Archive for the ‘Windows 8’ Category

 

Well, after quite an exciting day of Windows 8 information leaking its way out to the Internet, it appears Microsoft is officially on the war path to finding who leaked the information in the first place. As noted on Twitter by Tom Warren of Neowin, the blog of Francisco Martin — one of the first to bring some of this Windows 8 information to light — has apparently been nixed by Microsoft (his blog resided on spaces.live.com). The earliest that these slides can be traced back is to the Website win7vista.com (thanks to @tom_warren for the link).

 

The documents were originally XPS files converted to PDFs with the goal of removing any incriminating watermarks. Well, win7vista.com made a mistake. As “DanielRemains” — the individual who posted the leaked content — notes, “I spent many hours working on these on removing watermarks etc.” Unfortunately, he seemed to miss a slide and it has undoubtedly brought some unwanted attention to one Derek Goode from HP. Here’s the slide which shows his email address (Update: email address removed from slide by request):

 

Whether or not Derek Goode is the individual who leaked the slides directly, if it was a colleague who did it behind his back, or some other scenario, Microsoft is clearly on the prowl. win7vista.com wanted all the credit, so I hope they’re ready for what’s about to ensue. Don’t be surprised if many of these posts around the Internet involving this Windows 8 documentation suddenly disappear.

 

-Stephen Chapman
http://msftkitchen.com

 

A big thanks to @floo1989 for the heads-up! Over the weekend, the Italian Windows site “Windowsette” got a hold of some super secret squirrel Microsoft presentations apparently laying around on the internet somewhere. I took a look through every single one of these, slide-by-slide, so I’m quite confident these are the real deal. I just feel bad for the poor sap who either leaked these or inadvertently shared these with the world. Long story short, these slide decks are chock full of internal thinking on Windows 8 — everything from customer target audiences to the Windows 8 developer market to the Windows 8 product cycle and much, much more. As a preface, I’ve taken many screen shots of relevant slides for inclusion with this article, so click on them to see their full-sized versions. I’ll elaborate on some and allow the others to explain themselves. Lastly, I’ll be updating this post as I find more contained within the slide decks. Now, without further adieu, let’s get started!

 

Microsoft Looks to Apple

Included in these presentations is a rather telling (but obvious) slide which shows that Microsoft is clearly paying attention to Apple while planning Windows 8. Titled, “How Apple does it: A virtuous cycle,” Microsoft has broken down Apple’s UX/Brand Loyalty cycle and cited its value. Though it’s fairly obvious, the takeaway here is that Microsoft is aiming to give Windows the very same “it just works” status that Apple’s products are known for:

 

Windows 8 Prototype Machine

Speaking of Apple, I think the following prototype looks like some rejected Mac prototype (i.e. I don’t like it very much — at least from this angle). The wallpaper is the old Windows 7 beta wallpaper (as you can see by the beta fish in the center of it) and there is clearly some build information on the bottom right-hand corner of the desktop. This may well be something left over from Windows 7 planning, but being included in Windows 8 planning documentation, I figured it was worth tossing in. Here’s the machine and below it, its specifications:

Windows 8 Product Cycle

The following slide isn’t too telling in and of itself, but it serves to show how Microsoft has chosen to divide its Windows 8 product cycle into 3 main phases:

• Planning (from Framing to Vision): Big picture thinking, themes then scenarios, and feature identification list.
• Development (from Vision to Beta): Design and build features, refine SKUs (shelf-keeping units) and value propositions, and begin sharing code.
• Readiness (from Beta to GA+90): Feature complete and bug-fixing, establish and track readiness metrics, and focus on creating great Dell + Windows experiences.

