The first day of the Microsoft Build conference was quite informative for anyone looking for a glimpse into the working and aesthetics of Windows 8. Most of the speaking was done by Jensen Harris and the sessions were mostly “Big Picture” in nature. Three such sessions were held and they started off with an outline of the design used in Windows 8 and moved on to explanation of using Visual Studio and other platforms to build applications for Windows 8. Several examples were used to show the versatility of the developer’s tools which come with the OS; for the benefit of existing application developers and to draw new ones to the platform.
The main design of Windows 8 is the Metro style as seen before in Windows Phone and according to the company, to app developers to make Metro style applications or regular win32 ones. In addition, the operating system aims to be smoothly operational without any hiccups and speed is one of the main issues which have been addressed in Windows 8. Microsoft also aims to make contractual deals to ensure that several popular and important applications will be ready for release by the time the OS enters the RC stage. Windows 8 aims to be a platform that links cloud computing and basic principles of Windows to provide dynamic and creative applications. As far as the design goes, Microsoft is going for one that works as well with touch as it does with a keyboard and mouse.
Several demonstrations at the conference by Mr. Harris were in place and one of them was where a Windows application was transformed into one for the Metro UI by removing space, moving around commands and improving the display. The final step was to align everything on a grid which is the underlying aspect of the whole operating system. Improved resolution and hardware is also going to be a hallmark of Win8 devices and more touch interfaces are going to be developed to cater to the platform. Cloud computing and internet connectivity have also been touted as being critical to the functioning of Windows 8.
A developer version of Windows 8 has been released to give an insight into the working of the operating system that will provide potential application developers a testing platform. In addition, it satisfies the curiosity of technology enthusiasts who can’t wait to get their hands on Windows 8!
