Windows 8: Set to be Microsoft's iSaviour?

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Sunday, 18 September 2011 16:39

Opinion and Analysis

Oh father, who art in Heaven - isn't Jobs supposed to be thy name? Through the Gates a new OS comes, but whose will will be done, on earth and in heaven?

Although Microsoft gave the world a sub-5 minute sneak peek at the WinPhone 7 and Windows Media Centre-inspired new Windows 8 a few months ago, Microsoft's Build conference gave a longer, slightly more revealing and slightly deeper look in the Day 1 keynote, including a publicly available, activation-free developer Win 8 build to download for anyone who wants to try it.

While this has drawn criticism from those who point to Apple's methods of absolute silence and the utmost secrecy (save a few iPhone bar room losses), Microsoft's methods are obviously far more open, inclusive and accepting of input than Apple's methods.

If Windows 8 proves to be even at least as successful as Windows 7, with hundreds of millions of sales, then Microsoft's methods will have been just as validated as those of Apple's. There isn't a single approach that works, after all, we live in a world of multiple everything, including multiple approaches to success.

Apple tried this previously with the Mac by refusing to licence the OS after having been badly burned by Apple II clones, and while it built Apple a fanatically loyal cult-following, the company almost died, saved only by one of its founders, as Microsoft moved its OS to the masses and turned itself into a massive multi-billion-dollar company that has deep enough pockets and the patience needed to see things through.

Of course, Steve Jobs refined his ways and is currently on top with a seriously competitive edge, but humans are a creative bunch, and will seek to emulate what others have achieved - it's natural human behaviour - and even try to outdo the originator. After all, even Steve Jobs knows about "borrowing" great ideas from others and has said so himself.

While Apple has shown an incredible patience in getting its products out and minimising leaks as much as possible, Microsoft has learned from some of that behaviour, while being as open as possible about the current state of Windows 8 development. Apple has its Developer events too, but while Microsoft's latest and greatest is not ready, it has had to learn patience.

That has seen Microsoft eschew any kind of quick launch of Windows 8 or a Windows Phone 7 tablet because it is simply and obviously not ready, and in the case of a Win Phone 7 tablet, just not as powerful or as impressive as the Windows 8 experience shown thus far.

Microsoft has obviously needed to see the absolutely wild popularity of the iPad and the iPad 2 seriously challenge the need for a Windows laptop or computer before it could truly press the reset button and rethink, as much as possible, the way the company does just about everything.

While an expected late 2012 release of Windows 8 shows just how late Microsoft is to the full multi-touch OS party, despite having released its giant-iPhone-esque Surface computer at almost the exact same time Apple announced the first iPhone in 2007.

Fast forward to 2011 and beyond, and the thin-and-light notebooks Intel was talking about back around 2007 have appeared too, as ultrabooks, although well beaten to the punch by Apple's MacBook Airs.

By the time 2012 arrives, Intel will have accelerated its Atom and Core i-series of ultra-low-voltage processors, too, boosting speeds and performance while lowering power consumption even more than is possible today in 2011, so a 2012 date for RTM and GA (release to manufacturing, general availability) would mean that new machines could be on sale, in stores, approximately 12 months from right now - late September 2011.

Who knows how battery technologies and chemistries will evolve over the next few months, too, delivering ever more minutes (or preferably hours) of power? Things can change fast in today's world, and while breakthroughs can take their time to appear at retail, the need for more mobile power is hardly diminishing.

Microsoft has to dramatically polish up Windows 8 performance before then, with manufacturers and chipmakers to do their bit before then too, but given Windows 8's ability to run all Windows 7 software, and given the wide breadth of machines, laptops, tablets and more that were on display at Microsoft's Build conference, it's obvious that the Windows 8 onslaught is coming, and by sheer weight of numbers and Microsoft's existing Windows 7 user-base, Windows 8 is gonna rock - and prove to be the real challenger that Apple's been looking for.

Please read on for the potential fate of Windows 8!