A lot of excitement has been building up in anticipation of Windows 8, which was officially debuted today at an event in New York City. Microsoft took the opportunity at the event to showcase Windows 8, and hardware offerings by its partners. To the disappointment of many, the company did not reveal many new details about the operating system, or new additions to its somewhat meager application store.
But despite the lack of new details at todays event, it can be safely taken for granted that Windows 8 is going to change everything. That is not to say that it will revolutionize technology, but that its operating system is so thoroughly embedded into the computing world at large, that millions of people can be expected to adopt the operating system in a very little amount of time.
Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer (image from PCWorld)
As such, it is no surprise that there was no lack of Windows 8 compatible hardware showcased at the event, from desktops, laptops, tablets, to tablet-laptop hybrids.“Our partners have come up with incredible new designs,” said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. “Are these new designs PCs? Yes. Are these new designs tablets also? Yes.”
Microsoft’s RT tablet was included in the product lineup, and will go on sale Thursday at10 p.m. ET.
Noting the somewhat barren application store, Ballmer reminded attendees that the online Windows Store contains the highest stock of applications of any app store on its launch day. Of course, he is correct - the iOS store, for example, had 500 apps at its launch, and the Android store had 2,000. Meanwhile, the Windows Store had nearly 8,000 apps available as of Tuesday.
Nevertheless, the lack of big name developers in the store could still make it a dud with consumers. Notably, official apps for Twitter and YouTube are not currently present, and a lot of popular games are also missing from the store.
For consumers, Windows 8 is going to be a sometimes difficult but necessary adjustment to make. Windows 8 doesnt seek to alter the way consumers use their computers, but every other device they use as well. The simplistic and mobile style interface blurs the distinction between mobile and desktop operating systems, and a goal for further interconnectedness betwixt Windows devices is evidenced by Windows SmartGlass, which will roll out this week.
If there was any lackluster at today’s event, it should be kept in mind that the real release of Windows 8 will be when it is installed on practically every PC available to consumers. Then, if they ever wanted to ignore it, they will have no choice.
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