Windows 7 slates weren't popular, Windows 8 might change that.

[Coke Robot]

If no one has ever noticed, Windows 7 was really the first Windows OS to be touch centric. It brought in more touch gestures than ever before, the Taskbar size was increased so touch users could easily launch items in the Taskbar and switch between items easily, even the window controls are larger than they were in vista for touch screens. But tablets running Windows 7 never took off, probably because of the Desktop. It's not very mobile centric. Windows was never really built like a mobile OS. The Desktop isn't a mobile OS.

I think that might change with Windows 8.

It has elements of a mobile OS: it's more touch centric, it's commanding than others mobile OSs, it has an easier to use interface. Having said that, one of the things no other tablet has is a Desktop. They also don't have the ability to integrate well with established networks. You can't print a word document or create a fantastic PowerPoint slide show on an ipad or android. On a Windows 8 slate, you can. A major selling point of a Windows 8 slate will be the fact that you can use apps that are designed like the OS, and are touch centric. Then, you can go into the Desktop to play a PC game or edit a photo with PhotoShop, or even use iTunes to manage the media on your ipad.

With Windows 8, it builds off the current touch features of Windows 7, and expands that into a proper mobile OS for tablets and slates while also being an operating system that DOES work with a keyboard and mouse.

 

[jimbo45]

If no one has ever noticed, Windows 7 was really the first Windows OS to be touch centric. It brought in more touch gestures than ever before, the Taskbar size was increased so touch users could easily launch items in the Taskbar and switch between items easily, even the window controls are larger than they were in vista for touch screens. But tablets running Windows 7 never took off, probably because of the Desktop. It's not very mobile centric. Windows was never really built like a mobile OS. The Desktop isn't a mobile OS.

I think that might change with Windows 8.

It has elements of a mobile OS: it's more touch centric, it's commanding than others mobile OSs, it has an easier to use interface. Having said that, one of the things no other tablet has is a Desktop. They also don't have the ability to integrate well with established networks. You can't print a word document or create a fantastic PowerPoint slide show on an ipad or android. On a Windows 8 slate, you can. A major selling point of a Windows 8 slate will be the fact that you can use apps that are designed like the OS, and are touch centric. Then, you can go into the Desktop to play a PC game or edit a photo with PhotoShop, or even use iTunes to manage the media on your ipad.

With Windows 8, it builds off the current touch features of Windows 7, and expands that into a proper mobile OS for tablets and slates while also being an operating system that DOES work with a keyboard and mouse.

I'm not sure I'd want to use a tablet or slate for Photoshop unless it had decent processing power and memory --and preferably a Pen.

Editing Professional photography quality photos can require a HUMUNGOUS amount of resources both processor power and storage (you have for professional quality got to have loads of layers including CYMK ones for pre- ress etc). I can't see tablets replacing a PC (decent laptop) for this anytime soon.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Mark Phelps]

Yeah it's my own bias … but a Win8 Slate without pen support is, to me, little more than an oversized Smart Phone -- without the phone features. I used a Tablet PC primarily as a high-tech replacement for a paper DayTimer -- and for that, a pen was critical.

While I agree that for touch, a different UI is needed, I would also have to say for apps other than what you find today on a Smart Phone, a pen will still be needed. You just won't be able to get the fine-grained precision with a fingertip that you can with a pen.

And … if all you're going to do with your Win8 Slate is the same stuff you do today with your Smart Phone, then you don't really need a Win8 slate -- just get a phone with a larger display, faster processor, and more memory.

 

[SIW2]

It depends entirely on the marketing.

The mass market does not care about the o/s - they probabaly don't even know what it is, much less what it does.

The small devices are for consuming content.

They sell dpending on how they are marketed.

Try to make the buyer feel good that they have bought the device.

Make them think they are clever/modern/more attractive to the opposite genital group, etc.

If you can make it into a status symbol - some people will buy it just to carry around so others can see they have it.

That is what mass marketing is about.

 

[Coke Robot]

If no one has ever noticed, Windows 7 was really the first Windows OS to be touch centric. It brought in more touch gestures than ever before, the Taskbar size was increased so touch users could easily launch items in the Taskbar and switch between items easily, even the window controls are larger than they were in vista for touch screens. But tablets running Windows 7 never took off, probably because of the Desktop. It's not very mobile centric. Windows was never really built like a mobile OS. The Desktop isn't a mobile OS.

I think that might change with Windows 8.

It has elements of a mobile OS: it's more touch centric, it's commanding than others mobile OSs, it has an easier to use interface. Having said that, one of the things no other tablet has is a Desktop. They also don't have the ability to integrate well with established networks. You can't print a word document or create a fantastic PowerPoint slide show on an ipad or android. On a Windows 8 slate, you can. A major selling point of a Windows 8 slate will be the fact that you can use apps that are designed like the OS, and are touch centric. Then, you can go into the Desktop to play a PC game or edit a photo with PhotoShop, or even use iTunes to manage the media on your ipad.

With Windows 8, it builds off the current touch features of Windows 7, and expands that into a proper mobile OS for tablets and slates while also being an operating system that DOES work with a keyboard and mouse.

I'm not sure I'd want to use a tablet or slate for Photoshop unless it had decent processing power and memory --and preferably a Pen.

Editing Professional photography quality photos can require a HUMUNGOUS amount of resources both processor power and storage (you have for professional quality got to have loads of layers including CYMK ones for pre- ress etc). I can't see tablets replacing a PC (decent laptop) for this anytime soon.

Cheers
jimbo

I do agree with you on that. But the next generation of mobile technology that Windows 8 will be running on slate and tablet wise is phenomenal. ARM tablets will be their own thing, but an AMD APU or Intel Ivy Bridge based slate will be excellent! I too wouldn't want to use Photoshop without a pen input, but honestly to me, in most cases; I would think using a pen input for Photoshop might be better in certain instances than a mouse. But not always.

Even then, setting that aside, just the simple fact that I could edit a Photoshop file on a Windows 8 slate and then copy it over to a USB flash drive and continue working on it on a Windows 8 desktop, that in itself is what will win the day in my opinion.

 

[M1GU31]

I believe windows 8 OS on say a windows phone would be a excellent idea and would work well due to the touch interface. Also would push smart phones to use stronger hardware which I lately have noticed is growing rapidly in the smart phone market. So sometime in the future a windows phone would be able to do pretty much what ever windows 8 can on a desktop as a OS. This would be a smart move in my opinion for Microsoft to use windows 8 for their smart phones.

 

[stefalopod]

Having run win7 touch pack, I have to say that for a tablet like experience, win8 is where it's at.

The only use I ever made of touch capabilities in Win 7 was using OneNote in classes to mark-up (hi-lite, underline, add hand-written notes, etc) pdfs. It was cool, and a show stopper for nearby fed tax students, but that was the end of touch productivity on Win7. With win 8, I suddenly have a shiny, flashy, tablet that is optimized for touch at every stage. Touch scrolling and pinch is built in to IE10 and metro (whereas it was fritzy in previous versions of ie and nonexistent without plugins for chrome and firefox) .

I don't doubt that win8 will give Microsoft a huge advantage in the clamshell tablet market over win7 -- especially for competent windows users who want to be able to futz with every nitty-gritty option available when they feel like it but still get the shiny touch friendly UI to show their ipad using friends -- "have I mentioned that I didn't have to pay extra money for my keyboard?" "and that my laptop is it's own built in stand, which I also didn't have to pay extra money for?" lol