Of note, these slides were apparently leaked or inadvertently released after being given to one Derek Goode at HP. Likewise, many of the discussions throughout the slides address HP, so the 3rd phase above making reference to Dell interests me. Anyway, here is the slide of note:

 

Windows 8: Identity Evolved

There appears to be considerable planning taking place as to how a user will access Windows. Right off the bat, one of my favorites is the following prototype which shows a user logging in via facial recognition! Basically, you enroll your face, then all you should have to do from that point forward is sit down, have your webcam get a look at you and then log you in based on facial recognition:

The following slide details other considerations for Windows 8 where identity is concerned. Namely, user accounts will still be the primary method of accessing Windows for individuals, fast user switching is a continued focus, and most notably, Windows accounts could be connected to the cloud which would allow for roaming settings/preferences between PCs and devices and PCs to log on to websites on the user’s behalf — all marking an evolution of Windows identity from being machine-centric to user-centric.

 

Trends Shaping the Planning of Windows 8

Shaping the planning of Windows 8 are explosion of form factors (laptops, netbooks, slates, etc.), assumed connectivity (focus on software + services for end-user scenarios), collision of enterprise and personal worlds (aiming to help customers have a seamless experience across their personal and professional lies), personal content experience, and more. The following slide elaborates:

 

 

Windows 8 Consumer Target Audiences

As we see detailed in the slide below, enthusiasts and mainstream consumers are the two main consumer target audiences for Windows 8:

 

 

Windows 8 Default Business Assumptions

 

 

Windows 8 Developer Market

No surprise here that Microsoft’s addressable developer market for Windows 8 spans from hobbyist/non-professional developers to professional developers to science, technology, engineering, and math developers:

 

 

Windows 8 Differentiation Goals

As for form factors, Microsoft’s 3 main focuses for Windows 8 appear to be Slate, Laptop, and All-in-One (all detailed in slides below). Additionally, customization areas include Applications, Devices, Multimedia, Help and Support, and UI and Theming (all also detailed in slides below). One of the key takeaways here is Microsoft detailing “Slate” as a major form factor focus. This means the Windows-based Slate devices are still likely to make an appearance at some point:

 

 

Windows 8: Energy Efficiency Areas of Focus

All of the following slides are highly-detailed and quite self-explanatory, but my favorite takeaway is a newly-planned feature that combines Logoff + Hibernate to result in a new off state. It will apparently give the look and feel of boot/shutdown but will be much faster. This feature is detailed in the next set of slides, titled “Windows 8: Fast Startup:”

 

 

Windows 8: Fast Startup

These slides give great detail on the Logoff + Hibernate feature mentioned above. There isn’t a name for the feature yet as it will be exposed to the user:

 

 

Windows 8 Help and Support

Help and Support was going to be a major focus in Windows 7, but it was dropped. Now, it looks like that focus is back for Windows 8 and the aim is to help users “know with confidence how to respond and what actions to take” when an issue arises.

 

 

Windows 8 Push Button Reset

This is an interesting one. Microsoft appears to be planning functionality for a reset button that will essentially reinstall Windows while maintaining all of your personal files, applications, settings, etc. without the need for the user to back all of that stuff up. A scenario is presented in one of these slides to demonstrate how it would work.

 

1 – Jon notices that his Windows 8 PC is starting to perform poorly and he can’t figure out what to do. He presses the reset button and chooses to reset his Windows 8 PC.

 

2 – Wanting a fresh start, he chooses to reset his PC knowing that all his stuff is safe.

 

3 – Windows 8 automatically retains files and personalization settings, and migrates the user accounts.

 

4 – Windows is restored to the factor image and restarts.

 

5 – After restarting, Jon can launch the App Store to reinstall applications he purchased there and see a list of other applications that he had installed outside of the App Store.

