Windows 8: facts, rumours and speculation

[AWS]

Only Microsoft knows how the next version of its Windows operating system will look and what it will be called, but big changes could be ahead for the OS observers refer to as "Windows 8."

 

At this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Microsoft announced that Windows 8 will support system-on-a-chip architectures using ARM processors. Unlike the x86 architecture that today's Windows laptops and desktops work with, ARM-based chips tend to run such low-power devices as tablets and smartphones.

 

In his CES keynote speech, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said, "This announcement is really all about enabling a new class of hardware, and new silicon partners for Windows, to bring the widest possible range of form factors to the market."

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In other words, Windows won't be just for laptops and desktops anymore.

 

Actual Facts

 

Microsoft's ARM announcement represents the firm's only officially released factual detail about Windows 8. Consistent with it, the company named Nvidia, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments as silicon partners, so Windows devices built upon their three low-power platforms are likely.

 

At an architectural summit in London last year, Microsoft encouraged the idea of virtualizing Windows more heavily, possibly storing apps, data, Windows settings, and parts of the OS itself in the cloud.

 

Full article: itbusiness.ca