Microsoft will merge separate versions of Windows into one unified operating system - Polidicks

[QUOTE]"This means one OS that covers all screen sizes." [/QUOTE] [QUOTE]Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella has confirmed that his company will amalgamate all major versions of Windows into one operating system. Speaking on the company's quarterly earnings call today, Nadella told analysts Microsoft will "streamline the next version of Windows from three operating systems into one single converged operating system." Describing the implications of the change, Nadella said "this means one operating system that covers all screen sizes." Previously, under the management of Steve Ballmer, Microsoft had multiple teams producing different versions of Windows working separately from each other. "Now," Nadella said, "we have one team with a common architecture." The Microsoft boss didn't clarify exactly how Windows, Windows Phone, and Xbox will be unified, but noted the benefit for users and developers — while Microsoft will still sell different editions of Windows, the new unified platform will allow the creation of universal Windows apps that work across all devices running the OS. [/QUOTE] [url]http://www.theverge.com/2014/7/22/5928219/microsoft-will-merge-windows-into-one-os[/url]

[QUOTE=Amiga OS;45474554]Good, windows RT needs to die.[/QUOTE] It's already dead

So what's their strategy for doing so? We saw with 8 that sticking a tablet interface on a desktop just annoys people, so what are they going to do? They've go so many different UI toolkits now that a single unified one would be nice (Something like WPF but usable from native code, etc.)

So, more tablet shit for desktops. Can't wait.

[QUOTE=acds;45474587]So, more tablet shit for desktops. Can't wait.[/QUOTE] And phone shit and xbone shit. Fun.

Actually Windows 9 is supposed to be [url=http://facepunch.com/showthread.php?t=1409122]"focused on the desktop"[/url], I'd imagine all the fullscreen touch friendly tablet stuff will be optional, like the start screen

Isn't this what they did with 8?

[QUOTE=No_Excuses;45474612]Isn't this what they did with 8?[/QUOTE] 8 was their attempt at making 3 separate OSes that worked together, which was okay as far as connecting a W8 phone to a W8 PC was concerned. This is meant to be one OS to cover everything. Which makes me ask, how will this effect the (already struggling) Xbox One, will it have to have a whole new OS installed or will they try to cobble together an update to Frankenstein the current OS into a W9 OS? And how much space is going to be wasted on W9 phones and tablets which have a load of PC shit they don't need installed?

So does this mean we'll be getting phones that can run x86 Windows programs?

[QUOTE=Amiga OS;45474807] Running x86-64 software on my Surface Pro 2 isn't ideal UX wise, the UI issues would be compounded on a phone.[/QUOTE]If UI is the only issue then it's a minor one, at least for advanced users.

[QUOTE=Amiga OS;45474554]Good, windows RT needs to die.[/QUOTE] windows rt was dead on arrival like many microsoft products

Remember, unlike 8, it's same OS with different UI, not different OS with same UI.

[QUOTE=.Lain;45474868]windows rt was dead on arrival like many microsoft products[/QUOTE] Yeah, remember when the Surface was an actual table? :v:

This seems like a really bad idea. A jack of all trades is a master of none.

[QUOTE=Amiga OS;45474807]Well, Intel does have Bay Trail Atom chips that are already in some Android phones. Running x86-64 software on my Surface Pro 2 isn't ideal UX wise, the UI issues would be compounded on a phone.[/QUOTE] I got a Windows 8 tablet too, and while yeah, most regular Windows interfaces are shit with a tablet, I still much prefer having a near infinite supply of programs with poor interfaces than I do having few programs with good interfaces.

I remember how they hyped up Windows Phone 8, RT and 8 - they were all the same OS and shit.

If the rumors of free upgrade for Windows 7 and newer users are true, I'll be all over this.

[QUOTE=Sam Za Nemesis;45475187]RT has great potential[/QUOTE] But Microsoft didn't act upon it and therefore ruined it's viable chances Honestly, if they signed up with the big players on Android and iOS's app store they could of easily created a suitable contender, instead they relied on them to come over and at the same time allowed 3rd party devs to create awful clones What I don't understand right now is the differences. Google Play and iOS App Store both have systems where tablet and phone apps are integrated into a simple one stop marketplace. On Windows's there's two stores and they're separated. Windows 8 should of been able to run WP8 apps without the need of downloading the emulator from the devkit, it should of all been piped through the Windows Store, not Windows Store AND Windows Phone Store Xbox store is a whole different story however

Sucks to be you. I'm running eComStation.

