14 DAY TRIAL // The recent details on Windows 8 that Microsoft shared with the world can be considered only the start of the conversation focused on the next major iteration of the Windows client. At D9 and Computex, the software giant unveiled the new NUI + GUI marriage for the Windows 8 flavor tailored to next generation form factors.
There were additional details about the forthcoming version of Windows presented to the public, such as the new developer platform allowing devs to use technologies including HTML5, CSS and JavaScript, but also Internet Explorer 10 (IE10), the new Start Screen, Live Tiles, upcoming apps, multitasking, etc.
Microsoft had kept extremely quiet until last week on the successor of Windows 7, not even confirming that the internal codename for the release was Windows 8, although it was somewhat common knowledge, even outside of Redmond.
When he took control of the Windows development process after Jim Allchin stepped down, Steven Sinofsky, now President of the Windows and Windows Live Division, changed the communications policy for the Windows team.
A direct result of his translucency strategy is the fact that no details on an upcoming product are shared until their all but finalized, and sure to make it into the RTM (release to manufacturing) Build.
Another aspect of the modified strategy involves a dialog focused on the process of building Windows.
Some users might remember that Microsoft did the same ahead of Windows 7’s Milestone 3 pre-beta release at PDC 2008, via the Windows 7 Engineering blog.
Julie Larson-Green, Corporate Vice President, Windows Experience confirmed last week that the same will happen with Windows 8, “We plan to kick off our engineering dialogue through our team blog, just as we did for Windows 7,” she said.
It sounds to me like the Redmond company is planning to introduce a Windows 8 Engineering blog, bringing elements of the platform’s building process to center stage.
An equivalent of http://blogs.msdn.com/b/e7/, namely http://blogs.msdn.com/b/e8/ has been live since early 2010, but with no content added as of this article. But there’s really no telling whether Microsoft will be using http://blogs.msdn.com/b/e8/ for the Windows 8 Engineering blog, or whether it the Windows Team Blog will serve as home for the new communications channel.
There’s also no deadline for the launch of the Windows 8 engineering dialogue, but as far as I’m concerned, it’s almost guaranteed to kick off in the coming months, certainly well ahead of September’s BUILD conference.