One Windows to rule them all!

[Ravynmagi]

While we've heard this mentioned before, Microsoft CEO Nadella has confirmed that the next version of Windows will combine it's three operating systems into one. There will still be different SKUs for different platforms but they'll have the same architecture and be able to use the same apps and app store.
http://www.theverge.com/2014/7/22/5928219/microsoft-will-merge-windows-into-one-os

I love Windows 8.1 on my desktop, laptop, and tablet. And I've recently decided to try out Windows Phone 8.1 and it's like some ugly red-headed style child that isn't even allowed to live in the same house with the rest of the family, it's made to live in some crawlspace above the garage and can't come out to play with the others, we aren't even sure it's related at all sometimes. The UI doesn't quite behave the same (very little use of edge swipe gestures) and the apps I bought from Windows Store doesn't carry over to the Phone Store and I have to rebuy the same apps again (like MetroTube).

I think this is going to be huge for Windows phones. Once under the same umbrella as the tablets and desktop OS, I think it'll be a lot more attractive for developers to make apps for this. And customers won't have to deal with finding an app for the tablet, but not finding the same app for their phone or vice versa.

This can't come soon enough.

 

[Rdmkr]

Desktop applications on Atom phones, now we're taking. Put it in a flip cover with a keyboard on its flap and presto, a fully functional pc in a pocketable form factor.

Being a windows fan is like rooting for Stannis in GoT. A pretty damned good idea.

 

[zerogear]

It's called Universal apps:

http://liliputing.com/2014/04/universal-windows-apps-will-run-phone-tablet-pc.html

 

[antihelten]

for an interesting bit of perspective, read the last paragraph on this page:

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6972/xbox-one-hardware-compared-to-playstation-4/5

 

[Roland00Address]

So in effect windows 8 is going to be vista all over again. All the ideas and theories for 7 were in vista but they were not ready, half baked, or needs more polish.

Windows 8 will be the same thing. Universal os with universal apps but not yet universal.

Hey at least 8 was fully ready to launch with working drivers and enough memory, CPU, and gpu power to run it.

I actually like 8 and prefer it to 7

 

[Ravynmagi]

It's called Universal apps:

http://liliputing.com/2014/04/universal-windows-apps-will-run-phone-tablet-pc.html

Yeah, but right now those seem to be few and far between. I'm guessing it'll be Windows 8 apps that will be allowed to run on phones in the future and devs that haven't updated their WP8 apps to Universal apps will end up getting pitched into the trash with WP8 OS.

 

[Red Storm]

Unless each and every developer makes sure their app works across all devices, this will be rough. I remember downloading a calculator app on my notebook (upgraded to Win 8 from 7) in the MS store and it wouldn't work. Eventually found out it only supported touch input, which I didn't have. I sat there wondering why this app was showing up in the store when it was useless on my machine.

 

[Clevelandagain]

Unless each and every developer makes sure their app works across all devices, this will be rough. I remember downloading a calculator app on my notebook (upgraded to Win 8 from 7) in the MS store and it wouldn't work. Eventually found out it only supported touch input, which I didn't have. I sat there wondering why this app was showing up in the store when it was useless on my machine.

While they are still trying to get their app store out of its infancy they should really be checking quality and compatibility on as many apps as possible. It doesn't take much for people to get a bad taste in their mouths.

I love the idea of an x86 windows kernel running phone in my pocket. I still remember back in the day a company made a small handheld PC I think the name of the company was OQO and it had I believe a pentium M 1ghz. It got like 2 hours battery life and had a crap screen. We are officially living in the future.

I actually found a link to the wiki page for them, worth a read if you want see how far we've come... Windows on a 800x480 screen running a VIA processor

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OQO

 

[Ravynmagi]

The Windows Phone Store is a cesspool. It wouldn't be a loss for that entire thing to get flushed.

Microsoft really needs to up it's standards on what qualifies to be submitted to the store and not accept anything just to get their numbers up.

