Yesterday Microsoft released a video showing off the new interface for Windows 8. My first impression was that Microsoft was making a bold move and hoping they could pull it off. But the brief demo of Excel gave me fear that underneath all of the nice UI nothing had changed. Would Windows have a split personality? Old style apps seem to relegated to a ghetto.
Today, that fear grows. Ars Technica reported that Microsoft revealed some hardware specs.
To get the new interface, tablets will have to offer a resolution of at least 1024x768. Anything lower and they will be stuck with a derivative of the classic Windows 7 shell. Increasing the resolution from the 4:3 1024x768 to the 16:9 1366x768 will additionally enable the “snap” side-by-side multitasking view that was demonstrated.
It seems clear that they view the new UI as an extra, not part of the core OS. MS continues to create tiered experiences for Windows. I wonder what percentage of users will receive the “full” Windows 8 experience?
Game Dev -
Game Dev is a newish question and answer site about game creation and development. It was launched just over a month ago and is a public beta. It is likely to launch in a couple of months with a new name and design. If you have any interest in game design and development, it is a great resource.
The site is powered by Stack Exchange, the engine behind Stack Overflow.
Matt Gemmell gives a very good overview of design ideas that should be used for iPad applications. I love how these come together to create interfaces that seem natural to use and not overwhelming. These to me are what makes the iPad itself compelling. When it is released, I hope it will live up to my expectations in this area.
I have started listening to a new podcast called ‘The Dev Show’. So far it seems promising, though I am a sucker for programming podcasts of any decent quality.
The Meaning of Information Technology
Introducing Google Building Maker -
I have always loved the idea of modelling real buildings, but this is really exciting. The easier it is to model individual buildings, the more scalable it is to model all of the more populated areas in the world.
Marco hits on one thing that I’ve noticed by looking at many apps: the primary screenshot can easily sway an impulse purchase.
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Turning the tide: a hands-on look at Google's Wave -
Whenever my knowledge of a topic or technology is incomplete, an Ars Technica goes a long way toward understanding it. This article on Google Wave is no different.
Paul Graham with another insightful article. His insight that most publishers are selling the medium not the content is well presented. It is not a new thought, but presented in such a clear way it feels like one.