While no concrete information has been released, leaked rumors provide some indication of where Microsoft is headed with its next OS.
Cross-platform app compatibility
App compatibility among Windows platforms is likely to be a key feature of Microsoft's new operating system. The company wants developers to be able to create a single app and port it between Windows 9, RT, Windows Phone and the Xbox One with ease. Microsoft hinted at this during the last BUILD conference by suggesting that developers will be able to use tools for Windows apps to create Xbox One apps, and this could be expanded upon during the company's April 2014 event.
Rumors indicate that Microsoft will attack cross-platform compatibility with a three-pronged initiative in which Windows is tailored to the primary input used with a device; mouse-first, touch-first, or voice first. Mouse-first will be the traditional desktop/laptop experience, touch-first will be for smartphones and tablets, and voice-first will be for large-screen devices like televisions and, of course, devices that connect to a television (like the Xbox One).
This approach would make sense, considering Microsoft's confusing array of platforms as well as the lack of apps. With that said, the devil is clearly in the details. Windows 8 proved that designing an operating system across multiple platforms is not easy, and the particulars of the interface and the development tools will make the difference between success and failure.
Native gestures
Another way for Microsoft to enable support for multiple devices would be the introduction of gesture recognition. This, of course, is within the company's area of expertise, as Kinect has provided plenty of experience.
Adding built-in gesture support would make sense given that Intel is heavily pushing the technology, and that Microsoft has its own Kinect sensor to sell. The gesture control technology that we've used so far has not convinced us that it's useful, however, and we're not sure what Microsoft could do to change our minds. The Kinect sensor may have the resolution and processing power needed to provide a better experience than other products, but it's also rather expensive. We don't think anyone would pay $100 to add gesture support to their PC.
Of course, it's possible that Microsoft will simply add developer tools for gestures and leave it up to hardware and software companies to figure out the details themselves. While this wouldn't give the company a chance to leverage Kinect, it would pass responsibility of developing the technology onto others. That may be necessary given the broad range of devices that Windows needs to support.
A new Start…menu
Microsoft is likely to continue back-pedaling on its decision to remove the Start menu on mouse-first devices. Windows 8.1 brought the Start button back, but only added a new "Apps View," which is essentially a Metro-fied launch screen. Now, with Windows 9, the company may completely reverse its earlier removal with a new, re-designed Start menu (which may or may not debut under that name).
What will it look like, and what will it do? No one but Microsoft knows. With that said, what little information has leaked suggests that it will not be a carbon copy of the old Start menu, or an expansion on the App View. Instead, it will be a new approach that re-thinks the Start menu for the realities and capabilities of modern systems. We think that's likely to mean a greater reliance on Windows search, integration of web search, and the potential for significant customization.
More Metro, everywhere
Don't get your hopes up for Microsoft abandoning the Metro design. While it hasn't gone over well on the desktop, it has worked everywhere else, and it's key to the company's goal of making Windows a cross-platform operating system.
This means the development of new Metro interface features. What will they be? That's unknown. We can guess that they'll focus on the evolution of features like multi-tasking, desktop search and the Charms bar, but such changes would hardly be Earth-shattering.
There is one concrete change rumored; the introduction of Metro apps to the desktop. Currently, Metro apps cannot run on the desktop, a trait that's particularly frustrating on desktops with large, high-resolution displays. Windows 9 could fix that flaw. If true, it would give desktop owners a reason to check out the Windows Store, a place most PC enthusiasts avoid at all costs.
Conclusion
Current rumors indicate that Windows 9 is scheduled for release in April of 2015. If that's true, new information could be revealed at this week's BUILD festivities – but, with the OS still a year out, the reveals are likely to be about vague, big-picture ideas rather than specific features. We'll probably hear about how Windows 9 will be easy to develop for, how it'll promote cross-platform apps, and how it'll make touch better while also improving the desktop for users who just want a keyboard and mouse.
Whatever Microsoft says, it needs to make an impression. Windows 8 has flopped, damaging both the company and the PC market as a whole. Major changes are needed, and they were needed yesterday; there's no more time for Microsoft to sit on its hands.
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Like Qplay, and even Mohu's Channel device, which organizes websites and over-the-air TV alongside streaming apps, Pluto.tv has unabashedly employed an interface that's extremely similar to the program guide viewers are used to seeing on standard cable TV. If it ain't broke, well, you know.
As reported by the New York Times, Pluto.tv's familiar sprawl of channels source video from around the web into categories like sports, news, comedy, etc. and organizes them into 30 minute 'programs.' There are specialty channels for music videos such as a top 40 channel, and even one called "Happy," that (no joke) shows a 24 hour stream of the Pharell Williams video of the same name.
Users can navigate through the guide both vertically and horizontally from their PC or mobile device to select content at their leisure, with pause/play, fast forward, and rewind controls that are extremely similar to a DVR. The site also incorporates a social media aspect in the right hand corner for chatting with friends.
Interestingly, Pluto.tv actually employs real live human curators to set up the channels. As Pluto.tv co-founder Nick Grouf told the Times, "We have people who are literally sitting and watching videos all day to decide what goes into the channels." Not exactly state-of-the-art technology, but for now, it might help give the service an edge over others that employ algorithms for curation, potentially providing richer, better organized content.
While the $50 Qplay set-top box has an advantage over Pluto.tv with its direct connection to the big screen, Pluto.tv has its own advantage: the service is completely free, requiring no proprietary equipment to watch. And with the ability to download Pluto.tv apps to Android and iOS devices, viewers are just a short step away from sending content to their flat screen via an Apple TV, or other mirroring device.
Check out the service for yourself, and let us know how Pluto.tv measures up in the comments below.
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Apple is accusing Samsung of infringing five of its patents, each relating to software features found on its iOS mobile operating system. It's seeking damages of $2 billion from the Korean electronics company, as well as a sales ban on several Samsung devices including the Galaxy S3 smartphone. A verdict is expected toward the end of the month.
Apple's Phil Schiller.
According to reports, Schiller pretty much stuck to the script in his testimony, going over the same kind of points he made to a jury back in November during a retrial in another patent case with Samsung.
Using various graphs and charts sporting stats that won't have looked out of place in one of Apple's high-profile product launches, Schiller described the success and popularity of the company's iPhone.
When asked about how he felt when he first set eyes on Samsung's original Galaxy smartphone, Schiller replied, "It looked so much like an attempt to copy the iPhone."
He added that Samsung's alleged copying had "caused people to question some of the innovations we created," adding, "I think it has confused people as to which products are creating this experience."
The iPhone maker says it believes that in the US Samsung sold more than 37 million smartphones that violated its patents, and that 10 percent of those are, for Apple, lost sales.
Prior to Schiller's testimony, opening arguments were laid out by both sides. While Apple pressed home the idea that Samsung had infringed a number of its patents by incorporating similar features into its own products, lawyers for the Korean tech firm argued that the Cupertino company's damage claims are hugely exaggerated, while the patents relate to relatively minor software features.
The patents at the center of the court case include a "system and method for performing an action on a structure in computer-generated data," where addresses and times are shown as links within messages, and "unlocking a device by performing gestures on an unlock image," otherwise known as the 'slide to unlock' feature.
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