 

[Skel]

The Windows Phone Store is a cesspool. It wouldn't be a loss for that entire thing to get flushed.

Microsoft really needs to up it's standards on what qualifies to be submitted to the store and not accept anything just to get their numbers up.

If they did that then all you'd hear is they don't have anywhere near the amount of apps that Apple and Google have, regardless if those apps are mostly throw away fart jokes. It's a no win for any marketplace.

 

[darkewaffle]

I'm really interested to see how this goes, I think there will be severe growing pains and probably tons of negative backlash (no matter how good or bad it is, that's just life for Microsoft) but it's absolutely a good idea and the right direction.

 

[Sattern]

This to me doesn't sound like a good idea, having 3 different operating systems seems like a bit too much.

I'd prefer to only use the one I enjoy the most and that to me, is WIndows 7 Enterprise.

I don't plan on updating until they release something eye boggling as right now Windows 7 seems to be the best in my opinion.

I plan on getting a Macintosh laptop because I don't like the way Windows is going.

 

[Bateluer]

This is an extremely dumb idea. Lets take the #1 reason that Windows 8.x was such a catastrophic failure and continue it! We'll try again to force people to use a tablet UI on their large, high resolution desktop monitors, maybe they'll like it better if we try again?

Not a smart thing to do when Microsoft is facing multiple financially strong competitors that offer arguably better operating systems.

Wasn't it just a few months back that the 'desktop' and 'productivity' and 'usable UI' were being toted by Microsoft as the big features of Windows 9? Wonder why they decided to shove their heads up their asses again.

 

[Red Storm]

Yeah thinking about this, if a developer wants to develop an app for desktops/notebooks, they have to waste time making sure their app works on phones and tablets too? That doesn't seem like a good idea.

 

[biostud]

I think they plan to run apps in windows if you use the desktop mode.

I think it's a good idea to have a unified app store, it makes lots of sense if data is synchronized between devices as well. Personally I still prefer regular windows programs, but if the store are to have any justification this is it.

 

[Roland00Address]

Some people are not understanding what Microsoft is trying to accomplish.

The whole idea is to have one unifed app, but have the app being able to modify itself and look differently depending on the usage type. This is similar how with gmail have it portrait and you only get 1 column but turn it landscape and you have two columns.

One app, but it works on phones, tablets, computers, but it may work slightly differently depending on usage model.

-----

Now this will make the developer's job harder for if they chose too they will have more options, but in theory Microsoft can make developer's tools that automate these processes so if the developers choose to do it, it won't be much more work.

Developer tools work in theory, but it is a very big but and is a big gamble for Microsoft. They needed to make the developer's job easier not harder, yet they need to have unique and better features than their competitors to attract and keep users.

We will see if microsoft succeeds or fails.

 

[Bateluer]

Some people are not understanding what Microsoft is trying to accomplish.

The whole idea is to have one unifed app, but have the app being able to modify itself and look differently depending on the usage type. This is similar how with gmail have it portrait and you only get 1 column but turn it landscape and you have two columns.

One app, but it works on phones, tablets, computers, but it may work slightly differently depending on usage model.

-----

Oh, we understand perfectly. That is exactly why this is doomed to failure. The Eclipse suite I run on my desktop isn't something I'm going to run on my phone or tablet. The games I run on my phone aren't what I'll run on my desktop nor are the games I run on the desktop something I'd play on the phone. Utilities on my phone are different than what I need to run on the desktop.

Attempts to force a 'unified' app across three very different and distinct sets of hardware is simply going to end in failure over and over and over.

 

[quikah]

Oh, we understand perfectly. That is exactly why this is doomed to failure. The Eclipse suite I run on my desktop isn't something I'm going to run on my phone or tablet. The games I run on my phone aren't what I'll run on my desktop nor are the games I run on the desktop something I'd play on the phone. Utilities on my phone are different than what I need to run on the desktop.





Attempts to force a 'unified' app across three very different and distinct sets of hardware is simply going to end in failure over and over and over.

it isn't required. You can build an app for just phone or desktop if you want. It is useful to have a universal app where it makes sense.

