Microsoft’s next desktop operating system, Windows 8, will include the most dramatic redesign of the user interface since Windows 95, the company said at an unveiling of the new software on Thursday.
The new user interface closely resembles that used in Windows Phone 7 devices, with “live tiles” that can be tapped or flicked away using a touch-screen or standard keyboard and mouse.
The company released a video demonstrating the new interface.
Windows 8 does away with the “Start” button introduced with Windows 95, Microsoft said. The Start button built into many keyboards will now take the user back to the desktop.
Microsoft said users will have the option of reverting to the more familiar interface.
Developers will be able to write Windows 8 applications based on the JavaScript and HTML5 web technologies, allowing applications to more easily run across desktops and mobile devices. Microsoft said.
The redesign comes as Microsoft struggles to find its feet in the tablet and smartphone markets.
The software won’t ship this year, but Microsoft is expected to discuss a launch schedule at its developer conference in September.
Despite the changes, Windows 8 won’t require users to buy a new PC, said Michael Angiulo, Microsoft vice president for Windows planning, at a Taipei launch event on Thursday.
The operating system will include intelligence for adapting itself to the user’s hardware, another aspect designed to help it work with existing hardware, according to Angiulo.
It will be designed for a 16:9 aspect ratio with a minimum resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels, and will be adaptable to a 1024 x 768 aspect ratio, he said.
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Ovum principal analyst Richard Edwards comments:
“The announcement comes just a week after Google announced its light-weight, instant-on, cloud-centric notebook, and is no doubt intended to make people think more deeply about their actual computing requirements rather than following the hype and the crowd.
“Tablet devices, such as the Apple iPad, the Motorola Xoom and RIM’s BlackBerry PlayBook, are offering users an alternative computing ‘lifestyle’, much as the iPhone and Android-based smartphones have changed the way we think about mobile phones. But most business users of these new tablet devices have not yet ditched their desktop or laptops PCs, preferring instead to use them as a convenient and more usable extension to their primary computer while on the move or away from their desk.
“Windows 8 will, if Microsoft’s hardware partners come up with good designs, provide business users and the huge community of ‘content creators’ with a tablet-sized device that has a full touch-based user interface, an ability to run standard Windows productivity tools and business applications, and the ability to connect to, and communicate with, a plethora of computing peripherals.
“We believe that Microsoft is still a viable market-maker, and that reports of its imminent demise are somewhat over exaggerated. However, the world’s most powerful IT company must bring its innovations to market in a more complete and marketable manner than has been the case to date.”