Microsoft unveils Windows 8

We're live from Microsoft Windows president Steven Sinofsky's keynote at D9, and there's something rather exciting on stage -- a pair of experimental Windows 8 dev boards running an OS that looks very much like Windows Phone 7's Metro UI. All Things D actually sat down with the man earlier today and got a sneak peek at what to expect starting with the live tiled screen you see above -- and yes, like Windows Phone 7, this OS is designed for touch.

There'll be two kinds of applications for Windows 8, one that runs in a traditional desktop, and the other pseudo-mobile apps based on HTML5 and Javascript, but both environments -- rather, the entire OS -- have been designed from the ground up for touchscreen use. Keyboard and mouse will still be options for both sets of programs, but there are multiple virtual sets of keys for different form factors, including a split keyboard for vertical slate use. Multitasking is simply a matter of swiping running apps into the center of the screen, and you can pull windows partway to "snap" them in place alongside other windows -- even mixing and matching traditional desktop programs with web apps simultaneously (like Twitter alongside your spreadsheet). There's a new version of Internet Explorer 10 (which runs Silverlight) and an app store built into the touchscreen interface, along with integrated services like Office 365. Microsoft says the new OS will run on laptops, tablets and desktops when it appears -- whenever that might be.

All Things D didn't have any details on when we'll get pricing or availability, but we're looking at some Intel Atom-based demo units on stage right now, and Microsoft says it will have ARM designs (the OS will support NVIDIA, TI and Qualcomm) viewable on the Computex show floor, and more will be revealed at the Build Windows developer conference in September. We should note that "Windows 8" is just a codename for what we're seeing here -- "we'll figure out the real name in due time," Sinofsky told the crowd -- but we don't see much harm in calling it Windows 8 for now.

Windows 8 D9 demo

All Things D

Samsung Galaxy Tab 10.1 will ship with Android 3.1 on board, said to be 'a few days away'

Do you like Android 3.1? Do you like tablets slimmer than the iPad 2? You might want to talk to Samsung in that case, because the Galaxy creator has put those two features together on its Galaxy Tab 10.1 product page and has compounded the excitement with a tweet saying the tablet is mere days away. Now, there's a bit of conflicting information here, because Samsung's tweet actually promises Android 3.0, but the Tab 10.1 page clearly lists the harder, better, faster, stronger Android version as the one that comes with the slate. Additionally, our conversations with Samsung at Google I/O earlier this month indicated that the June 8th launch date that we've been taking as gospel until recently is a little shakier now, with a slight delay possibly being caused by the desire to install the latest Honeycomb on board. So maybe the tweet's accurate in saying the Galaxy Tab 10.1 is coming in just a few days, it just depends on your definition of "few."

Update: Another tweet from Samsung's US account has reaffirmed that Android 3.1 will be the OS.

thegadgets.net

Samsung, @SamsungMobileUS (Twitter)

Red Flag Software, others announce MeeGo-based operating systems

We're still waiting for a peek at some new hardware, but today's MeeGo Conference in San Francisco has now produced an announcement of another sort. Four companies -- including Red Flag Software, Linpus, 4tiitoo AG, and China Standard Software Company -- have announced that they're each planning to incorporate MeeGo 1.2 into their new MeeGo-based operating systems. All four will be geared towards tablets and feature a "MeeGo-based user interface," while the ones from Red Flag and Linpus will also apparently support netbooks. Head on past the break for Red Flag's press release, and look for its OS to make an appearance at Computex in just over a week's time.

Intel

Windows Phone 7.1 is the likely name for Mango OS update

Microsoft's proper preview event for the next big release of Windows Phone may be mere hours away, but there's still time for a bit of good old fashioned web sleuthing before then. Latest on our radar is this Microsoft Developer Network page listing out all the APIs in Silverlight for Windows Phone 7.1. That's right, your eyes do not deceive you, there's a whole extra decimal added to the OS number, ostensibly signifying the move to the Mango update we're all so hungry for. We'd previously heard the moniker of Windows Phone 7.5 bandied about, but that was based on supposition more than anything else, and a .1 upgrade makes sense in light of the curent 7.0.7 version number. Fuller details will be forthcoming later on today, but for now, pencil in the number 7.1 alongside the dream specs of your next Windows Phone.

