Windows 8, a Repeat of Windows 7

[Ci7]

While with Windows 7 Microsoft did not need a repeat of Windows Vista, the same is not valid forWindows 8 and its predecessor. Essentially, the Redmond company needs Windows 8, the next major iteration of Windows to fall as close as possible to the Windows 7 tree. Windows 8 needs to be a repeat of Windows 7, at least in terms of market success, although Vista?s successor is delivering a performance that will be very hard to beat. Still, Microsoft?s Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer recently revealed that he believes the software giant will manage to take it to the next level, during the Microsoft Financial Analyst Meeting, at the end of July 2010.

One product ?I think is most important -- it is the most important -- from a financial perspective, and that's Windows. You know, this was an amazing, amazing year. In the sense that Windows is our flagship product, Windows and Windows' success is a tide that floats all boats, so to speak. Suffice to say, I didn't love everything about where we were in the market, say, two years ago. And yet today we launched Windows 7. It got exceptionally well-reviewed. We've got 94 percent customer satisfaction on the product, which is stunning. Sales of Windows 7 PCs have skyrocketed. We built the team that I think has a very strong capability now to repeat -- not easy -- but to repeat the kind of great work that delivered Windows 7 itself, which I think as an investor is an important capability for you to think about,? Ballmer said. (emphasis added)

Of course, Ballmer doesn?t mention Windows 8, per se. But it?s easy to infer what Microsoft?s CEO is referring to from the highlighted segment of text above. The software giant is hard at work building Windows 8 to replace Windows 7, a release which is reportedly planned for 2012, with a Beta possibly coming in mid-2011.

The team references made by Ballmer are extremely interesting. Back in early 2007, just as Windows Vista was launched, Jim Allchin, the head of the project, became Former Co-President, Platforms & Services Division. Microsoft brought in Steven Sinofsky from the Office group, to occupy the position of vice president of the Windows and Windows Live engineering group.

After Windows 7 was wrapped up, Sinofsky was promoted to President, Windows and Windows Live Division, while Bill Veghte, senior vice president for the Windows Business, (the other Windows 7 top dog left the company for Hewlett-Packard). It?s clear that Microsoft credited Sinofsky for the success of Windows 7, but there are additional members of the team that deserve praises, such as Julie Larson-Green, now Corporate Vice President, Windows Experience, and responsible for the look and feel of Windows 7, and future versions of Windows.

At just nine months since it became available at retail, Windows 7 sold over 175 million licenses worldwide, namely in excess of 7 copies of the OS per second. At the start of August 2010, Windows 7?s market share outgrew that of Windows Vista, leaving the platform the second most used OS in the world. Microsoft certainly has high standards with Windows 8.

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[TheElite]

I think that the period after Vista kicked them into gear.

They were extremely successful with Win7, hopefully they carry this on with Win8 with everything that they've learnt from Win7. They have got the ability to make extremely decent OS's, we've seen this with WinNT, 2000, XP and now Win7 (Vista was good as well in my opinion but was slated by many).

They can do it again.

[Growled Member]

8 is really going to have to be wonderful to get me to upgrade. I'm sort of out of the "got to have the latest and greatest just because" phase. I will need to see a definite reason why I need to upgrade.

[Brody McKee]

Interesting read and great find Ci7.

I think, personally, that Windows 7 set a great base product and that now Microsoft should focus their efforts on the user experience in Windows 8.

[LightShadow]

I just want it to be a change from 7 (Hopefully a new UI), new ways for programs to run etc, the features that have been in posts about it like the easy backup and restore. And for it to be a good value. The reason I got 7 was it was ?50. If it was around ?200 that I believe Vista used to value for, then I would have skipped it/Wait until I got another computer. But Windows 7 is a great OS for a great price. So it will be hard to get something better.

[SkyDX]

With how smooth 7 runs, 8 would need a super beautiful GUI to make me update :p

[redvamp128]

Suggestions of Trends-- one may assume that the following...(personal thoughts as to the direction they could take)

Windows 8 would be built on Windows 7 as far as a general base and user interface.

