Windows 8–lots of little things, and one big one, make it great

This should be an interesting year for personal computing. The Intel Ultrabook concept will come into its own, Apple will make the Pro and the Air and the iPad  is even better, Android tablets will finally come into their own with Ice Cream Sandwich . . . and the thing that could change the whole game: Windows 8. I’ve been using it for a couple of months and I have to say now that I’ve adjusted my thinking to it (yes, that had to happen) I have a hard time going back to Windows 7 or to Android, or to anything else. Why?

1. All the little things, yes. Touch screen handling is silky smooth edge to edge. Performance is snappy everywhere (even compared to Windows 7, and remember: this is a BETA I’m using). The preview apps for photos, news, finance, weather and more are beautiful, functional and informative. The cross-everything search function is nice. Internet Explorer 10 is amazing: it’s beautiful and snappy and all that, and there are lots of little things like underscored spell check in web forms (good by again, Firefox), swiping for forward and back (just like Tony Stark, but not in 3D), and on and on. And I've just scratched the surface.
2. The big thing: it’s still Windows, and it runs desktops, laptops and tablets.
3. Reflect on #2 for a moment. Windows 8 is still Windows. All my stuff that works on Windows 7 also works on Windows 8 (mostly – it’s still a Beta). That’s most of most people’s stuff, even now.
4. OK, it’s still Windows and runs my stuff; so what? What: it’s got a split personality: Metro and Aero. Aero is what Windows 7 looks like. Metro looks like the picture above. Now, there are lots of very famous and popular bloggers who complain about this. Why do we need both? It’s ugly and inconsistent! But I love it! I, along with millions of other computer users, have been using computers and tablets for awhile now. The computer is where the “work” gets done, mostly, and the tablet is where the “fun” happens, mostly. Do you see it? Metro is where the tablety ‘fun’ happens: read, look at pictures, browse, look at news, use apps. Aero is where the computery ‘work’ happens: Outlook, Word, time recording, photo editing, and so on. If you run this on a convertible tablet like the ThinkPad x220t on which I’m typing this (in Live Writer, under Aero – it’s "work", after all), it’s like having two devices in one: a computer and a tablet. But it’s a tablet. And it’s a computer. And it’s all on one device. No compromises.
5. Reflect on #4 for a moment. It’s the ultimate “two devices in one” with almost no compromises (other than having to get used to it).

I read an article recently (can't recall where, so can't attribute) that mentioned the concept of people having a laptop, getting a tablet to replace it, trying that for awhile, and ending up carrying around both devices because the tablet just couldn't cut it.

See?

That’s all for now. This thing’s going to be big!

Windows 8 is coming!

Just a placeholder, a forecast, a prediction, a hope. Windows 8 is coming. Most people have heard that in one way or another or seen a picture, or something.

Windows 8, if done correctly, can change everything. We’ve worked with clients to give them access to much of their Windows “stuff” on smartphones and tablets in some way shape or form. It’s not straightforward, no matter what Microsoft, Apple, Egnyte, or anyone else says. Imagine if your smartphone or tablet actually ran Windows, and ran it well - if your stuff were just there, in largely the same way in largely the same place across your phone, tablet, laptop and desktop.

That would really be something. And Windows is really the only platform that could do it, given current market share numbers.

But we’re not talking about Windows as we all know it. We’re talking about the same Windows files and data and applications, but running in an entirely different way, on an entirely different OS.

We’ve been looking at Windows 8’s beta release for a couple of months and like all betas it’s not finished yet, but if Microsoft can pull this off, it has the potential to make using a phone, tablet, laptop and desktop a much more seamless experience than has been possible, or could be possible, with any other platform, ever. With the futures of Microsoft, Intel, AMD, Dell, Lenovo, HP, Nokia, the cellular carriers, and a thousand other companies that nobody’s ever heard of all tied up together in this, there certainly is potential for a circular firing squad. If, however, they can focus and really bring this off, it’ll be the most significant platform upgrade since Windows itself. And yes, I do know about MacOS. And yes, I’m guessing Apple has a few tricks up its sleeve too – MacOS 11 anyone? iOS 6? Maybe some convergence? A unified MacOS and iOS would be significant, since Apple still has a majority share of the tablet market, and a significant share of the smartphone market. But this would pale in comparison to what Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 have the potential to do, if done correctly.

The convergence of phone, tablet, laptop and desktop. Not to mention radio, television, and movies, is happening. Microsoft and Apple still control the computer market with 92% and 4% respectively (that’s 96% total; the rest is Linux and “other”), and while Android tops the smartphone market, and will probably continue to do so, Gartner and IDC have predicted that Windows Phone will be #2 within 3 years. And Windows 8 comes out this year, maybe along with Windows Phone 8, which will in some large part be based on Windows 8.

This all started just a couple of years ago, remember, and 2012 may not be the year that the earth changes rotation and we all go flying off into space, but Windows 8, Windows Phone 8 and maybe MacOS 11 and some sort of MacOS/iOS convergence, could be the earth-shattering occurrences the Mayans predicted!

This should be fun.

Just in time for Christmas!