 

 

Internet Explorer 9

There’s an entire slide deck dedicated to Internet Explorer 9 discussion. There isn’t much contained within that we don’t already know, but there is an announcement for the beta to take place in August 2010:

 

 

Windows 8 Introduces “Windows Store,” Microsoft’s App Store for Windows

Though Microsoft has already attempted some semblance of this with Windows Marketplace, Windows 8 will introduce “Windows Store.” Yes, it will be an application store which will allow you to purchase applications for Windows (and perhaps Microsoft mobile devices as well, such as Windows Phone, Zune HD, etc.). Microsoft has a solid foundation on this and as the slides below note, they’re anxious to bring this to fruition A.S.A.P. Detailed below are the customer experience, developer experience, and channel experience (for partners). For customers, it looks like Microsoft is interested in integrating Windows Store results into Bing’s Web and Local SERPs as well as Windows Search. For developers, there appears to be a great panel for tracking just about every metric you could want to track as a developer.

 

In conclusion, Microsoft defines Windows Store’s success for consumers as, “getting applications they want, that they can feel confident in, that they can use on any Windows 8 device.” Have a look as there is much more information in these slides that I did not elaborate on. Oh, and be sure to keep your eyes on http://www.windowsstore.com/ as it is mentioned in one of the slides below and is indeed currently registered (as are the .net and .org URLs).

 

 

I will continue updating this post with elaborations, clarifications, and screen shots as I continue digging through all the information, so stay tuned!

 

-Stephen Chapman
http://msftkitchen.com

 

In Microsoft’s never-ending battle to stop piracy, it appears Microsoft is considering upping the ante in Windows 8 and other products by searching for a new candidate to help “shake hackers and crackers off Microsoft products” by designing and building “new anti-hacking mechanisms” and “hack detection.” The job ad says the job is “not for the faint of heart,” so I imagine things get pretty intense and technical on this team.

 

To quote the job ad directly:

 

Our group is on a mission to build a rich, powerful platform to help protect Microsoft products against piracy. Here is your chance to join a team of exceptional developers as we build an extensible cross-company platform to support this vision. This is a fast-paced group that rewards smart and motivated individuals. We are looking for an experienced software developer to help us design and build new anti-hacking mechanisms, hack detection, and work on the security processor driver. The work touches many layers of the operating system and includes opportunities for partnership with MS Research and other security teams at Microsoft to productize exciting innovations and ideas that help shake hackers and crackers off Microsoft products. It’s not for the faint of heart, but the diversity of the problem space in this area is rich in growth opportunities just waiting for the right candidate. You will have ample opportunity to diversify your skill set and grow. In this position, you’ll get a chance to work on many aspects of the platform, starting with an assignment to drive the design of our application and Operating System (OS) virtualization support.

 

Regardless of how intense or involved, hackers and crackers always seem to be one step ahead of Microsoft where piracy is concerned. Naturally, they cannot account for every single scenario possible, but it’s a given that they must keep up and continue to innovate new security technologies. Some may consider anti-piracy measures a lost cause, but that’s certainly not the case. For every one product Microsoft sells purely based on theft prevention alone, it’s a win for them. What has me curious is the all-encompassing mention of “Microsoft products” in the job ad. Could Microsoft really be looking to put all of their eggs in one basket by employing a single anti-piracy platform across all applications? Probably not, but the thought of that doesn’t sit well with me insofar as if the platform were ever to be fully exploited.

 

-Stephen Chapman

http://msftkitchen.com

 

What Microsoft started with Windows Vista and continues to implement to this very day doesn’t appear to be going away any time soon. Not in Windows 8, at least. A rather telling job description popped up on Microsoft’s careers site recently looking to fill a position on the “Windows SKU team.” That’s right, an entire team dedicated to all things SKU. Okay, so, maybe it will be an extremely small team, but I had no idea the planning of SKUs would take such a focused effort. I suppose it makes sense when taking into consideration all the planning that needs to happen for each SKU, how they will differ from one another, sorting out the branding issues, et al.

