A new generation of Windows is coming: What do we expect?

Computer Store News: Microsoft has issued an invitation to the media to hold a new Windows conference in San Francisco on September 30th. According to the US "Wall Street Journal" report, the launch time is scheduled to be at 1 pm EST (1 am Beijing time on October 1). At the press conference, Microsoft will detail the next major release of Windows. Joe Belfiore and Terry Myerson, vice president of Microsoft's operating system division, will host the conference.

It is reported that Microsoft plans to release a Windows 9 "Technology Preview" version after its launch, codename "Threshold", mainly for business users. Recently, some people call the name of the next-generation operating system should be Windows TH, or simply call Windows directly. Although not yet released, the name of Windows 9 seems to be more mainstream.

Interface design: screen size and touch are based on

Obviously, Windows 8 expresses Microsoft's eager anticipation for the transformation of the mobile Internet. In order to cater to mobile device users, Windows 8 has undergone radical reforms in interface design, adding Modern UI tiles, and the results annoyed the "mouse and keyboard" users. The two-pronged system makes it a very tangled product, on the one hand, it wants to cater to mobile users, and on the other hand, it does not want to lose desktop office capabilities, especially for enterprise users. However, the simple patchwork makes mobile users feel very complicated and makes PC users feel puzzled. However, Microsoft's original intention of integrating mobile and PC is not wrong. The future direction of mobile office is also in line with the trend of the times.

Therefore, it is expected that the new generation of Windows will be more perfect while drawing on the lessons of the previous generation, highlighting the advantages of mobile office. But it is not "to adapt to change", but to display different interfaces according to different devices. According to reports, the new generation of Windows will set the interface that the user enters according to the screen size and whether it supports touch. For example, a normal PC user only supports the desktop mode, directly cutting off the Modern UI interface; the mobile device user directly enters the Modern UI interface, and no longer has a desktop mode; and the touch-enabled PC is likely to let the user choose which interface to enter. .

According to the screenshot of the exposure, another big improvement of the new generation of Windows is the addition of a new start menu. The new start menu will be the traditional Windows 7 style and the interactive UI of the Modern UI. Combined, and allows the user to adjust the position and number of magnets. And the mode of running the Modern UI application on the desktop in Windows mode supported by Windows 8.1 is currently preserved. At the same time, in order to integrate Cortana voice assistant and virtual desktop in the future, Microsoft has made some adjustments and improvements to the icon and appearance of the desktop.

In addition, DirectX 12 may come along with the new version of Windows as the next major upgrade to the Microsoft Game Graphics API, with support for up to 8K resolution.

According to industry insiders, just like when Windows Vista was launched, it was once called Microsoft's most failed product, but Windows 7 found a breakthrough point of improvement after optimization, and became the current Windows system. The main force. According to third-party data statistics, Windows 8's share is not even as good as Vista at the same time. The new version of Windows comes back with the concept of magnets, and naturally assumes the role of redemption. This is also a major reason for the industry to expect a new generation of Windows.

System integration: the tablet field is difficult

As we all know, when Windows 8 was just released, it developed different systems based on three main products: mobile phone, tablet and PC. 8, Windows RT, Windows 8. At present, the least acceptable to users is the Windows RT released for tablet products, because it can only run on devices equipped with ARM processors, which means that it can not run any previous versions of Windows programs, only Compatible with Microsoft's Modern Interface App Store app, and there are very few programs here, and the experience is very poor, so Windows RT is called the chicken ribs. After the first wave of products equipped with Windows RT system, major manufacturers have canceled this product line, and Microsoft's own Surface products, after the launch of Surface Pro3, there is no news of Windows RT. And at present, Microsoft's main tablet products are almost all equipped with Windows 8/8.1.

Even so, these Windows tablets still have fatal weaknesses. The traditional desktop program has a very bad experience on the tablet, and some programs must be used with the keyboard. The app store designed for mobile touch is still immature, giving the impression that the application is low and the quality is poor. And once the new version of Windows blocks the traditional desktop on the tablet, it means basically giving up the traditional application — — they are not born for touch. In this case, can the new generation of Windows shoulder the heavy responsibility of robbing the tablet market?

From the current point of view, the answer is no. However, if you introduce a new Windows Phone system, the results will be different. There are two ways to introduce the Windows Phone system into the tablet product. One is to let Windows Phone take over the tablet product, and the other is to integrate Windows Phone with Windows RT. Both methods are to make up for the shortcomings of the application in Microsoft Tablet PC. But no matter what, Microsoft's purpose is definitely to integrate the system. It is reported that Microsoft will only retain a Windows system, and the upcoming version of the Windows technology preview will support X86 and X64 architecture products for enterprise users; in early 2015, it will release ARM version of Windows, integrating Windows Phone and Windows RT. Some people speculate that the former will mainly be for desktops, all-in-ones, notebooks, tablets with keyboards of 10 inches or more, or two-in-one notebooks; the latter is mainly for mobile phones, small-sized tablets and other products. As for Microsoft's policy of free licensing of Windows to devices under 9 inches, and the strategy of pushing Windows on tablet products, it seems to be helpless at present.

Free Policy: Win8 or Has Been Abandoned

There are reports that Microsoft has confirmed that the upcoming next-generation Windows platform will allow Windows 8/8.1 users to upgrade for free. In addition, Microsoft is hoping to transfer users on the Windows XP operating system that are no longer supported to the new version, but the Windows 7 upgrade costs $30. From this point of view, the most likely effect of Microsoft in the next year or two is that the new version of Windows and Windows 7 will become the main force of the Windows system. Windows 7 as the basis, the new version of Windows goes to "striking the city".

It is reported that although Microsoft is expected to hold a new version of Windows on Tuesday, the enterprise preview of the system may not be released until early October. It is worth noting that this release is still in its early stages and it is very likely that it does not have all the features of the new generation of Windows, and the official version will not be available until the spring of 2015.