Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) will demonstrate Windows 8 running on tablet at a developer conference in Anaheim, California, following a preview of the design in June. The product is an attempt to vault Microsoft into a fast-growing market controlled by Apple and Google Inc.’s Android software.
Windows 8’s design resembles Microsoft’s software for mobile phones in its use of digital tiles instead of icons to help users move between programs, according to the June demonstration by Windows President Steven Sinofsky on a 10.6- inch tablet computer.
Sinofsky at the time declined to say when the software would be available, except to note it “won’t be this fall.”
The design of the software is similar to the tile interface on Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7 mobile-handset software. Like that program, Windows 8’s tiles can be automatically updated to display information from applications on the computer’s start screen. For example, a weather application can tell users that it is forecast to be sunny without requiring them to open the app.