The Windows 8 Desktop Is Like an App, It Can Be Used, or Not

Microsoft has already said that because of the Metro evolution, the desktop code won’t even be loaded in Windows 8, unless users actually want it.

Steven Sinofsky, president of Windows and Windows Live Division, compares the desktop in Windows 8 with an application.

When the new Start Screen is center-stage, there’s really no need to go to the desktop, so it can sit in the background. Undoubtedly, there’ll be users who will continue to rely heavily on the desktop, just as there will be those forgetting about it.

Windows 8 will be optimized for both, Sinofsky promised, although he admitted that the desktop and Metro experiences won’t really be unified.

“We said the desktop is like an app in Windows 8—you can use it or not, as much or as little as you want. Some have said “it feels jarring” to go to the desktop. My perspective is that it is no more or less jarring that switching between any other apps if you embrace diversity or experiences that are built for a specific task or purpose,” the Windows boss explained.

Sinofsky pointed out that the Windows team decided to embrace diversity rather than aim for uniformity or policing, which it would still not achieve, hard as it might try.

Users that live on the web are perfectly capable of continually adapting to disparate and inconsistent experiences, and the same will happen in Windows 8.

“Diversity allows us to say with confidence that going from Metro style to the desktop will be harmonious—as harmonious as switching apps or sites is today,” he added.

“It will take orchestration at the top level to make moving seamless—that’s why you see things like switching between apps, snapping apps, or even using ALT+TAB between apps, and the desktop itself, all mechanisms that just work. The animations will work. Copy / Paste will work. Even bridging between “legacy” control panel applets will work.”