Two Internet Explorers for the price of one
Microsoft has been losing ground in the
browser market for some time, because most people prefer Firefox or Chrome when
given a choice. It appears Microsoft's strategy for turning this decline around
is to make two versions of Internet Explorer, therefore statistically doubling
the chance someone might use it.
But that's only part of this story, because
it's actually another of Microsoft's masterplans to deny its competitors access
to all the advantages of being the operating system developer.
To this end, there is the conventional
version of Internet Explorer, which works pretty much like the existing one and
can be launched from the desktop and the another version that's exclusively
operated under the Metro interface. What's odd about the Metro version of IE is
that it won't allow plug-ins, other than those that Microsoft has bolted into
the standard system (as yet, the details of these are unknown). On the Intel
versions of Windows 8, if it encounters a web page with a plug-in while in
Metro mode, you can then bounce into the desktop version of IE (or another
browser, one hopes). However, the ARM Windows 8 IE version can't take plug-ins
either, making that option entirely pointless. Other browsers can be loaded as
desktop applications on the x86 Windows 8, but only IE can be the Metro
browser, according to numerous sources.
That's just the start of the fun with IE
and Windows 8, though. Let's imagine you get an email and you open a web page
that your friend sent you a link to. You open it in the Metro version of IE,
but you then decide you'd like the desktop version of IE, because you'd like to
compare the picture with another one on another web page. You can't do this in Metro
IE, because all web pages in it are full screen. You open desktop IE, but where
is your page? It's nowhere to be seen, because there is no connection between
the two instances; it's like they're different applications with no common
access. In this respect, you'd soon be put off opening the Metro version, but
I'm sure Microsoft will insist you do on a regular basis, just for the hell of
it.
I can see that the two versions of IE will
soon be easy to identify, with users talking about the one that sort of works
to some degree and the other that rarely does anything useful.
The restrictions on the Metro IE might also
generate a lawsuit for restrictive practices from those who make other
browsers, yet again.
No DVD support
It was like Christmas had come early at
Cybermedia (which makes PowerDVD) when Microsoft very subtly added a statement
about Windows Media player to an explanation about why the Media Center would
now be a cost item. It said, "Windows Media Player will continue to be
available in all [Windows 8] editions, but without DVD playback support."
That's odd, because Windows 7 in all
versions from Home Premium upwards can play a DVD and so could Vista.
Interestingly, support does come if you buy Media Center, which provides some
impetus for people to buy it, if they use their PC to play DVD movies.
Microsoft's explanation of why it did this
is a sad story where it's forced to pay the licence holder of MPEG-2 millions
of dollars, which it would rather keep. That's a curious story, because if
Windows is supplied on a PC, then the vendor of the computer gets to pay the $2
it costs for the licence and not Microsoft.
This probably isn't a major deal for most
PC owners, as they most likely have a dedicated DVD player or a games console
that plays movies. However, those who do rely on their PC to do this job will
have to fork out extra to get it.
Double SkyDrive
If you haven't used it (and you're not
alone if you haven't), Microsoft has its own cloud storage facility called
SkyDrive. You can access that now, and you get 7GB of space for just turning up
and more if you pay for it.
SkyDrive
allows you to access your cloud-based files inside Metro, but you'll need more
software if you want to do the same thing in desktop mode.
In Windows 8, SkyDrive is directly built
into the OS, or to be more accurate, it's accessible from Metro, and therefore
is available in Metro apps as a possible location for files to be saved or
retrieved. However (and this is where Windows 8 gets slightly bipolar), if you
want to use SkyDrive from the desktop environment and sync files on the PC with
those in the cloud, then you'll need to download and install the SkyDrive
application, as per Windows 7. The choice not to allow sync on the Metro
version of SkyDrive seems to be motivated by the concern that a Surface pad
user might download 7GB of data from his cloud service over a 3G mobile phone
connection, and thus need a mortgage to pay his monthly bill. That seems to
make sense, although it's another one of those situations where the Metro and
Desktop modes of Windows 8 don't contribute anything useful to each other.