 

In a direct quote from the job ad:

 

Are you looking for a challenging role with high visibility? Join the Windows SKU team. The Windows SKU team ensures that customers have a broad choice of options available when it comes time to make a purchasing decision, so that people can find the Windows they need at a price point that’s competitive and fair. At the end of the day, what we sell to end users are Windows SKUs and we take this responsibility very seriously. Our success depends on our ability to respond to a shifting business landscape by providing people with the Windows features they want in packages that they can consume. Everything we do is driven by these customer-focused fundamentals. If you’re looking for a challenge with direct, broad impact across the company, come join us!

 

So, with that in mind, if the current line-up of SKUs stays status quo, it looks like we can count on seeing the following editions of Windows 8:

 

• Windows 8 Enterprise
• Windows 8 Ultimate
• Windows 8 Professional
• Windows 8 Home Premium
• Windows 8 Home Basic
• Windows 8 Starter

 

What are your thoughts on having Windows 8 SKUs? Do you think they’re a good idea or are you of the type who wants one Windows SKU that can do everything the most advanced SKU is capable of doing?

 

-Stephen Chapman

http://msftkitchen.com

 

Over the course of the past week and a half, a couple of individuals from Microsoft have commented about Windows 8 in a rather excited manner. First, there was a blog entry on January 31, 2010 (which has since then been deleted) on an MSDN blog titled, “Whats in store for the next Windows?” It’s a great read from an obviously excited employee bursting at the seams to say SOMETHING about Windows 8 — or, as he referred to it as, “Windows.next.” Below is the article in its entirety prior to its deletion (which you can still find cached in Google here):

 

One of the great (or maybe not so great) things of being at Microsoft is that every other person wants to ask you why Windows works the way it does. Since I’m part of the Windows update team I get asked even more why does my machnie reboot everytime there is an update and why are there so many updates. So naturally once Windows 7 shipped, my friends, neighbours, relatives, and whoever else you can imagine started asking me So whats next?

 

Folks started asking me whats in Windows 8 – and the first thing I have to say is that I resonate Steven Sinofsky’s interview on who said we’re calling it Windows 8? I agree with Steven that till things are baked there is no point floating ideas since it leaves people frustrated when things don’t turn out the way they expected. The Windows team promised to deliver a smarter, faster and more user friendly OS with Windows 7 and they delivered just that – the latest quaterly results of Microsoft are a clear indication that Windows 7 has been a success and customers got what Microsoft had promised them! The plan is to use a similar approach for the next version of Windows and till things are finalized you’re not going to get a “marketing” name from us:)

 

So how am I referring to the next version of Windows without saying that many words – well simple – Windows.next:) This is definitely not the official version but a version that is becoming common along my circle. So what are our plans for this next version…

 

The minimum that folks can take for granted is that the next version will be something completly different from what folks usually expect of Windows – I am simply impressed with the process that Steven has setup to listen to our customers needs and wants and get a team together than can make it happen. To actually bring together dozens and dozens of teams across Microsoft to come up with a vision for Windows.next is a process that is surreal! The themes that have been floated truly reflect what people have been looking for years and it will change the way people think about PCs and the way they use them. It is the future of PCs…

 

Thats about it for this post for the time being – I know I’m not sharing much at this point but right now I can’t as we work towards finalizing that vision. Feel free to post your comments on what you think Windows.net should be like!

 

As if that wasn’t exciting enough, John Mangelaars, Regional VP of Consumer and Online at Microsoft EMEA, is quoted today on the website CIO as saying the following:

 

[Apple is] doing well on the PC side but Windows 7 is a blockbuster. We got it really right. For me, Windows 8 will be mind-blowing.

 

Hmm. It really makes you wonder just what in the heck Steven Sinofsky and crew are cooking up for Windows 8. With everything I’ve covered in regards to Windows 8 thus far, I would say it’s definitely shaping up to be an ambitious release. Past rumored plans were for Windows 8 to be a 64-bit-only release and I’m inclined to believe that’s exactly where they’re going to go with it — especially with the latest post-Windows 7 build 7700 screen shots being 64-bit.

