Microsoft demonstrates Windows 8 with HTML5 apps
Microsoft has provided a look at how it plans to bring Windows to more mobile devices in the future, leveraging ARM processors and using HTML5 as the basis of a new app platform.
As demonstrated at the D9 conference, Windows 8 will deliver a touch-centric new interface for apps built using HTML5 and JavaScript that runs on top of the existing, conventional Windows platform.
The company showed off a new Start screen patterned after the tiled home page of Windows Phone 7. The company says the new tiled interface "replaces the Windows Start menu with a customizable, scalable full-screen view of apps."
Microsoft's mobile Windows CE core operating system differs dramatically from its desktop Windows operating system, but the two will grow closer together in appearance as Windows 8 adopts a similar, top level interface to Windows Phone 7 and the Zune.
In contrast, Apple's desktop Mac OS X and mobile iOS share the same core operating system and use optimized versions of the company's proprietary Cocoa development platform to deliver native apps, but differ in the interface they present, with Mac OS X retaining a mouse-based windowing environment while iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad present a completely rethought, touch-based interface.
Microsoft's own efforts to build a cohesive development environment for both the Windows CE-based Windows Mobile 6 and its desktop Windows XP/Vista/7 platform initially revolved around the company's .Net APIs before shifting Windows Phone 7 to use Microsoft's Adobe Flash-like Silverlight as its mobile app platform.
Now, Microsoft is announcing a new shift that leverages the interest in HTML5 to deliver "web-connected and web-powered" apps (similar to HP's webOS platform acquired from Palm) that will run alongside legacy Windows apps on the forthcoming Windows 8. Microsoft says this approach "is designed and optimized for touch," although the company also says "it works equally well with a mouse and keyboard."
This all happened before
Microsoft took a similar approach to catching up to Apple's Macintosh in the early 90s, layering a Mac-like user interface on top of DOS to initially deliver Windows, resulting in an operating system that looked like a Mac but could still revert to running text-based DOS apps.
The new HTML5 layer of Windows 8 works like the Dashboard layer of Mac OS X, although rather than only supplying quick assess to simple widgets, the new "Windows 8 apps" are intended to supply a layer of highly animated, full screen, touch-based apps capable of competing with native apps running on Apple's iPad.
Like Apple's iOS, Windows 8 is intended to be deployed on highly mobile devices such as ARM-based tablets in addition to the conventional PCs Windows has powered in the past. Unlike Apple's iOS, which became instantly popular on the iPhone before expanding to the iPod touch and iPad, Microsoft's tile-based Zune interface hasn't yet found a significant, sustainable audience. After the Zune failed, Microsoft KIN and Windows Phone 7 have both found little interest among consumers.
Microsoft's radical experimentation with Windows Vista in 2007 caused a negative backlash from Windows PC users, which has only settled down with the more conservative release of Windows 7. Sales of PCs have yet to rebound to levels prior to the release of Vista, and new mobile devices, in particular Apple's iPad, have siphoned off a significant amount of demand among generic PCs.
Microsoft does have considerable clout among its developers and hardware makers however, and describes the new Windows 8 as its biggest risk yet, hoping the new release, due sometime over the next couple years, will bring it back into relevance among new generations of consumers.
As demonstrated at the D9 conference, Windows 8 will deliver a touch-centric new interface for apps built using HTML5 and JavaScript that runs on top of the existing, conventional Windows platform.
The company showed off a new Start screen patterned after the tiled home page of Windows Phone 7. The company says the new tiled interface "replaces the Windows Start menu with a customizable, scalable full-screen view of apps."
Microsoft's mobile Windows CE core operating system differs dramatically from its desktop Windows operating system, but the two will grow closer together in appearance as Windows 8 adopts a similar, top level interface to Windows Phone 7 and the Zune.
In contrast, Apple's desktop Mac OS X and mobile iOS share the same core operating system and use optimized versions of the company's proprietary Cocoa development platform to deliver native apps, but differ in the interface they present, with Mac OS X retaining a mouse-based windowing environment while iOS devices like the iPhone and iPad present a completely rethought, touch-based interface.
Microsoft's own efforts to build a cohesive development environment for both the Windows CE-based Windows Mobile 6 and its desktop Windows XP/Vista/7 platform initially revolved around the company's .Net APIs before shifting Windows Phone 7 to use Microsoft's Adobe Flash-like Silverlight as its mobile app platform.
