Could the future of Microsoft’s Windows be all Metro?
Back in February on my Windows related blog I made a prediction regarding the next version of Windows expected some time in 2012. In the post I suggested that we could see something radically different from Redmond and while it was definitely a case of reading the tea leaves it was based on some interesting tidbits of information that has started floating around the web.
Writing that post I spent some time looking over all the images and videos posted to the various blogs covering the conference and Microsoft’s announcement as well as reading a whole bunch of them. As I was reading I was reminded of a recent post over at Microsoft Kitchen by Stephen Chapman about some rumors starting to make the rounds about how Windows 8 would becompletely different and mind-blowing.
While much of the tea leaf reading was centered around the upcoming release of the Windows Phone 7 Series I also suggested that the Metro UI, which is the basis of both the phone and Zune HD, was prime for use in other areas. Specifically – for me anyway – to give the tired old Windows metaphor a completely new refresh.
With the big Microsoft MIX10 conference happening next week we are starting to hear more about this totally new Metro UI with people like Long Zheng and Paul Thurrott digging up more interesting information.
Fans of the “Metro” user experience which made its debut on Windows Phone 7 Series will be pleased to know desktop applications featuring large fonts and simple shapes too are coming soon to a PC and Mac near you.
Ahead of the MIX10 event next week, Tim Heuer of the Silverlight team let out a sneak peek at some new application themes developed by Microsoft for Silverlight 4, including one inspired by the Zune desktop software appropriately called “Metro”.
This lead me back to an early post in February where Thurrott suggests that the Metro UI could be the best refresh – and challenge – to Windows that we have seen to date.
I have no insider information to suggest that this is what Microsoft is actually doing. But it’s very clear to me that something wonderfully innovative has happened here. And if this company is looking for the next mark it can leave on the world, my recommendation is to see where else Metro makes sense and to apply this UI liberally across its other product lines. This new UI, and the thinking it represents, is I think the biggest change that’s come out of the Windows Phone 7 Series launch. And I see no reason why it needs to be limited to just the phone.
It will be interesting to see what kind of take-up of the Metro UI styling we see developers take after MIX10. Suffice to say that is we see a re-invigoration of application user interface design due to Metro I am sure that Microsoft will be taking note; and that could portend for some very interesting things in future versions of Windows.