[QUOTE=Amiga OS;45475476]Its Windows without the good bits? Why the hell would anybody subject themselves to Windows by choice, you all only use it because of the back catalogue of software available, not because its actually any good.[/QUOTE] Good thing that's your opinion.

[QUOTE=TheDecryptor;45474580]So what's their strategy for doing so? We saw with 8 that sticking a tablet interface on a desktop just annoys people, so what are they going to do? They've go so many different UI toolkits now that a single unified one would be nice (Something like WPF but usable from native code, etc.)[/QUOTE] The backend Windows will be the same on any device. The UI will change, however, depending on your screen size and input method. Desktop PCs will have a desktop, apps will run in windows and the start menu will not be full screen. On touch/hybrid devices (phones and tablets), apps will run in full screen and the start screen will be full screen. These are all the default settings, though, and will probably be totally configurable. Xboxes probably won't be any different to now, but it'd be pretty neat to be able to switch your Windows PC UI over to the Xbox UI if you want to use it like a TV/Console. I keep my PC in my bedroom so it'd be pretty sweet to be able to switch it to a TV UI and watch shit in bed without having to faff around with a mouse/keyboard interface. I'm guessing apps are going to be really similar across devices. Devs will probably be able to make minor adjustments to make the Xbox version controllable with a controller and adjustments for different screen sizes. But the desktop version of an app will probably just be the same as the tablet/phone version, just in a window.

[QUOTE=Sam Za Nemesis;45475187]RT has great potential[/QUOTE] More like belongs in the trash.

[QUOTE=Sam Za Nemesis;45475187]RT has great potential[/QUOTE] RT could have had potential. The trouble is, it doesn't have any apps and, you can have as many great features baked into the OS as you want, apps make or break an OS. You can't get users without apps, but you can't get apps without users. It's a vicious catch 22 and it's plagued Windows Phone for years. See, this is exactly why they forced metro apps onto desktops/laptops. They weren't trying to force everyone onto tablets or anything like that. They were trying to expose users to the Windows store, so that developers would have a reason to develop for it, and eventually there would be enough quality Windows store apps for RT to be worth buying, since Microsoft knows full well that if they don't catch up in mobile computing, it won't be long before they're out of the consumer market all together. But that hasn't happened. People didn't want to adapt to using full screen apps from the store on their devices designed for windowed apps. So what they're doing in stead is making those apps run in windows on desktops and laptops.

[QUOTE=TheDecryptor;45474580]So what's their strategy for doing so? We saw with 8 that sticking a tablet interface on a desktop just annoys people, so what are they going to do? They've go so many different UI toolkits now that a single unified one would be nice (Something like WPF but usable from native code, etc.)[/QUOTE] they could just make an OS configurable The entire metro thing wouldn't have been much of a big deal if it was just an option you could enable and they could make things like DPI scaling and touch-friendly window options configurable

[QUOTE=Thunderbolt;45474883]Yeah, remember when the Surface was an actual table? :v:[/QUOTE] Doesn't that still exist in some way?

[QUOTE=Amiga OS;45474807]Well, Intel does have Bay Trail Atom chips that are already in some Android phones. Running x86-64 software on my Surface Pro 2 isn't ideal UX wise, the UI issues would be compounded on a phone.[/QUOTE] hypothetically but you can bet your ass that they'll totally lock down the system down and disable it to pander to the technologically illiterate just like when they stopped you from compiling x86 programs for Windows RT

This is what was wrong with 8.

[QUOTE=OvB;45476238]Doesn't that still exist in some way?[/QUOTE] Yeah, it's called [url=http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/pixelsense/default.aspx]Microsoft Pixelsense[/url]

So are we gonna fuck over windows server users with this or ehat?

I honestly miss when windows phones way back when tried to look like desktop windows. Granted you had to use a stylus so the precise interface made more sense, but it felt like you had more power like you have on a desktop environment. Ever since capacitive touchscreens started becoming mainstream I've always hoped to have like a screen than can be used with fingers OR a precise stylus (not that rubber tipped crap)