Lookin’ good, Microsoft. Windows 8 is shaping up to be very touchy-feely, as Microsoft’s first official video demo shows. There’s a whole lot of Windows Phone 7 influence here, which makes it look nothing like previous versions of Windows built for PCs.
That being said, Microsoft’s press release states:
“Although the new user interface is designed and optimized for touch, it works equally well with a mouse and keyboard. Our approach means no compromises — you get to use whatever kind of device you prefer, with peripherals you choose, to run the apps you love. This is sure to inspire a new generation of hardware and software development, improving the experience for PC users around the world.”
And as Microsoft’s Jensen Harris says in the above video, “It’s gonna run on laptops, it’s gonna run on desktops, it’s gonna run on PCs with a mouse and keyboard, it’s gonna run on touch slates, it’s gonna run on everything.”
So far so good, but the proof is in the pudding. We won’t see consumer versions of Windows 8 this year, as Microsoft’s Steven Sinofsky revealed at the All Things D conference, but Microsoft says it’s “working very hard to get the product ready for early testing,” which means we’ll likely have plenty of time to play with it before it’s available in stores.