14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft keeps looking at ways to expand the Windows 10 ecosystem, and part of these plans seems to be a new project internally called “Cloud Shell.”
While information is quite sketchy at this point, Petri reports that Cloud Shell is essentially a “lightweight iteration of Windows designed for the modern computing world,” despite the fact that its name suggests that it could be just a shell for the operating system.
Microsoft is apparently aiming beyond that, and with Cloud Shell, the firm could be looking at rebooting its Windows RT efforts that were started with the Surface RT in October 2012, but which failed due to lack of adoption. Windows RT was a flop pretty much because of the lack of apps developed for ARM processors, but with full Windows 10 coming to these chips this year, Redmond might give the project another chance.
Furthermore, given the investments it makes into universal apps, a modern version of Windows RT could actually be more successful, with the Windows Store and UWP believed to be at the core of the new Cloud Shell project.
Windows 10 running in the cloud?
According to the same report, Microsoft is aiming at launching Cloud Shell as soon as this year, but with the company keeping all details secret, this could easily change overnight, depending on how development advances.
But as the source puts it, the name of the project also hints at a different approach based on the cloud. There were rumors in the past indicating that Microsoft could be building a Windows version running the cloud and streamed to computers through the Internet, making it extremely convenient for enterprises to maintain their systems without the need for latest-generation hardware, while also benefiting from top-notch performance and security.
This could indeed be a possibility, as it also aligns with Redmond’s target for delivering Windows as a Service, but with everything still in rumor stage, speculation is all we’ve got. The Build developer conference could bring us more news on this front, so look forward to May for more information.