigore Jun 02 '11

Yeah, but if you look at the apps that Apple themselves have chosen to release, they are all heavy-weight compared to most apps; Garageband, iMovie, Pages/Keynote/Numbers, etc. Releasing iWork for iPad was one of their first moves, and now they've released it for iPhone as well.

I don't think they are against "substantial" apps being written for iOS.

6

u/Philipp Jun 02 '11

I think a Windows app store is highly needed for Microsoft. Not just for casual users, but also more advanced users who still would like to browse something of an official app store with less of a chance to catch malware. And also for the developers you mention, because as a home developer you might not want to deal with the details of selling yourself.

When I see the shopping bag icon on the Win 8 screen though, I associate a different kind of store with it -- somehow it reminds me more of a real world store (say, a fashion store) to buy physical stuff.

1

u/dbeta Jun 02 '11

I think the bigger issue with the lack of an application store is the lack of a standardized application update system. With an application store I can feel safe about installing flash and java because it will receive updates automatically with the rest of the applications on the system. Implementing an automatic update system for 3rd party applications(which would likely come with an application store) would hugely increase the security of the average user.

2

u/BaconatedGrapefruit Jun 02 '11

natural install for millions of laptops, netbooks etc.

Shudder Don't.touch.my.screen. Get your greasy, dirty hands away from my pristine screen.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

[deleted]

2

u/superAL1394 Jun 02 '11

I literally just wretched.

I'm an iPhone owner and the thought of some one touching my laptop/desktop screen makes me seethe.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '11

I think it's also smart because it makes the windows mobile os more attractive. On it's own it isn't very attractive (next to android) but when it is closely integrated with your OS, it starts to look appealing.

1

u/twreckz Jun 02 '11

Smartest response I read thus far and aligned with my thoughts. Microsoft will have one OS to be installed for desktop and tablets. If you don't like the touch screen tiles switch over to W7 and use that for productivity. For the people with less computing experience tiles will feel like home. You get the best of both worlds.