When Microsoft releases Windows 8 sometime next year, it may have an entirely different look. Rumors say that the browser will have a version of the same type of ribbon interface like the Office programs, as well as a lock screen similar to those on the Windows Phone 7 screen.
According to two bloggers, Rafael Rivera and Paul Thurrott, that have a past history of breaking into Microsoft code, the display appears to have the time, day of the week, month, date, and icons for power management and ease of access.
Although nothing has been put out as yet, online talk suggests Windows 8 OS will be out in late 2012. Since that is somewhat far out, what the two bloggers have uncovered is of course, subject to radical changes, and may or may not actually even be what Microsoft is considering or developing for Windows 8.
If it is, the main difference is that it could include the aforementioned ribbon element. The ribbon interface would be used instead of the menu and toolbar that the program now uses. This would presumably make the browser more attractive and easier for those familiar with Office products to use. The ribbon is also thought to have tools for seeing libraries, modifying photos, and managing your available drives.
The two bloggers said that in the version they saw the ribbon wasn’t very attractive, but that it is a work in progress and that they weren’t sure Microsoft was going to use it the way they saw it or do something else. There was also evidence that if Microsoft goes with the ribbon, that users would be able to disable it if they didn’t like it.
Besides the above possibilities, Windows 8 is expected to have SoC (system on a chip) architecture with ARM based systems from their partners like Qualcomm, Nvidia and Texas Instruments. This would allow them a better way of putting Windows on tablet computers and onto more mobile form-factors which is right now part of the prime market for ARM deals.
If the new Windows version was optimized for use with a touch screen, it would let Microsoft be more competitive in the tablet computer market, which is now being run by Apple iPad and some of the Google Android devices.
The possible look at a Windows Phone 7 lock screen shows that Microsoft is considering how to change Windows to make it possible to better use it on mobile devices. However, once again, since it is more than a year until the Windows 8 OS is likely to be released, anything revealed so far could change drastically by that time.
