computerwoche.de

Archiv

Coming Attractions: Windows 8

25.05.2012
Let's get a couple of things straight right off the bat. First, it's absurd to take the opinion of an obvious Apple partisan like me about Windows 8. I've been using the Mac for more than 20 years, so it's going to take a -level time-travelling reboot to get me really excited about the next version of Microsoft's operating system. Second, I can't really review Windows 8. No one can. Even with a preview release set to arrive early next month, Windows 8 isn't due in its final form for months. Who knows? Maybe, like a movie, Microsoft will spice it up with a car chase or a happy ending.

Or a nude scene. Just thinking out loud.

At the same time, while my preference for Macs is documented (please refer to the , Volume XXVI, Issue 8), I've also used Windows professionally since version Windows 3.1, which is 160 years in desktop operating system lives. This was back when we had to stoke our steam-powered PCs with coal in the morning to boot them up. We all have black lung.

As Microsoft gets set to ship a new preview release of Windows 8 in early June, this is the perfect time to hear the only perspective on Redmond's latest operating system that really matters: that of a devout Apple fan. Here are a few thoughts on the latest rough beast to shuffle toward us from Redmond:

is my favorite version of Windows ever... because it's the least like traditional Windows.

Like a number of Apple fans, I think Metro--Microsoft's tile interface that originated on Windows Phone 7 and is now the default in Windows 8--is quite nice. And you know the primary reason we think that, right? Because it's a complete departure from Windows as we used to know it.