Now, Microsoft is announcing a new shift that leverages the interest in HTML5 to deliver "web-connected and web-powered" apps (similar to HP's webOS platform acquired from Palm) that will run alongside legacy Windows apps on the forthcoming Windows 8. Microsoft says this approach "is designed and optimized for touch," although the company also says "it works equally well with a mouse and keyboard."
This all happened before
Microsoft took a similar approach to catching up to Apple's Macintosh in the early 90s, layering a Mac-like user interface on top of DOS to initially deliver Windows, resulting in an operating system that looked like a Mac but could still revert to running text-based DOS apps.
The new HTML5 layer of Windows 8 works like the Dashboard layer of Mac OS X, although rather than only supplying quick assess to simple widgets, the new "Windows 8 apps" are intended to supply a layer of highly animated, full screen, touch-based apps capable of competing with native apps running on Apple's iPad.
Like Apple's iOS, Windows 8 is intended to be deployed on highly mobile devices such as ARM-based tablets in addition to the conventional PCs Windows has powered in the past. Unlike Apple's iOS, which became instantly popular on the iPhone before expanding to the iPod touch and iPad, Microsoft's tile-based Zune interface hasn't yet found a significant, sustainable audience. After the Zune failed, Microsoft KIN and Windows Phone 7 have both found little interest among consumers.
Microsoft's radical experimentation with Windows Vista in 2007 caused a negative backlash from Windows PC users, which has only settled down with the more conservative release of Windows 7. Sales of PCs have yet to rebound to levels prior to the release of Vista, and new mobile devices, in particular Apple's iPad, have siphoned off a significant amount of demand among generic PCs.
Microsoft does have considerable clout among its developers and hardware makers however, and describes the new Windows 8 as its biggest risk yet, hoping the new release, due sometime over the next couple years, will bring it back into relevance among new generations of consumers.
Comments
Just Windows with a tablet skin running on top. I "get it", because it still allows you to run the entire Windows catalog, but I'm still unimpressed.
Exactly.
Just Windows with a tablet skin running on top. I "get it", because it still allows you to run the entire Windows catalog, but I'm still unimpressed.
Too little, say hello to too late.
Although this will still have 85% market share at some point. MS's Monopoly power isn't going away anytime.
Microsoft took a simmer approach to catching up to Apple's Macintosh in the early 90s...
A simmer approach, you gotta love it.
This guy makes me laugh though. The non-screencasts parts of the video are utterly amateurish. The sea of crap on the wall that is to provide inspiration explains a lot! There's not an interesting/inspiring/relevant thing there!
And I have to say the 'codename' 'Windows 8' is brilliant. Quite brilliant!
MS baiting aside though, I can see this working for them. It does look nice, if a little sterile and it does solve the touch problem to some extent. You can see how completely unsuited Windows is to touch when he whisks away the HTML layer and the traditional Explorer view comes up. Those icons are all about the mouse.
One gripe is the hypocrisy of MS in purporting to support HTML5 standards and still churning out the train wreck that is IE year after year. Nobody supports web standards less than MS, and that's an objective fact. Also, doesn't WP7 use Silverlight? That's hardly a web standard is it?
Too little, say hello to too late.
Although this will still have 85% market share at some point. MS's Monopoly power isn't going away anytime.
Well Microsoft's IE monopoly has fallen from 95% to LESS THAN 25% (according to W3Schools). And the company's share of mobiles has fallen from ~25% to something like 7% in just a few years.
The PC market itself is falling, with significant contraction happening worldwide. Apple is eating into that with Mac OS X while it creates a new market for iOS devices that is hitting it from below.
Delivering a tepid product that chases the iPad and does little but confuse Windows PC users is not going to shore up Microsoft's losses. Although the use of HTML5 is interesting. It denotes the complete failure of Silverlight.
It looks good. The video was terrible though. Quality would have been better recorded on an iPhone.
I have to admit that I thought it looked pretty good. I actually like the tiles metaphor.
PS is similar to what people wanted in the touch iMac, desktop with iOS layer when the screen is past 45 degrees
It does look nice. The style of WP7 is the best thing about it and they've brought that to their flagship OS. Being a simple layer on top of the same old Windows isn't ideal but it's a heck of a lot better than what they tried to throw at tablets last spring to such epic failure.
To me it seems a lot more complex than adding a UI layer to Windows. Windows 7 (and I think Vista) were deemed "touch ready" by MS.. but they weren't. This looks like MS is working to make this a solid product from the ground up. However, I'm sure I'm sold on the naturalness and obviousness of sliding between apps though it might be better than Apple's developer option for switching apps in iOS 4.3.
