Tuesday, June 29th 2010
Microsoft's Next Operating System Getting Drafted
Less than a year into the launch of Windows 7, and a few months in the making for its first service pack update, Microsoft has already taken large strides into outlining the key areas the company's next consumer operating system would focus on. Aimed to be released within the year 2012 time-frame (when Windows 7 will have become 3 years and 2 service packs old), Microsoft's next operating system is referred to as "Windows 8" (tada). The company had recently released to its industry partners a set of presentations, all covering different departments of the product's development, to outline the ideas in store for the developers. These confidential presentations were leaked to the public domain.
Among these presentations, some of the most interesting ones give us an insight on what interfacing with the PC will be like in a few years from now. To begin with, the average PC is poised to get a few mandatory updates to its hardware capabilities (just as how having a sound controller became mandatory for consumer PCs through the late 1990s). The PC will have a few sensors, cameras and accelerometers that will serve dual-purpose of user authentication and utility (use by software).
Devices such as infrared proximity sensors, accelerometers, ambient-light and web-cameras will let PCs detect its user nearby, verify the user's identity by face-recognition, and load-up (or unlock) the user's account on the PC. Later, the user can just walk away from the PC, and it will standby, hibernate, shut-down, or simply lock the PC and turn-off the display, to save power.
The operating system will be even more cloud-oriented, letting users access their profiles from any other cloud-enabled PC or device. Another major development would be the adoption of a major software and content delivery platform along the lines of Apple Store or Valve Steam, where users will be able to buy content and proprietary software. For now the medium is referred to as the "Windows Store". The same service will also handle software updates and the product service. These and more will form the key changes that are relevant to the consumer in Microsoft's next OS. Once the brainstorming is complete, Redmond will sit down to develop, test, fix, and release the operating system.
Among these presentations, some of the most interesting ones give us an insight on what interfacing with the PC will be like in a few years from now. To begin with, the average PC is poised to get a few mandatory updates to its hardware capabilities (just as how having a sound controller became mandatory for consumer PCs through the late 1990s). The PC will have a few sensors, cameras and accelerometers that will serve dual-purpose of user authentication and utility (use by software).
The operating system will be even more cloud-oriented, letting users access their profiles from any other cloud-enabled PC or device. Another major development would be the adoption of a major software and content delivery platform along the lines of Apple Store or Valve Steam, where users will be able to buy content and proprietary software. For now the medium is referred to as the "Windows Store". The same service will also handle software updates and the product service. These and more will form the key changes that are relevant to the consumer in Microsoft's next OS. Once the brainstorming is complete, Redmond will sit down to develop, test, fix, and release the operating system.
66 Comments on Microsoft's Next Operating System Getting Drafted
Internet in Southerrn Africa also would never cope with this. It barely does as it is now.
This is just so ridiculous, from dumb terminals, to decentralised computing, back to dumb terminals.
I'm totally against it! What's the use of buying an enthusiast class rig if you can't even use it?! Besides, I like/prefer building/etc a personal computer to celebrate at LANs/etc rather than having some super powerful server supplying me with even the best graphics in games or processing power.:nutkick:
The only feature I'd like is having the screen turn off when you're away, and turn on when you return, maybe also hibernate if you've been away for XX minutes at most. Facial recognition, cloud-based security databases for logins and anything that may add to surveillance/monitoring is totally out IMO.:mad:
First Apple with their device tracking, now M$ with facial recognition; what goat dung!:banghead:
Also, typing MS with a $ stopped being cool when the new millennium hit.
XP works fine for me, with XP I can browse, email, play movies, play games, run old computer emulators, burn, copy, convert, encode, CAD, fax, archive, I have no need to change. Vista was cabbage. Windows 7 is what, as good as XP? What can Windows 8 do that XP cannot? Recognise my face? Anything useful? Anything inobstrusive? If it isn't broken, don't fix it.
please stop de-railing this thread - 'XP IS THE BEST!' threads became boring and repetetive 5 years ago.
'useful' is how vista and 7 handle wireless networking over XP, 'useful' is the way 7 maximises or half-fills the screen when you move windows to the sides. 'useful' is the shake gesture to minimise all windows. vista/7 have tons of useful additions, as i'm sure 8 will as well... when its finished.
I'm listening, list the ways they're better.
1.) Can access more than 4GB of ram.
2.) Much superior security.
As long as you think your definition of "useful" is something that can be universally applied to everyone, and is better than everyone else's, you're laboring fruitlessly. You can all argue until you're blue in the face, but you need to recognize that we all use our systems differently before this conversation can really go anywhere.
1./ I had such a terrible experience with W7 starter that I replaced it with W2K3 on a Atom netbook. W2K3 was far superior even though complete overkill for an Atom netbook. But the experience was sufficient for me not to give W7 a go, and also to hold off my company's investment in "upgrading". Own-goal MS for providing such a sh1t experience to W7 on a netbook
2./ For 90% of up-time, XP or W2K3 is just as suitable, maybe even more suitable than W7
3./ For office work and productivity applications XP/2K3 is still good enough
4./ Let's NOT stand in the way of progress. Windows IS getting better. ONE DAY it will laugh in the face of XP and 2K3. But today, except for gaming, IMO it doesn't
5./ I'm really looking forward to 2K12. Oh my goodness. 2K3 is already (nearly) 10 years old. I am OVERDUE for an upgrade :)
6./ MS have lagged. Apple and OSX has achieved more in 10 years. So have Linux distros. I still prefer Windows for all sorts of reasons... but the smaller company made more progress than the giant
7./ We will definitely upgrade to the new version of Windows (2K12 after SP1 is released)
8./ Let's NOT talk about IE6! LOL ;) Did you know 50% of Asia is (apparently) still using it!
9./ If you are an XP die-hard that is OK. But PLEASE tell me you are using current applications, antivirus, browsers, etc.
2. Don't know what to say. Sure it is, the same way as 2k is.
3. What about Win98? And DSL? And Windows CE? And DOS? OS 9.2? You can say the same for pretty much every OS.
4. That's your opinion. I'm way more productive on 7 than on XP and I always feel gimped when working with XP. And I've used XP since its release up to Windows 7 release.
6. Not sure here. In what ways have Linux/OSX grown more than Windows? And how would you know when you're not using the latest products? 7 is a modern, fluid and secure system. And then we have the backwards compatibility thing. Thanks to various users and above all coprorations MS is hard pressed to to make sure tons and tons and tons of different hardware/software configurations work from the start. Yes, you can make pretty much everything work with Linux, but often you have to tinker with it. Apple as a whole have a very interesting view on compatibility.
8. That is horrible. :(
9. I'm not a fan of those who buy computers with Windows 7 and then promptly formats everything and installs XP though. A waste of resources. :(