

Microsoft to Reveal New Version of Windows - petethomas
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704851204576034051605593000.html

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petercooper
_It's unclear how quickly Microsoft can deliver a new tablet-friendly version
of Windows. The next major release of the operating system, Windows 8, isn't
expected until 2012 some time. "They're desperate to show they're in the
game," one of the people familiar with Microsoft said._

Microsoft shouldn't be trying to show they're "in the game" - they should be
rewriting the game. Apple didn't release the iPad or the iPod to be in a game.
Both were widely derided (even here on HN with the iPad) but resulted in an
entirely new "game" others were left to catch up with.

Microsoft doesn't need to play catchup - it needs to start inventing the
future again (Kinect hints at what they can pull off).

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Hoff
At various points in its history, Microsoft Windows NT and various descendants
have been available on Alpha, MIPS, Itanium and PowerPC, in addition to the
more widely-known 32- and 64-bit x86 versions.

The Windows Embedded version has been (is?) available for ARM, MIPS, Hitachi
SH and x86.

There have been some embedded and stripped Windows boxes used for various
purposes. Thin clients and storage controllers, for instance.

The Windows x86 application market hasn't been interested in the other
architectures. This because getting an installed base from x86 to another
architecture is No Small Effort, both for Microsoft, and for all of the other
organizations that supply or use Windows software. The FX!32 translation
services were unsuccessful in encouraging folks to use Windows applications on
Alpha, for instance. And if you don't get the installed base moved to your new
target, you then get to own the costs of fragmentation and of running what
you've brought out.

Beyond the references to iOS in the article, I'd also expect this work is in
response to Google's Android and HP's WebOS, too. Android establishes the
price floor, iOS aims at the revenue (and with a finger-targeted UI), and
WebOS is owned by a very large Windows hardware partner.

Interesting times for the Microsoft folks.

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blantonl
Not available for TWO YEARS? Did I read that correctly? Right now to compete
Microsoft should be on a 3 to 6 month release schedule.

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patrickaljord
Many people have been saying for years that Microsoft should switch to an open
source unix core to be more competitive and move faster like Apple (and
because hackers tend to prefer unix). I've always thought MS had enough money
to stick with Windows and still move fast... but now I wonder, or maybe
they're slow because of bureaucracy, probably a bit of both.

~~~
jbri
Microsoft is huge on backwards-compatibility. Unix guys don't mind breaking a
few eggs when they release a new kernel because anything that breaks can be
patched up to work again - but when you're running boatloads of proprietary
software that has to keep working, break-and-fix isn't really a viable model
any more.

~~~
patrickaljord
> Microsoft is huge on backwards-compatibility.

Are you sure about that? If I want to run old versions of IE, MS solution is
to run a VM, probably because it's cheaper for them. At what point will it
become more profitable for them to just tell people to use VMs for 20 year old
software? Knowing that only businesses would need those.

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m0nastic
I hope this is true.

I still don't understand why they've been so apathetic to using the Windows
Phone 7 OS on other types of devices. Many reviews say that the interface
would scale well to other device types, and it already runs on ARM.

My hope is that they're being disingenuous, and in fact are doing exactly
this.

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cma
I'm surprised the chromium laptops weren't based on ARM; Adobe even has an
version of Flash... I guess nativeclient is only x86?

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m0nastic
I could be wrong, but I was under the impression that there very well should
be Chrome OS devices which run on ARM after it launches (just not the
prototype developer device Google just released).

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icefox
Lots of fluff and no comment from companies.

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naner
What about the OS on the new Windows phone?

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rodh257
This will be a good move if it's true.