Mobiletechworld

MSDN

Microsoft rebuts Intel's claims about Windows 8, calls them 'factually inaccurate'

Bad Intel! Microsoft has issued a strongly worded response to comments this week from Intel SVP Renee James describing the future of Windows 8 on ARM as fragmented and backwards-incompatible. Those statements, says Microsoft, were "factually inaccurate and unfortunately misleading," though we're left without clarification as to what specifically was untrue. James claimed that legacy x86 programs won't be running on the ARM architecture, requiring a re-write for developers and probably a re-purchase for users. She also went on to suggest that each of the four hardware suppliers for Windows 8 systems-on-chip will have a different code stack, incompatible with the rest, which sounds like a far worse allegation to us. Now the issue is to try and figure out which of those two big accusations Microsoft has taken offense to. The Redmond team had nothing more to say on the matter, offering only a reminder that Windows 8 is still at the tech demo stage and there's still a long way to go.

SlashGear

BusinessInsider

Chrome alone

About a year after the debut of the first Android handset, Switched On discussed the threat that Chrome OS posed to Android. We'll briefly reprise it here: Like chief rivals Apple and Microsoft, Google has two operating systems trying to bridge the rift between consumer electronics and traditional computing, but Chrome is different than Mac OS and Windows in an exceptionally important way.

Rather than trying to refine the traditional software experience (as Apple has done with the Mac App Store and other iOS-inspired developments in the queue) or move that experience forward to tablets (as Microsoft is doing with Windows), Chrome OS is not looking to carry forward any legacy beyond the browser.

Unlike with Mac OS vs. iOS or Windows vs. Windows Phone, the battle isn't over which apps make sense, but rather the irreconcilable difference around whether apps to begin with. This makes Google's suggestion that the two operating systems might merge at some point less credible, and sent a mixed message to developers about whether to focus their efforts on apps or the web. At Google I/O 2011, however, the company clarified its position.

At Moscone Center in San Francisco, Google celebrated the duality of its operating systems, but further explained that each targeted particular devices. Whereas it was once said that Chrome might be an option for tablets and Google TV, Android has fully claimed that slot with Honeycomb, whose apps will appear on televisions. Furthermore, Android will venture forth into categories that Google hasn't tackled before, such as Project Tungsten, its media streaming/home automation platform.

Meanwhile, nearly everything beyond Android's direct grasp will be have the option of communicating with it directly via the Android Open Accessory Platform and indirectly via Android @ Home. Where does that leave Google's second OS? Chrome has been relegated to notebooks -- Chromebooks, specifically -- with the team offering up the silver lining that the laptop is still where most people do most of their Web browsing.

Chrome will play defense and try to carve out a niche, by reminding us of the liabilities of the app environments on Mac and PC.

Many have suggested that Chrome is primarily of interest to managed, security-minded corporate or educational environments, but Chrome's refocus has other implications. The app paradigm will carry forward into the next generation of nimble devices where Android has big numbers (although has room to improve) and expansion to new platforms entirely. Chrome, on the other hand, will play defense, trying to carve out a niche against one Goliath (Mac OS) and that Goliath's even bigger rival (Windows) by reminding us of the liabilities of the PC app environment. The Chromebook emerges as less of a platform warrior, and more of a complement device. To borrow Steve Jobs' characterization of Apple TV, here the Chromebook becomes a "hobby."

However, while Chrome OS has now been set aside for notebooks (and a nettop), there doesn't seem to be anything keeping Android at bay in the very same space -- devices such as the Eee Pad Slider and USB host support demonstrate that Android itself could function in a similar role to Chrome OS. If Android can make significant headway – or at least significantly more headway than Chrome – on the classic clamshell, then this may indeed bring about the ultimate merging of the two operating systems. The result would probably look a lot more like Android, with its flourishing app library, than the sparse Chrome OS, but an Android with an even faster and more powerful desktop-class browser