End of the start
It looks like this is going to be the most
contentious aspect of Windows 8: the disappearance of the Start button. Most
people who saw the first preview wondered if Microsoft would soften its stance
on making Metro the only interface for Windows 8. If anything, while listening
hard to its customers, it's become entirely deaf to requests to make the Start
button an option for those who don't have a touch display and see icons that
are 500% bigger than the ones we've been used to since Windows first appeared.
Because Microsoft seems determined to push
Metro forward as the only Windows interface, a substantial queue of third-party
utilities is forming already with the intention of either providing something
that looks like the Start button or, as was possible in the first Windows 8
preview, actually disables Metro and reinstates the Aero interface as per
Windows 7.
Unfortunately, according to some
well-placed sources, Microsoft is furiously tearing out anything that would
allow the Start button to come back, much in the style of Cortez burning his
ships to motivate his crew in the Americas. It's a bold move and one that could
easily backfire quite horribly.
It would be an interesting historical irony
of our time if Windows 8 was successful, but only after people replace the
Metro interface that its creator loves so much.
I've stated my personal opinion that on a
desktop system Metro is a horrible experience with a mouse, and from the
feedback I've had, I'm not the only one who has this opinion.
If you want Windows 8, wave a fond farewell
to the Start button, because Microsoft wants to see the back of It forever, or
at least until It brings it back in Windows 9.
Built-in Facebook and Twitter
Not being famous for following modern
trends, Microsoft appears to have understood the social networking world these
days and has built a Facebook and Twitter app directly into the Metro
interface. Actually, the application is called 'People' and also fuses the Microsoft
Live account information into a single point of contact. As the title suggests,
it's also a contact management database and a front end for you to see what's
happening in your personal corner of the interweb.
What's nice about this approach is that it
considers what happens when people get bored with Twitter and Facebook and move
on to something new, as they inevitably will. With this single messaging tool,
new modules can be added to support new social networking locations when they
become successful. Those who hate Metro will be able to install the usual tools
using the desktop mode or a browser outside that interface.
The new People application in Windows 8
Metro seamlessly connects Twitter, Facebook and your personal contact database
into a single app.
It’s nearly here
One slightly scary thing about Windows 8 is
that it isn't late, as its arrival is predicted to be almost exactly three
years after Windows 7, exactly when Microsoft said it would land. At the point
of going to press, Microsoft is saying that Windows 8 will be released, along
with Windows Server 2012, to manufacturing the first week of August, with the
intention being to ship the x86 desktop versions in late October, just in time
for Christmas sales.
Microsoft learned a number of important
lessons with Vista, and one of those was to keep its target dates, which it's
adhering to with Windows 8. This will only be a problem if, in an attempt to
keep that date, it's forced to leave an important feature unfinished, or it
introduces a major bug at the last minute.
Final thoughts
What's worth remembering is that
traditionally Microsoft has almost always held something special back in the
form of a 'big launch surprise', so there are things in Windows 8 that probably
haven't appeared in any of the previews so far. However, that's also a
double-edged sword, because as I recall with Windows 95, the early code had
some very nice features that Microsoft decided to remove from the final product
for whatever reason. Indeed, every version of Windows so far has had a
selection of announced features that never actually made it to release (WinFS
anyone?), and quite a few that never make it at all and are quietly forgotten.
What might surprise some people are the
things that Microsoft, in its wisdom, decides to leave out, because
strategically it's been a while since this software giant and the buying public
have been on exactly the same wavelength.
I predict the real surprise of Windows 8 is
probably something that Microsoft thinks is 'ground-breaking' and everyone else
gazes at in wonderment. Equally, though, it could be something wonderful, but
which Microsoft hasn't realised the potential of.
I've heard many people describing Windows 8
as 'bold', 'daring', 'a gamble' and 'revolutionary', but none of those things
actually translate into 'successful'.
Of course, uncertainty is part and parcel
of any new Windows launch, along with CEO Steve Ballmer using the full force of
his admittedly timid personality to promote 'the best Windows yet'.
Personally, I can't wait.
