
And yes, the stream of controlled Windows 8 leaks continues. This time around, Thurrot and Rivera have published a number of screenshots from Windows 8's brand-new tablet user interface, and surprise surprise, its built on Metro, the same design language that underpins Windows Phone 7. Windows 8 will also include its own PDF reader, Modern Reader, which also happens to be the first application packaged in Microsoft's new AppX format.
Update: Long Zheng has
some technical details on AppX, including this little tidbit: "The extensive list of properties signifies the comprehensive scope of this system to be the ideal deployment strategy for 'applications', in all essence of the word. In fact, the AppX format is universal enough so it appears to work for everything from native Win32 applications to framework-based applications and even *gasp* web applications. Games are also supported."
Member since:
2007-02-17
It is becase Microsoft were deemed to have an effective monopoly on the desktop operating system, and because Microsoft insist that the browser is an inseperable part of the operating system when clearly it isn't, and finally because Microsoft insist on extending their browser (which is meant to interface to the public-access web) with proprietary, Windows-only extensions such as ActiveX.
Those factors combined had the potential to turn the public-access web into the Windows-only web. That is unacceptable.
IMO opinion the better solution would have been to force Microsoft to make IE compliant with open standards web technologies and to remove extended Windows-only functionality. No matter then if IE was embedded into the OS or not, as Microsoft chose. Instead Microsoft suggested, and the EU fell for, the browser ballot.
Meh. IMO it isn't going to matter in the long run. Because of firefox mainly and more lately mobiles, tablets and handhelds, Windows-only websites are becoming very rare. The prospect of a Windows-only proprietary web is much lower now than it used to be.