News

Windows 8 coming in 2012
Posted: 25.05.2011 07:34 by JonahFalcon Comments: 40
Microsoft has announced that the next OS, Windows 8, will be arriving in 2012, according to Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer.

The new operating system will be optimized for PCs, tablets and “a variety of different form factors,” one of which it can be assumed will be the Windows Phone.

Despite Microsoft claiming no new name has been selected for the next Windows OS, Ballmer used the sobriquet "WIndows 8" in his speech.

“Windows 7 PCs will sell over 350 million units this year. We've done a lot in Windows 7 to improve customer satisfaction. We have a brand new user interface. We've added touch, and ink, and speech," stated Ballmer, "And yet, as we look forward to the next generation of Windows systems, which will come out next year, there's a whole lot more coming. As we progress through the year, you ought to expect to hear a lot about Windows 8. Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors.”

What would you add to improve the Windows experience?

Comments

By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on May 25, 2011
herodotus
I don't know what I would add as I've only just started using Win 7, but I'll bet games support for Win 8 will be a little time in coming, as it was for 7.
Coming out as quickly as it is I have to wonder if Win 8 will be another Vista.
By FoolWolf (SI Elite) on May 25, 2011
FoolWolf
I think that Win 8 will mostly be their push to have a go at the tablet market and not necessarily something for desktop users to bother with.
By Eversor (SI Elite) on May 25, 2011
Eversor
This is good news. The next computer I get will have Windows 8.
By VHugoSama (SI Core) on May 25, 2011
VHugoSama
Waiting for 9!
By Eversor (SI Elite) on May 25, 2011
Eversor
Too long for me.
By bosnian_dragon (SI Core) on May 25, 2011
bosnian_dragon
Windows7 serves me perfectly for now. No need to rush for a new OS so soon! I just got Win7 like 5-6 months ago! :)
By Knave (SI Core) on May 25, 2011
Knave
Yeah, just upgraded to 7 on my lap top, so no rush for me really!
By neilmike (SI Core) on May 25, 2011
neilmike
oh i wonder what this might bring!!
By JonahFalcon (SI Elite) on May 25, 2011
JonahFalcon
I want better backwards compatibility with Win95 and Win 3.1.
By Odynee (SI Veteran Member) on May 25, 2011
Odynee
sounds interesting, we'll see.
By PowerJack (SI Elite) on May 26, 2011
PowerJack
waiting for 10
By chiefone (SI Veteran Member) on May 26, 2011
chiefone
I will pick this up right before I graduate for $30 at my school.
By K3Spice (SI Core) on May 26, 2011
K3Spice
I would like something that shuts up MAC OS users... Ugh, I hate the MAC Vs. PC war between people... They always debate over OS but thats not the true difference. The true difference is I can customize my PC and cannot with a MAC... You can use whatever OS you want on a mac and a PC...
By Kres (SI Elite) on May 26, 2011
Kres
I feel old. I've seen so many Windows versions...
By FoolWolf (SI Elite) on May 26, 2011
FoolWolf
@ k3Spice - you will never be able to shut Mac users up... Let them talk - I waste my breath on something else then talking about mac's or not. I prefer PC and Windows because I can usually do as I want - not as Steve jobs tells me to do it - and I don't want to use iTunes - nor windows media player for music.

Windows 8 should cut down on many unnecessary features - and make a clean and lean OS with only the essentials for gaming, surfing and working (file handling) to make the thing speedy and easy to patch and write programs for and then just point you to different alternatives for programs to use... IMHO
By paelleon (SI Veteran Member) on May 26, 2011
paelleon
If all goes as usual, this Win8 will be a useless piece of crap. I think that Windows versions follows a bad-good trend.
Win95: good
Win98: bad
Win98SE: good
Win ME: orrible
Win 2000/XP (come on, it's the same OS!): good
Win Vista: bad
Win 7: good

However the best was Win3.1!!!! ;-)
By FoolWolf (SI Elite) on May 26, 2011
FoolWolf
LOL, 3.1 eh...? Why don't you go counting in DOS in there as well.
I think that Win 8 may change the tune a bit to your otherwise excellent list - win 8 seems to be something different then the usual windows OS's - this seems o be more like Win7 with more things for portables, tablets and cellphones...
By PowerJack (SI Elite) on May 26, 2011
PowerJack
So its gonna be the same as 2000/XP
By Montai (SI Veteran Newbie) on May 26, 2011
Montai
imho i think windows X will be winner xD
By JonahFalcon (SI Elite) on May 26, 2011
JonahFalcon
Win8 will probably be Win7.5 - it's more for the handheld devices than for PC.
By PowerJack (SI Elite) on May 26, 2011
PowerJack
Still running XP.
By Eversor (SI Elite) on May 26, 2011
Eversor
I am too on my main computer. I have Windows 7 Home on my laptop.
By K3Spice (SI Core) on May 26, 2011
K3Spice
Good idea foolwolf. They should cut down on all the unnecessary features... or at least have a "clean OS" option.
By FoolWolf (SI Elite) on May 27, 2011
FoolWolf
Yeah, they were almost there on the Win 7 - with the home editions, expert, blah blah blah - but they missed out on some of the important part - if you area gamer - you will need a strong networking and behind the hood engine and ... DirectX support. The cheapest didn't offer that... Lame!
By Eversor (SI Elite) on May 27, 2011
Eversor
On some news post here a long time ago, it said about Win 8 that it would be alot better for playing games.

