What’s next for Windows 8 PCs?
Microsoft is really undergoing a major overhaul over the past few years. Bill Gates’ departure from daily involvement, the exasperation around the Vista release, the iPhone etc. were all big events that forced the company to reevaluate how it does business. Thankfully, Microsoft has had a decent long-term plan in place for a while now, and Ballmer is keen to move the company to the half-way point before considering retirement. The key drivers of this new direction for Microsoft (according to me—essentially, a nobody) are as follows:
1. Ray Ozzie being anointed CSA, his subsequent Red Dog (now Azure) initiative.
2. Sinofsky & team’s work on Office 2007, his appointment as Windows chief, and his most recent take-over of Windows Live.
3. The Natal program and the possibilities in the future.
4. Windows Phone reset & most importantly, KIN being killed, no matter how late.
5. The Midori project, bringing the brightest minds in system architecture together.
6. An old hand returning as chief design/UX consultant to Ballmer later this year.
7. Bing
So what’s all this got to do with Windows 8 PCs?
The answer lies in the iPad & Apple’s use of its iPhone OS across more of its products. The success of the iPad has led a lot of people to questioning Microsoft’s current strategy around using Windows and not Windows Phone for the slate form-factor. Microsoft doesn’t want to do that because it has got a plan in place for the slate PC in Windows 8 and it does not wish to diverge from it now.
So Microsoft’s true answer to the iPad won’t be available to consumers till 2012 at the earliest. And it is sticking to this plan unlike Google, which is truly conflicted right now between Android & Chrome OS on slate devices. So how does this plan work?
Microsoft is borrowing some ideas from Windows Phone 7’s development in Windows 8. For Windows 8, the company is specifying a series of chassis designs for OEMs to follow in order to receive certification and support. The specifications laid out therein are far more relaxed/flexible & cover a wider range of components than in WP7, as expected. Here are the current chassis:
1. Windows Slate: PCs without physical keyboards, must support multi-touch with two points of touch. Screens must be between 7 & 9 inches.
2. Windows Tablet: Convertible PCs with hardware keyboards. Screens range from 10 to 12 inches. Two-point multi-touch and styli must be supported.
3. Windows Compact PC: All-in-one PCs, i.e. desktops with screens built-in.
4. Windows Netbook: Small notebooks with 8 to 11 inch screens & physical keyboards. Atom-class processors.
5. Windows Laptop: 11 to 18 inch screens w. physical keyboards & non-Atom processors.
6. Windows Desktop: BYO screen-keyboard-mouse (not literally, but form-factor wise). For screens 19 inch and bigger.
7. ???
The more traditional form-factors have fewer specifications from Microsoft. However, all form-factors with an integrated screen must have a built-in camera. Monitors certified for Windows 8 must also include a camera.
Microsoft does have some additional details around processor architecture, sensors platform etc. but those details are fuzzy right now.
I would like to say, “more to come”, but frankly, product development is a much tighter ship these days, and info is hard to come by.
Update: Apparently, the chassis designs are meant to enable two important things:
1. Windows 8 will enable/activate chassis (form-factor) specific capabilities & UI. e.g. Slate-class devices will have finger-friendly UI that works on smaller screens & resolutions, Tablet-class will enable stylus functions out of the box, and Compact PC-class will go for more traditional interface & larger screens etc.
2. Windows Marketplace (v3) will show apps for your device-class or enable apps to use class-specific UI.
Now about that second bit, Windows 8 will definitely feature Windows Marketplace, with the target being to make it very similar to how Windows Phone Market on WP7 works (that means they’re also attempting to bake in a consolidated updating mechanism & trial API). However, Windows 8 will obviously allow “side-loading” of apps/programs with no restrictions, since enterprises will continue to need this, and for consumers who prefer the current methods. The company seems to be debating how to deploy it, i.e., as part of the client or Windows Live.
As for number 7 on the chassis list, I’m hearing conflicting reports on whether it is meant for the HTPC/TV/DVR class or the “booklet” class. Folks supporting the former say that the company is working on a custom OS for booklets, whereas those in the latter camp say that WMC is being phased out in favor of Zune (delivered as part of WLE) on PCs and will instead become part of the IEB division completely with links to MediaRoom & WinCE 7-based embedded extender/DVR/TV devices as new homes with a focus on Silverlight apps for third-parties.
And to dispel the myths once and for all: WMP is not going anywhere. WMP is to Zune what Windows Photo Viewer is to WLPG or Quicktime is to iTunes. It is a must for minimal media-playback capabilities in Windows as Microsoft will not bundle Zune for obvious regulatory reasons & also to support third-party media-players, dumb-phones etc.