Already Microsoft has partnered with Twitter (something I read a while back) so may we look to it being more integrated to make easier the "tweets". {not that I use Twitter}

We would hope that Microsoft would finally allow us to change the Colors of the Orb to more match themes. (one thing I hated with XP was a blue theme with a Green Orb- only change was when you would use silver)

An expansion of the use of the Peek to include more programs. Such as Firefox each tab view. (though that one may end up being on Mozilla to gear their work to)

The ability for Windows to be able to go to the web to at least view office documents.

The backing up of files and preferences to be saved to the Sky Drive.

Further improvements to the Library use. To also include folders you frequent.

Smarter Jump List - For example if you move a file it would move the location there and also if you delete a file it would automatically remove it from the Jump List- (I find that some files I view or folders that I move the jump list still lists the old location and WMP will still load up just to tell me that it can't find the file.

The further implementation of some services being delayed to allow faster use of the desktop.

The use of virtualized device drivers to allow for faster recovery of known bad drivers to still allow them to run without them affecting the system.

Those are just my first thoughts about Windows 8 after seeing the changes between win3.11-(nt4.0)Win95-98-ME-2000-XP-Vista-7 .

Also they would firm up what their soft points are.

I don't think it will be a Repeat but more or less a refinement.

Some other thoughts based on what they could include- that is in Microsoft Research.

http://research.micr...&a=&pn=&pa=&pd=

Microsoft Image Composite Editor is an advanced panoramic image stitcher. Given a set of overlapping photographs of a scene shot from a single camera location, the application creates a high-resolution panorama that seamlessly combines the original images.

The Social Web Experience browser plug-in analyzes Web pages to identify key topics on the current page and match them with relevant conversations and other content from the user's social network. Matches are shown as in-line pop-ups.

That one they would probably more incorporate into the operating system since most users now are on Social networks.

Also I wish I could find it but I saw a web browser Microsoft showcased recently that would allow you to virtually see each page and arrange them and discard what is not important.- not an alternative for IE9 but more or less could be adapted for use to do local files since a good portion of users have large amounts of Songs-Images- and movies.

I just remembered it--

Microsoft Pivot- would be adapted for use in the operating system.

http://www.getpivot.com/

Here at Live Labs we’re all about experiments, and Pivot is our most ambitious to date. Pivot makes it easier to interact with massive amounts of data in ways that are powerful, informative, and fun. We tried to step back and design an interaction model that accommodates the complexity and scale of information rather than the traditional structure of the Web

Plus adding what is found here-

http://livelabs.com/

Just some thoughts.

[Auditor]

I am sure windows 8 will be some tweaks with UI and nothing else. I dont see any other functionality or feature which will be extraordinary.

[LightShadow]

UI is the biggest thing I really want, something close or similar to the Copenhagen concept or something slimlined like 7. But not nothing like Metro. Metro is fine for apps and mobile. For a whole OS... Just no.

But the features I have seen in posts...

Backup - 1 button press and it backup files, reinstalls windows and keeps stuff (Would be one of the revolutionary things)

App Store - Easy place to download apps, like on iOS but a full computer version.

Better Updates - So it does not restart after nearly all of them!

Customisation - More 3rd party theme support, like what can be done now like changing the whole theme and the start orb. Sometime's the flag orb can get a little boring. So now I'm on just the flag as my start button.

And More, that's the stuff we need.

[12ozMOUSE]

In terms of functionality I hope it will be similar to win7. I've been using win7 since the 7100 build though and I've loved it, so I personally hope that they wont change too much but will make it sleeker and maybe more easy on the eyes.

[kronik]

I think they should offer free cloud services and cloud based versions of win8 otherwise they might lose market share to google

[andrew_f]

I think they should offer free cloud services and cloud based versions of win8 otherwise they might lose market share to google

Cloud based versions? So clunky slow virtual machines?

