14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has already announced an avalanche of new products and updates for this fall, but October in particular seems to be most important month in its entire history.
Steve Ballmer has already revealed that Windows 8’s launch is at least as important as Windows 95’s, so everybody in the Redmond campus expects and hopes to see the new operating system change the world.
Windows 8 will be aimed not only at traditional PCs, but also at mobile phones and tablet users, but Microsoft will also debut its very own tablet called Surface. The company remained pretty tight-lipped till now when it comes to the Surface, but Steve Ballmer flashed the device a couple of times in the last few months.
Leaving Windows aside, Microsoft also rebranded its Windows Live mail service to Outlook.com and rolled out a brand new design that brings it in line with the upcoming Windows 8. Microsoft seems to go “all in” on the Modern (previously called Metro) GUI, so it slowly moves all of its products to this new look and feel.
The technology giant also made the move to a new company logo, again inspired by the Metro user interface, but comprising colors that this time are linked to its products.
A new MSN portal will be released together with Windows 8 and will feature the same “revolutionary” (as Microsoft hopes) design. A Metro touch and feel that will allow users to easily browse the content of their famous portal which, from now on, will also provide access to a news section with content created by Microsoft’s own editors.
A new Office is coming too, this time with subscriptions and aimed at a wide array of user categories. What’s more, Microsoft will offer a free Office copy to all Windows RT buyers, in an attempt to challenge the current leaders in the tablet market.
Last but not least, several other products will be updated this month, including Internet Explorer that will make the move to version 10 as part of the new Windows 8 operating system.
So, in the end, it seems like Steve Ballmer comes clean this time: Windows 8’s launch is at least as important as Windows 95’s.