14 DAY TRIAL // Last week, we heard rumors on the possibility that Microsoft would aim at putting an end to the use of the term "Metro" in relation to the new user interface in Windows 8.
Rumor has it that, due to some possible trademark dispute, Microsoft would be set not only to stop using the term, but also to impose to application developers to eliminate it from their descriptions and documentation for apps.
Last week, Microsoft did confirm that it is moving away from the term, suggesting that it was meant only for use during the development period.
However, as Windows 8 was already released to manufacturing and the company is currently moving to make it generally available for users on October 26th, the term is no longer needed.
"We have used Metro style as a code name during the product development cycle across many of our product lines," a Microsoft spokesperson said at the time.
"As we get closer to launch and transition from industry dialog to a broad consumer dialog we will use our commercial names."
However, a recent report from The Verge suggests that a trademark dispute with German company Metro AG might have been the cause of this, and that Microsoft will operate the name change as soon as this week.
In fact, the Redmond-based software giant is said to have already sent out emails to developers to inform them on the change.
No info on what the new UI will be called moving forward has emerged so far, but we’ve seen Microsoft mentioning Windows 8 style in relation to applications that have been designed for the new interface.
Metro has been part of Microsoft’s development efforts for quite some time now, with the UI being present not only on Windows 8 and Windows Phone, but also taking over some other products from the company, including Office 2013, Visual Studio, and various online services.
As mentioned above, Windows 8 is set to become commercially available as soon as October 26th. It reached the RTM milestone last week, and it will become available for download for MSDN and TechNet subscribers on August 15th. Other Microsoft partners will receive access to the final code later this month.