And they already offer cloud services - many of which beat Google's offering.

I think for the UI it is best to look at IE9. IE's previously been an indicator of UI trends for Windows and IE9 uses more Aero and more Metro-inspired elements. I think that's where we'll be at Windows 8.

[kronik]

Cloud based versions? So clunky slow virtual machines?

please explain?

[Digitalx]

Imo, I don't think they should change anything too major... sure maybe minor improvements but there's a reason XP was as successful as it was which is due it's longevity and it being improved so much and I honestly think that's all Windows 7 needs for the next 4-5 years easily. There's no real need for something new yet. They've done it and if they wanna go strolling into Vista fiasco again, I guess by all means go for it.

[bjoswald]

I heard a rumor that Windows 8 will resurrect PC gaming, but I think it will be too little/too late. That said, Microsoft had better bring something revolutionary over Windows 7 to convince me to upgrade. I'd better not have to buy another whole new computer just to run it either.

[fix-this!]

With how smooth 7 runs, 8 would need a super beautiful GUI to make me update :p

same here, windows 7 is pretty amazing to me. if microsoft go with a metro type feel or zune UI for 8 then i will pass. ill use windows 7 for a few more years and if worse comes to worse ill go linux or apple. im HUGE into customization on my pc and mobile devices.

[andrew_f]

please explain?

It was a question rather than a statement really, I wasn't sure what you meant by cloud-based versions of Windows. Did you mean all of the data and applications are run on the cloud? If so then that just sounds like an OS that is simply an RDC into a virtual machine housed at Microsoft which would be slow and a bit clunky.

But I guess that's not what you meant?

[MythicaL]

I really hope MS implements better multi-monitor support with 8.

[iamawesomewicked]

I heard a rumor that Windows 8 will resurrect PC gaming.

PC gaming never died.

[Roxkis]

I'm honestly not looking forward to windows 8. I don't like the idea of part of my OS in the cloud. :shiftyninja:

[Ci7]

Imo, I don't think they should change anything too major... sure maybe minor improvements but there's a reason XP was as successful as it was which is due it's longevity and it being improved so much and I honestly think that's all Windows 7 needs for the next 4-5 years easily. There's no real need for something new yet. They've done it and if they wanna go strolling into Vista fiasco again, I guess by all means go for it.

oh please , we don't went stagnation again ala XP

I heard a rumor that Windows 8 will resurrect PC gaming, but I think it will be too little/too late. That said, Microsoft had better bring something revolutionary over Windows 7 to convince me to upgrade. I'd better not have to buy another whole new computer just to run it either.

PC gaming are alive and kicking.

any revolutionary windows release = higher PC requirement , more application breakage

the bare minimum would be dual core processor at any rate :p

[Detection]

Surely though, as OS's advance, so will the ability to create new, better ones, as the OS they are using to create them on, is itself better ?

Vista created using an XP machine ?

7 created using a Vista Machine

Windows 8 created using a 7 Machine ?

Is that how it works ?

[andrew_f]

Surely though, as OS's advance, so will the ability to create new, better ones, as the OS they are using to create them on, is itself better ?

Vista created using an XP machine ?

7 created using a Vista Machine

Windows 8 created using a 7 Machine ?

Is that how it works ?

They tend to build ontop of the other, yeah. I think Vista was built ontop of Server 2003 though.

Building on top of doesn't mean it's better in itself though; they may break things, remove things, add stuff nobody wants or make them slower or uglier.

[Digitalx]

oh please , we don't went stagnation again ala XP

Stagnation in what form ?

If you're implying windows rot that effected XP ... been fixed pretty much but that was prevented with common maintenance.

[Ci7]

Stagnation in what form ?

If you're implying windows rot that effected XP ... been fixed pretty much but that was prevented with common maintenance.

you got me wrong , i mean as tech

XP stayed too long for it own good.

in another word softwares are still way from perfect . rapid OS improvement > revolutionary release