 

So, what do you think? Just a bunch of hype from excited employees or something potentially “mind-blowing” and “completely different?” With Sinofsky at the helm again and the success Windows 7 has seen, I’m inclined to think the latter.

 

*Hat tip to Softpedia for their article yesterday.

 

-Stephen
http://www.msftkitchen.com

Well, it’s about that time again, boys and girls! The most exciting time for me as a Windows enthusiast and Microsoft journalist is the beginning stages of the next version of Windows. Though I’m certainly interested in other Microsoft products, Windows is the product I’m the most passionate about. As a matter of fact, I just wish Microsoft would do us both a favor and hire me on the Windows team to do what Robert Scoble did, *hint, hint*.

 

But in all seriousness, our favorite Russian site WZor leaked to the web a number of post-RTM Windows 7 screen shots. The build is 7700 and — from what it looks like to me — could quite possibly mark the official beginning of Windows 8 development. For those of you unfamiliar with the process, Microsoft typically keeps the current version of Windows tagging in the early builds of the next version. The build string usually changes to reflect the next version prior to anything else (wallpapers are infamously changed throughout Milestone progressions during development), but if this is indeed the start of Windows 8 development, even the string has remained unchanged.

 

Build String: 7700.winmain.100122-1900

 

I certainly hope WZor decides to leak the build as I would love to begin my longtime tradition of dual-booting the latest leaked build along with my main OS! Should you decide to begin such a tradition yourself — or even more daring, decide to replace your main OS with the latest leaks — be aware that there may be consequences to contend with. Easily, the most detrimental consequence during Windows 7′s development was the bug that corrupted MP3s… and that was in an officially-released beta build, too! But I’m putting the cart just a little bit ahead of the horse as all we have at the moment are these screen shots (which may actually not be the official beginning of Windows 8, but since they’re from the winmain lab and don’t have SP1 in the string, I feel I’m making a fairly safe assumption). Oh, and to add to it, the “beta fish” wallpaper that hasn’t been seen since earlier beta builds of Windows 7 is back in this build (thanks for pointing that out @Gilly2468!). Make of that what you will!

 

I have divided all of these screen shots into 3 separate sections: Client, Server, and Client w/Office 2010 RTM screen shots (WZor posted all of these in separate posts but for the sake of concision, I’m putting them all in this one post).

 

Build 7700 Client

 

Build 7700 Server

 

Build 7700 Client with Office 2010 RTM

 

 

Anatomy of a Build String

 

Just to delve a bit deeper into the specifics of a build string, I want to shine a light on this really simple concept for those of you who aren’t quite sure what it means when you see one. This example is going to use the following build string: 7700.winmain.100122-1900

 

7700: This is the build number. It goes up incrementally with every build compiled. Sometimes, to mark a new milestone, Microsoft may skip a certain range of build numbers, i.e. moving from 7700 to 7710 without any builds compiled in-between.

 

winmain: This is the lab the build was compiled in. There are various labs where individuals, teams and branches can compile builds, but winmain is the main lab where all teams check their code in to have it all compiled into a more widely-distributed build.

 

100122: This is the date in format yyyy/mm/dd. So, in this string, the compile date is January 22, 2010.

 

1900: This is the time in military format. 1900 = 7:00 PM.

 

Altogether, the build string reads like a perfect little sentence: This is build 7700 and it was compiled in the winmain lab on January 22, 2010 at 7:00 PM.

 

Well, that does it for this extensive write-up. If you have any further questions regarding build strings or just some thoughts in general, please feel free to comment!

 

-Stephen
http://www.msftkitchen.com

With the latest news of estimated Windows 8, Windows Server 2012 and Office 2012 RTM dates, I was reminded of something I ran across a while back but never posted about. The Microsoft Windows 7 blog, Engineering 7, gained quite the following during its tenure. It was a way for Microsoft to be transparent about some of their thinking for Windows 7 and to gain valuable feedback from customers the world around. Well, thanks to an apparent placeholder page on MSDN, it appears Microsoft is going to do it again with Windows 8!