@Herodotus. Time has shown with Microsoft that every other OS is a good one. Take Windows XP for example, one of the best OSs that have been made so far. Then there's Vista, awful OS. So yeah, 8 will probably be like Vista.
By bosnian_dragon (SI Core) on May 27, 2011
bosnian_dragon
Well, I guess that Micro$oft thinks that most people use PCs for their "work" but not for gaming. I found a few tweaks online on how to turn off unnecessary processes and services for good so that your CPU stays focused on active processes like gaming :D but in the end, it's all pointless if the core of the OS is designed differently. I think that new Windows should include MAJOR overhaul of unnecessary services and offer better Aero optimization for low-end computers.
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on May 28, 2011
herodotus
For business apps, I choose Linux over Windows or Mac any day of the week.
Still interested to know for a fact what the FBI were doing being involved in the development of Windows 8 (at least until the Botnet crackdown last year). Perhaps they and Microsoft have installed a 'backdoor' or surveilence App allowing the FBI to monitor home PC's...or am I just paranoid because a satellite is watching me? Hmmmmm.....
By Eversor (SI Elite) on May 28, 2011
Eversor
You ain't paranoid. The government will always try to find ways to monitor it's civilians.
By bosnian_dragon (SI Core) on May 28, 2011
bosnian_dragon
You are a potential threat to your government. Governments don't work for people, they exploit people and they consume their wealth in order to give large corporations more profit. That's the point of neo-capitalism. But we won't start another politics thread here, I'm just saying that the only way to be totally out of their monitoring is to live in forest and play with wolves and bears instead of playing with your pals on MP servers. I just hope that the recent G8 summit (where they were debating the "future of Internet") won't bring us some drastic measures which will include more control over ISPs and over independent servers.
By PowerJack (SI Elite) on May 28, 2011
PowerJack
Or you could just blow them all up to the moon.
By FoolWolf (SI Elite) on May 28, 2011
FoolWolf
...or you become something like Anonymous - a group that thrives and excels at the governments and corporations shortcomings.
By unsilviu (SI Core) on May 28, 2011
unsilviu
Sure hope they don't actually call it Windows 8, it would get old. That said, it does seem like the tablet and PC in one basket windows, this might be the first Windows in a long time I don't try out.
By K3Spice (SI Core) on May 28, 2011
K3Spice
If they are only improving on those few things mentioned might not get it... Although I will definitely try it...
By raw_wog33 (SI Member) on May 29, 2011
raw_wog33
Its worth a try upgrading my PC to Win8, but WinXP was the best seller.
By FoolWolf (SI Elite) on May 29, 2011
FoolWolf
I'm not sure that Win8 will be that much benefit or even recommended for a stationary computer. To me it seems they are trying to get into the net-book, portable and cellphone segment.But then again - they have been making the same old claims as with GFWL - an OS that will give a huge boast for gaming (read((if trendy)) - crappier versions, on-line stupidity and social interaction).In the worst nightmares - it is an OS with not media player and internet explorer built into the core but GFWL!
By Eversor (SI Elite) on May 29, 2011
Eversor
@ Bosnian_Dragon. You know that every time in America when a person uses a firearm to unlawfully shoot someone else, (as in the case of the 2011 Tucson Arizona Shooting) it gives anti-gun advocates more reason to have guns banned. The government wants guns gone, would have them gone or at least highly restricted if it weren't for the Second Amendment.
By bosnian_dragon (SI Core) on May 29, 2011
bosnian_dragon
I don't live in the USA, but I follow the developments in your country very closely. I'm not spying :D lol, I'm just interested what's gonna happen since the whole world is connected now, each country has it's value in the global market and if only one country is destabilized, whole world is suffering one way or another. USA is one of the central powers that run the whole show, and if USA gets destabilized, I believe that the whole world would turn chaotic, especially the Middle East (as if it wasn't chaotic enough already).
The recent G8 summit clearly shows that the most powerful governments certainly want to limit population in many ways, including the freedom on Internet, and that could lead to a greater destabilization in all countries. I don't think that people would sit and watch how someone takes away their freedom of speech just like that.

For example, if some of you know about Charlie Veitch, the guy who spoke loudly with his megaphone on the streets of UK, he was arrested prior to the Royal Wedding in UK, just because he was "a potential security threat" even if he never commited any crime or anything similar. The only thing he did was speaking out loud whatever he thought was wrong with the government, and he was imprisoned just because he was speaking the truth. If we continue to ignore the fact that govs are trying to limit our freedom, I'm afraid it will be too late to stand up later when the laws get passed in the parliaments.
By unsilviu (SI Core) on May 29, 2011
unsilviu
whoah whoah whoah. Bit off-topic, don't you think? That said, the time to stand up can be anytime. The internet is Pandora's box. Once you give people that kind of freedom, it will be impossible to take it back. The arab world's "twitter revolution" is testament to that.
By bosnian_dragon (SI Core) on May 29, 2011
bosnian_dragon
:D It is a bit off-topic, but in the other hand, if they include FBI in the development of the next Windows, I think that we can't ignore the fact that government is putting their nose in our privacy a little bit too much :D So, I don't see my post as a total off-topic, since Win8 is about to be an operative system with a certain political background.
By FoolWolf (SI Elite) on May 30, 2011
FoolWolf
They are already sniffing the net, the telephones, the satellites - net traffic etc. Many programs have a back-door (encryption programs) that can be utilized by law enforcement. Win 8 wouldn't be the first.