Don't let demos of Windows 8's new touchscreen interface scare you -- you'll be able to revert back to a UI that looks and works much like Windows 7's
Windows 7
Admit it. You're getting used to Windows 7 -- if not the features, at least the inevitability of it -- and the last thing you want to think about is moving your organization to Windows 8.Well, I have some good news and some bad news.The bad news is that Win8 has a completely revamped touch-friendly phonelike live tile interface that you're going to have to support.The good news is that you can (and probably will) fall back on a Windows 7-clone desktop that looks and acts a lot like the Win7 you've come to know and love.If you haven't yet seen Julie Larson-Green's demo at the All Things Digital's D9 conference -- the one with Steve Sinofsky adroitly playing straight man -- hop over to the official AllThingsD site and take a gander. Wallow in the eye candy, if you can call it that.Before you hit the roof or run screaming out of the room, keep a few things in mind.First and foremost: It's a demo. The final product will look different from what you see here. The sequences Larson-Green showed so adeptly have been scripted and run a hundred million times, to make sure they don't crash the system. Windows 8 isn't anywhere near as fully baked as the demo would have you believe. Interface design specs have been locked down for ages, but some of it will change before you and I see a working version of Windows 8.Second, the focus is on generating buzz for the new operating system. You're seeing the sizzle, not the steak, and it's well-tread sizzle. If Larson-Green had popped up Word and started writing a letter to Mom, we all would've started snoring. So if your immediate reaction is, "I don't need to slide and snap a video of a parasailer next to the local weather," realize that Microsoft's trying very, very hard to be hip.
Admit it. You're getting used to Windows 7 -- if not the features, at least the inevitability of it -- and the last thing you want to think about is moving your organization to Windows 8.
Well, I have some good news and some bad news.
The bad news is that Win8 has a completely revamped touch-friendly phonelike live tile interface that you're going to have to support.
The good news is that you can (and probably will) fall back on a Windows 7-clone desktop that looks and acts a lot like the Win7 you've come to know and love.
If you haven't yet seen Julie Larson-Green's demo at the All Things Digital's D9 conference -- the one with Steve Sinofsky adroitly playing straight man -- hop over to the official AllThingsD site and take a gander. Wallow in the eye candy, if you can call it that.
Before you hit the roof or run screaming out of the room, keep a few things in mind.
First and foremost: It's a demo. The final product will look different from what you see here. The sequences Larson-Green showed so adeptly have been scripted and run a hundred million times, to make sure they don't crash the system. Windows 8 isn't anywhere near as fully baked as the demo would have you believe. Interface design specs have been locked down for ages, but some of it will change before you and I see a working version of Windows 8.
Second, the focus is on generating buzz for the new operating system. You're seeing the sizzle, not the steak, and it's well-tread sizzle. If Larson-Green had popped up Word and started writing a letter to Mom, we all would've started snoring. So if your immediate reaction is, "I don't need to slide and snap a video of a parasailer next to the local weather," realize that Microsoft's trying very, very hard to be hip.
No comments:
Post a Comment