That said, I have no idea what HW they are using for this demo but if it's made for a tablet it better be as smooth on the current ARM processors upon its release.
But why not evolve WP7 to a tablet form-factor? I wonder if they plan to make a tablet/desktop that is what Motorola Atrix and Asus Padfone are trying to do.
This guy makes me laugh though. The non-screencasts parts of the video are utterly amateurish. The sea of crap on the wall that is to provide inspiration explains a lot! There's not an interesting/inspiring/relevant thing there!
It's absolutely awful for any company, muchness one as large as MS on their official YouTube page. I could produce a higher quality video using only my iPhone.
In an unusual twist Twitter released a video yesterday that is expectionally well done and follows many cues from Apple's own marketing.
And I have to say the 'codename' 'Windows 8' is brilliant. Quite brilliant!
Better than calling it Super 8.
MS baiting aside though, I can see this working for them. It does look nice, if a little sterile and it does solve the touch problem to some extent. You can see how completely unsuited Windows is to touch when he whisks away the HTML layer and the traditional Explorer view comes up. Those icons are all about the mouse.
I think that will get resolved. Also, if you have any pre-Windows 8 apps that look as bad as MS Office does in the demo you may not be their primary focus for a Windows tablet user.
One gripe is the hypocrisy of MS in purporting to support HTML5 standards and still churning out the train wreck that is IE year after year. Nobody supports web standards less than MS, and that's an objective fact.
IE9 caught up and in some regards surpassed all other major browsers, like with the HW accelerated HTML5 Canvas element Even the Mango build of WP7 uses IE9. I'm not saying it's better overall but they far from the train wreck of IE6.
Just Windows with a tablet skin running on top. I "get it", because it still allows you to run the entire Windows catalog, but I'm still unimpressed.
Exactly. That "launcher" will be great on all the upcoming Windows tablets... until you open a legacy Windows application.
Then it's the same ol' Windows.
I'm not ditching the mouse and keyboard for a long time...
I think this is a positive move for developers and it seems MS is finally getting the message that the platforms need to start to merge. Someone there is paying attention at least.
Microsoft schooled Apple on this one, a week before Apple. You know Steve has to be pissed.
You've got an interesting way of looking at this. I myself see desperation, but you see some sort of victory in the Redmond camp. Interesting twist.
Just Windows with a tablet skin running on top.
Watch the video again. It looks more like a tablet with the Windows Shell running inside it, not the Windows Shell with a tablet skin on top.
The immerse UI is apparently a separate shell, so I'm not sure how they actually do it.
I "get it", because it still allows you to run the entire Windows catalog
Well... yes and no. Windows 8 running on an ARM SoC won't have any back wards compatibility with applications written for older versions of Windows. I saw Microsoft state somewhere there won't be a compatibility layer.
I think this is only the first of a long line of Windows 8 reveals. There is a lot of storage overhead in supporting legacy Windows, so I'm not sure how well that will fit the cheap "tablet as a consumption device" market.
but I'm still unimpressed
I'm incredibly impressed from what they showed in the video. Microsoft appear to have created a tablet UI that it a lot more multitasking and "content creation" friendly. However I'm fully aware that it was nothing but a staged demo, so at this time I think it would be pretty naive and/or arrogant to make a call either way about this.
The big questions I have is can they make Windows 8 tablet:
- Perform well on a relatively slow processor
- Have respectable battery life
- Fit the storage requirements of a relatively cheap tablet
I still wouldn't be surprised if they revealed multiple versions. The "full" version (as shown), and a ARM-only based "consumption" version with no backward compatibility where Microsoft dictate the hardware (resembling the WPx model more than Windows).A simmer approach, you gotta love it.
Another appropriate word AI could have used to describe MS's approach and that is similar to simmer is tepid!
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Microsoft schooled Apple on this one, a week before Apple. You know Steve has to be pissed. You have to admit, no one saw Microsoft doing this so soon.
I was quite impressed by this video as well, but they were planning on showing more over the rest of the year, meaning this won't be released any time soon. Whatever Apple announces next week will be available soon after (within a month hopefully?)
The sliding in from the side looks nice, but if i had 10 apps running I would have to swipe a lot to find my app. A five-finger pitch to show all running apps and selecting the one I want would be way more efficient. Where did i see that again?
Microsoft schooled Apple on this one, a week before Apple. You know Steve has to be pissed. You have to admit, no one saw Microsoft doing this so soon.
Actually Steve's laughing... he knows that W8 will be just that... meanwhile Apple will be out with similar or better about 9 months earlier...