Microsoft Launches Test Version Of Windows 8
01 March 2012 - 2:23AM
Dow Jones News
Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) Wednesday launched the first test version
of Windows 8, to gather consumer feedback on the new operating
system.
Steven Sinofsky, who heads the company's Windows division, said
Microsoft has made over 100,000 code changes to the operating
system since the developer preview of Windows 8 was launched in
September 2011.
Windows 8, which isn't expected to be released commercially
until late this year, is designed to position Microsoft in the
fast-growing tablet market dominated by Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPad
and devices that run Google Inc.'s (GOOG) Android software.
Microsoft, once the dominating global software developer, has
failed to gain traction in the smartphone and tablet markets.
Windows 8 is critical to Microsoft's mobile future, and represents
the most dramatic overhaul of the operating system since the
release of Windows 95, 16 years ago.
Windows 8 will be flexible enough to accommodate tablet devices
and smartphones, as well as more traditional PCs that rely on
keyboards and mice. The software has gained attention for the
dramatic changes to its user interface, which was originally used
in Microsoft's mobile operating system Windows Phone 7.
The launch will reduce Microsoft's dependence on its 30-year
partnership with Intel Corp. (INTC). Instead, the operating system
will support ARM processors, which are used in virtually all tablet
computers and smartphones, in addition to the previously supported
x86 microprocessors from Intel and Advanced Micro Devices Inc.
(AMD).
Microsoft hopes that working with ARM-based chip makers such as
Qualcomm, Nvidia Corp. (NVDA) and Texas Instruments Inc. (TXN),
will help it to capture share on the market for mobile devices.
-By Sven Grundberg, Dow Jones Newswires; +46-8-5451-3098;
sven.grundberg@dowjones.com
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