14 DAY TRIAL // With Windows 8, Microsoft is about to change many of its other products, but only to make them better and to grab more advantage over rivals, it seems.
On Monday, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer presented to the attendees to the company’s annual Worldwide Partner Conference in Toronto some of the latest achievements the giant has reached with various products.
Following the keynote, he told CRN that Microsoft is determined to battle its rivals on all fronts, and specifically mentioned Apple.
He also noted that the company has before ceded some ground to the Cupertino-based company, especially when it came to the relation between software and hardware, but that is about to change.
Moving forth, the software giant is determined to cover all fields, and plans on leaving no space to Apple.
The recently announced Surface tablet PC is the first step Microsoft took in this direction, opening a new era in the history of computing for the Redmond-based company.
Basically, the fierce battle between PCs and Macs during the 1990's could return to the spotlight, though Ballmer says that Microsoft currently has advantages over competition.
At the same time, Ballmer said that Microsoft is determined to push hard in all areas, including the software and hardware segments, and the consumer cloud market.
For the moment, Microsoft is focused on Windows 8 and on its Surface tablet PC, and does not have plans to come up with its own smartphones, it seems.
The focus on Windows 8 will expand to other products from the company as well, including its online services, all of which are bound to get some sort of a Metro UI makeover soon.
The platform is set to become available in October, when new computers from partners will land on the market, along with Microsoft’s own Windows RT flavor of the Surface. The Windows 8 Pro-based version of the device will arrive about three months later, the company announced last month. Windows 8 is expected to reach RTM status in early August.