Microsoft will demo a tablet OS next week

POLISHER OF WINDOWS Microsoft is set to preview a version of its Windows operating system next week that it claims doesn't look like a complete dogs dinner on tablets.

Until now Windows-based tablets have been as pleasant to look at as a motorway accident and have generated similar feelings of revulsion in users. Yet the the company seems to have struggled to understand why Apple's hardware is flying off the shelves, while its own touch interface devices are gathering dust in a warehouse somewhere.

According to some anonymous insiders at the company, Microsoft has finally cracked touchscreen user interface (UI) design and will be looking for plaudits at Computex in Taipei and All Things D next week. It will demonstrate an "immersive UI" running on Nvidia Tegra 2 hardware when Steven Sinofsky takes to the stage at the All Things D show in California.

In recent days Microsoft seems to have busied itself by disagreeing with pretty much everything Steve Ballmer has said in public. When he announced that computers running Windows 8 will ship in 2012, the company swiftly backtracked, claiming he misspoke. It even refused to admit that the next OS will be called Windows 8. It has, however, yet to dispute Ballmer's claims that it is in a race and "not doing too badly, frankly", but that should only be a matter of time.

Microsoft needs its Windows operating system to find its tablet legs, and soon. It has been reported that PC sales are down eight per cent and netbook sales have plunged a staggering 40 per cent. These are, of course, areas where Microsoft has traditionally made a lot of money, so it must be causing some shareholder anxiety, even if the company hasn't backed off some of Ballmer's recent pronouncements. µ