 

[Crono]

Clearly some people are taking this the wrong way.

It's not Microsoft forcing you to use apps designed for other devices in the desktop environment (and we already know they are continuing to back down from their original Modern-focused stance of original Windows 8 with Threshold/9), it's the unification of disparate app stores which were already Modern UI/tile designed, anyway.

That's a good thing. Better syncing and buy-once of apps is what people who own multiple form factor, Windows ecosystem devices (i.e. Windows Phone, tablet, and desktop) want. And for everyone else it isn't taking anything away from you.

I was hoping for this since Windows Phone launched, and looking forward to confirmation since rumors of this strategy surfaced (no pun intended) a year ago or so. I have an 8" tablet, Windows Phone, and desktop, all running the latest 8.1 versions. There is some overlap of apps that are supported on all three, but not all. I would especially like to run WP apps I already own on tablet. So far it's just stuff like Halo: Spartan Assault, Jetpack Joyride, and White Noise that I have across all three.

 

[Raduque]

So will this update come free to Surface RT and will it let me run desktop apps on ARM?

 

[biostud]

So will this update come free to Surface RT and will it let me run desktop apps on ARM?

Only store apps, not normal Windows programs.

 

[Red Storm]

it isn't required. You can build an app for just phone or desktop if you want. It is useful to have a universal app where it makes sense.

But here's the potential issue, if you build your app just for phones or tablets, is it still going to show up in the app store for desktops and notebooks? If the aim is to be universal, then the store should show the same things regardless of the device correct? But if an app doesn't work well on regular computers (or at all, like my experience with the touch only calculator on my non-touch laptop), then you wouldn't want it to show up in their app stores, which means a non-universal app store.

MS's insistence on this one size fits all approach is dumb. A phone and a desktop computer should not be running the same OS. When I press the start button on my Windows Phone to go find something else, I expect to be taken away from my screen to another, because phones are small and screen space is limited. On my notebook, I have a much larger screen and back in Windows 7 when I would press the Start button to look up another application/file/folder/etc, the Start menu would open on the side, keeping me where I am while I did the other task. But in Win8 apparently I need to be whisked away from my current work just for a simple search or to open another application.

That's just one example of why forcing convergence for vastly different devices is a bad idea. Google has it right with Chrome OS and Android. Apple has it right with Mac OS and iOS.

 

[darkewaffle]

MS's insistence on this one size fits all approach is dumb. A phone and a desktop computer should not be running the same OS. When I press the start button on my Windows Phone to go find something else, I expect to be taken away from my screen to another, because phones are small and screen space is limited. On my notebook, I have a much larger screen and back in Windows 7 when I would press the Start button to look up another application/file/folder/etc, the Start menu would open on the side, keeping me where I am while I did the other task..

Why do you think it's going to behave identically across platforms?

The idea is to allow code to be executed across platforms (and to probably have a consistent visual 'theme') but my understanding is the base OS will tailor itself and scale itself to the device as needed and to have it expect a touchscreen when there is one, disable touch when there's not, increase DPI for certain devices, enable or disable specific UI elements for certain screen sizes, etc.

I think having the notion that there will be one central UI/user experience across all platforms is way offbase.

 

[Red Storm]

Why do you think it's going to behave identically across platforms?

The idea is to allow code to be executed across platforms (and to probably have a consistent visual 'theme') but my understanding is the base OS will tailor itself and scale itself to the device as needed and to have it expect a touchscreen when there is one, disable touch when there's not, increase DPI for certain devices, enable or disable specific UI elements for certain screen sizes, etc.

I think having the notion that there will be one central UI/user experience across all platforms is way offbase.

I want to believe you, but Windows 8 did not do it as you say. My notebook had the same UI as a small 8 inch tablet.

 

[quikah]

I don't know why this is so hard to understand. They will tag the app for just phone, or just tablet, or for everything. Same thing that happens in the Play Store.