Windows 8 is still far from being finalized, this you can count on

Sep 6, 2011 08:51 GMT  ·  By

Aspects of the file management experience in Windows 8, which has been overhauled already, will continue to be tweaked even further. Microsoft is gearing up to increase the number of early adopters who are granted access to the Windows 8 testing program, and the company stresses that the operating system is still far from being finalized.

Steven Sinofsky, president, Windows and Windows Live Division, has already made it clear that nothing is really set in stone when it comes down to Windows 8.

The Redmond company might decide to add new features still, but also to remove existing components.

Also, following the shipping of the first Windows 8 pre-release Build to testers, the software giant will start gathering feedback, and using the input early adopters provide in order to refine the OS.

One aspect of the next iteration of Windows which will be fine-tuned is the Windows 8 file name collision experience, already revamped extensively as Sinofsky revealed.

“Over the coming months we'll be continuing to refine this design and will keep the feedback from all of you in mind as we do so (along with additional usability testing, dogfooding, etc.),” a member of the Windows team stated.

The screenshot at the top of the article reveals the extent of the redesign when comparing file name conflicts in Windows 7 and in Windows 8.

Microsoft has opted to offer a much more comprehensive experience, increase control and decrease confusion.

Of course, until testers get to take Windows 8 out for a spin, there’s no telling just how successful the new file collision experience is. It’s important to note that the new file conflict mechanism is only a small part of a much larger overhaul of Windows Explorer file management.

With BUILD scheduled to start just a week from now, users worldwide are bound to get additional details on Windows 8, and perhaps even some pre-release bits.