 

Engineering 8

 

Personally, I’m excited that Microsoft is choosing to go this route again with the development of Windows and for those of you who are also excited about it, be sure to add their blog feed so that if/when they start posting, you’ll be the first to know:

 

RSS 2.0: Click Here
Atom 1.0: Click Here

 

And I don’t know if the following form is connected to a live email address, but why not go ahead and show your interest for Windows 8 and the Engineering 8 blog by sending them a message? Who knows, maybe one of us will actually hear back from someone (doubtful, but you never know).

 

Engineering 8 Placeholder: TBD…

 

*It appears blog.prabir.me made this same observation back in October of 2009, so kudos to him for the initial find!

 

-Stephen
http://www.msftkitchen.com

*Thanks to Charon, a friend of mine from the Ma-Config.com blog, for sending me a note of this interesting find of his.

 

Chris Green, a Microsoft employee who appears to use his MSDN blog here-and-there, posted a rather telling product support lifecycle update on December 2, 2009. In it, he details not only the public information found on Microsoft’s product support lifecycle site, but he boldly goes where no one has gone before by mentioning not only Windows 8, but Windows Server “2012″ (Windows 8 Server) and Office “2012″ (Office 15)… with dates. Now, before I post these dates, it’s important to note two caveats that this information comes with. First, from Chris’ blog, found in his sidebar:

 

The content of this site are my own personal opinions and are not intended to represent my employer’s view. These postings are provided “AS IS” with no warranties, and confer no rights.

 

Likewise, at the bottom of every page of the PDF, it says the following:

 

This information is provided as a guide only and is likely to contain errors.

 

So, as is typically the case with information like this, treat with a grain of salt. With that said, here are the dates:

 

Windows 8:

 

RTM: Friday, July 1, 2011
Mainstream Support: Friday, July 1, 2011 – Thursday, July 1, 2016
Extended Support: Friday, July 1, 2016 – Thursday, July 1, 2021

 

Windows Server 2012 (Windows 8 Server):

 

RTM: Monday, July 2, 2012
Mainstream Support: Monday, July 2, 2012 – Friday, June 30, 2017
Extended Support: Monday, July 3, 2017 – Friday, July 1, 2022

 

Office 2012 (Office 15):

 

RTM: Monday, July 2, 2012
Mainstream Support: Monday, July 2, 2012 – Friday, June 30, 2017
Extended Support: Monday, July 3, 2017 – Tuesday, July 5, 2022

 

He also lists dates for some additional products, such as Exchange 2013, SharePoint Server 2013, SQL Server 2011, and more.

 

Random Screen Shot of the PDF

One thing to note is that he doesn’t specifically note RTM dates for those above, just an “estimated” full product support lifecycle. That said, much of what is publicly contained on that list has a mainstream support date that coincides exactly with the RTM date. An assumption, yes, but rather interesting to see these dates, none-the-less.

 

Now, rather odd is how he has the Office 2012 and Windows Server 2012 dates corresponding almost exactly — both contain the same RTM/Mainstream Support beginning date — while Windows 8‘s dates are off by a full year. This observation lends to the notion that he didn’t simply jump ahead 2-3 years to the day of each current products’ RTM dates, i.e. Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 hit RTM status on the same date, yet Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8 are out-of-sync by a year per Chris’ “estimates.”

 

Personally, I’m not going to invest too much into this but I will certainly keep my eyes opened to the possibility of these dates being a current goal internally. Realistically, I can see them hitting the Windows 8 RTM date (the earliest of the 3 I detailed above)… especially given the time frame of Windows 7′s development. Of course, the tell-all sign will be if the document and/or MSDN post are mysteriously removed or altered within the next few days or so. If that happens, there there may just be more to these dates than simply estimation after all!

