Thursday, April 7, 2011

Windows 8 : Next gen UI revealed

Screenshots of pre-beta release of windows 8 reveal that Microsoft is giving upper hand to its ribbon interface introduced with Office 2007 over traditional pull-down menus and toolbars. As seen in the post, ribbon interface has already reached Windows Explorer.

We have already seen the expansion of its usage in paint and wordpad in Windows 7 and now its getting much wider though its potential appearance in Explorer may be controversial within Microsoft itself as the ribbon interface in the pre-beta Windows 8 is only half-finished and rather "unattractive".

A new welcome screen was also revealed in Windows 8, which is based on the lock screen in Windows Phone 7. Displaying the date and time and offering a changeable background image, the new screen reportedly will also feature audio controls so people can play and adjust their music even when the screen is locked. It shows that Microsoft is looking forward to splash a bit of the Windows Phone 7 Metro UI look and feel onto the next generation of Windows.

Of course, Windows 8 is still at a very early stage in development, so its look, feel, and features are likely to be debated and tweaked within Microsoft before the new OS finally reaches consumers. Microsoft has been generally mum about Windows 8 and hasn't give any clues as to a launch date. However, a blog post on the company's Dutch Web site may have spilled a few beans last October when it stated that Windows 8 was about two years away, putting its release toward the end of 2012.

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