3 ms·

Looking at the demo, I could not help but think Microsoft is really doing a phenomenal job here - even to the extent that their competitors have something to wo

Looking at the demo, I could not help but think Microsoft is really doing a phenomenal job here - even to the extent that their competitors have something to worry about Microsoft after a long time. a) Cross platform - A sizable number of modern apps for Windows are going to be Metro based and thus totally cross platform - ARM/x86_64. Now Android does this already but purely from Windows standpoint - this is a great way to start addressing real cross platform apps. The killer deal here is that people needing legacy x86 Windows apps are not going to miss out on the fun. b) Backwards compatibility - no explanation required. They continue to do great in that department. c) Very close hardware/software integration - Across vendors, SOCs and what not - they are really taking steps toward making hardware irrelevant from a user standpoint. If one wanted legacy apps and multiple monitors, they can still buy the Samsung Core i5 tablet with the USB and HDMI port without looking funny - it looks and works as sleek as your ARM tablet. d) Real usability improvements - Like for example Refresh and Reset your PC, Windows Update made very subtle, Task bar can just span across monitors or can be two or more independent task bars showing only the apps on its own monitor. The only unconvincing part of the demo was Windows Live - I wasn't sure how much traction that would gain. Great stuff.

dangrossman 15y ago
The cool part of the Windows Live integration, to me, happens when you share computers or tablets. When you hand off that tablet to your wife or your guest, and they log on with their Live ID, they have their e-mail, contacts, calendar, bookmarks, app settings in front of them as if they were using their own dedicated device. Yet when they hand it back and you log on with your own profile, it's all your stuff again. This is a big pain with current tablets and phones to me. When someone wants to borrow my devices, I'm handing out my personal e-mail and photos and files, and they're not easily able to access their things. A friend of mine wanted to check out my Android phone and I lost all my app icons and widgets because she wanted to try a different theme. And when I borrow my dad's tablet, I have no easy way to access my e-mail, since I don't use gmail or something else with a convenient webmail site.
- blinkingled 15y ago
  Excellent point - I somehow missed that part (probably my extreme prejudice against Hotmail set in :). That to me again falls under usability improvements and certainly if people exercise the sharing part often (arguable as these are personalized devices more than a PC ever was but on the other hand given the PC roots it is possible people will like it) Windows Live might see more traction.
pbz 15y ago
Also the Skydrive integration. It's like moving the registry to the cloud. Of course it'll take a while before apps would use that feature, but imagine not having to worry about backing up settings or moving from one machine to another. I'm usually frustrated with their decisions, but after seeing the keynote, for the first time in a while I got the hint that maybe, just maybe, they woke up -- or rather forced to. The amount of changes they made, at least from this side, looks impressive.

dangrossman 15y ago

The cool part of the Windows Live integration, to me, happens when you share computers or tablets. When you hand off that tablet to your wife or your guest, and they log on with their Live ID, they have their e-mail, contacts, calendar, bookmarks, app settings in front of them as if they were using their own dedicated device. Yet when they hand it back and you log on with your own profile, it's all your stuff again. This is a big pain with current tablets and phones to me. When someone wants to borrow my devices, I'm handing out my personal e-mail and photos and files, and they're not easily able to access their things. A friend of mine wanted to check out my Android phone and I lost all my app icons and widgets because she wanted to try a different theme. And when I borrow my dad's tablet, I have no easy way to access my e-mail, since I don't use gmail or something else with a convenient webmail site.

blinkingled 15y ago
Excellent point - I somehow missed that part (probably my extreme prejudice against Hotmail set in :). That to me again falls under usability improvements and certainly if people exercise the sharing part often (arguable as these are personalized devices more than a PC ever was but on the other hand given the PC roots it is possible people will like it) Windows Live might see more traction.

pbz 15y ago

Also the Skydrive integration. It's like moving the registry to the cloud. Of course it'll take a while before apps would use that feature, but imagine not having to worry about backing up settings or moving from one machine to another. I'm usually frustrated with their decisions, but after seeing the keynote, for the first time in a while I got the hint that maybe, just maybe, they woke up -- or rather forced to. The amount of changes they made, at least from this side, looks impressive.