 

Source: Ma-Config.com Blog
Chris Green’s MSDN Blog: Click Here
Product Support Lifecycle Document: Click Here
Microsoft’s Product Support Lifecycle Site: Click Here

 

-Stephen
http://www.msftkitchen.com

It’s been a minute or two since any Windows 8 news hit the wire, but I just stumbled upon a rather old-yet-casual mention of a feature considered for Windows 8: System Restore. Now, before you say, “but System Restore has been around forever,” not a single Server version of Windows has come with System Restore implemented! XP’s System Restore could be ported to Windows Server 2003 (and presumably higher, perhaps), but aside from that, though it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Anyway, the mention comes from a TAP Summit event that took place back in May of 2009 (like I said, a rather old mention). It seems the mention slipped through the cracks of the news media, but feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.

 

Customer: Thanks to Microsoft for driver isolation. System restore on a print server would have been great because print servers put drivers everywhere and there’s no uninstall.

 

Microsoft: System restore dates back to Windows ME but has never been in server. However, it’s under consideration for Windows 8.

 

We all know what “it’s under consideration” means, so don’t get your hopes up too high as of yet. Last I’ve heard, Windows 8 is still in its planning phase with no builds having been compiled yet, but that status may have changed. Thanks to Rafael’s crafty haxory, we now know Microsoft is about to go external with its Windows 7 SP1 testing, so things appear to be moving along rather smoothly.

 

To any of you system administrators who run Windows on your servers, would you find the inclusion of System Restore to be a much-needed addition or are you indifferent about it? Your opinions are the ones that really count where this is concerned, so I’d be interested in the feedback any of you would be willing to share.

 

Source: platformvision.com

 

-Stephen
http://www.msftkitchen.com

For those of you who aren’t familiar, Ron George is one of the UX talents on the Windows 8 planning team within Microsoft. That, in and of itself, is reason enough for this blog to keep up with his. Never mind the fact that he’s an innovator in his field. Today, Ron announced his paradigm shift in the world of UX: OCGM

 

Pronounced “Occam” as in, “Occam’s Razor,” the acronym stands for the following:

 

Objects: Objects are the core of the experience. They can have a direct correlation with something physical, or they can just be objects in the interface.

Containers: Containers will be the “grouping” of the objects. This can manifest itself in whatever the system sees fit to better organize or instruct the user on interactions. They do not have to be, nor should they be, windows. They can be any sort of method of presentation or relationship gathering as seen fit.

Gestures: Gestures are actions performed by the user that initiate a function after its completion and recognition by the system. This is an indirect action on the system because it needs to be completed before the system will react to it.

Manipulations: Manipulations are the direct influences on an object or a container by the user. These are immediate and responsive. They are generally intuitive and mimic the physical world in some manner. The results are expected and should be non-destructive. These are easily performed and accidental activations should be expected and frequent.

 

In other words, OCGM is Ron’s solution to the ever-growing problems present in today’s WIMP-dominated (Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointing Devices) world of human-computer interaction. To quote:

 

The WIMP interface is a slow dying breed as our demands on user experience and the demands of user’s keep inflating. It’s time to start thinking in a new direction. A direction that sheds many of the harnesses of the old acronym and begins to explain the building blocks of the future. It will be simple, concise, and cover all of the bases we need. There is no need to rely on pointing devices, menus, or windows anymore. It’s time to let the experience be the interface, and the user to be in total control. The interface will begin to blend in with the experience and the experience will be the interface.

 

I’d like to once again point out the fact that this guy is on the Windows 8 planning team. These are the types of people who drive true innovation, and when you can get them to apply their game-changing ideas to your product(s), good great incredible things can happen. It’s just nice to know that people like this are working on my favorite OS of choice. Feel free to go to Ron’s blog and let him know what you think. Give him your opinions and be honest. Sure, he might be a 6’6″ ex-Marine, but he welcomes feedback of all types with open arms.

 

Link: OCGM (pronounced Occam['s Razor]) is the replacement for WIMP

 

-Stephen
http://www.msftkitchen.com