Windows 8 hardware requirements will decrease over time

ONE OF THE MOST understated and overall user and system integrator friendly bits of chatter at Microsoft's Worldwide Partner Conference yesterday was Microsoft CFO Tami Reller's statement on Windows 8 requirements, or more to the point, the focus on keeping hardware requirements under control.

During this speech, Reller pointed out one shocking piece of highly-quotable information, saying, "In both of our Windows 8 previews, we talked about continuing on with the important trend that we started with Windows 7, keeping system requirements either flat or reducing them over time."

Now, please re-read the last four words in that sentence. It's win-win.

This announcement by the Microsoft VP says a lot about what Windows 8 is and what Microsoft is trying to achieve. While knowing that Windows 8 will run on the same hardware as Windows 7 is great for early adopters, both upgraders and system integrators, it has to be a historic first for the company when it announces that the OS will be available for a wider range of hardware and, in fact, will become slimmer over time.

By far, the most believable implication of this is that Microsoft will release several versions of Windows 8 that will fit the bill on all sorts of hardware, but Reller then added, "And, we've also built intelligence into Windows 8 so that it can adapt to the user experience based on the hardware of the user." This doesn't sound as plain as going into Advanced System Settings and checking off a few boxes to disable eye-candy. You don't build in intelligence for that.

It does, however, sound like the next Microsoft PC operating system (OS) will have a hardware evaluation feature that will install the OS to the hardware specifications of the machine it's on. This is integrator and consumer bliss. If realised, it will also allow Microsoft to move into new, uncharted territory, without having to peel huge layers of code from the OS to have it run on lighter weight hardware. Ideally, the same copy of Windows 8 would be able to install itself on the lightest of tablets or on the most powerful workstations, and keep the same level of core functionality without feeling like you're wading in a tar-pit.

The fact is the world has been dancing to the tune of Microsoft's hardware requirements forever, really, with each successive edition of the Windows OS piling on more resource requirements at an abusively high rate - up until Windows 7, at least - and consequently favouring the hardware manufacturers' product lifecycle plans. While in the short term this will help get as many people on board with Windows 8, across all levels of computing, it will require that system integrators scrap their marketing plans altogether, and maybe that's why Reller also announced a new event called "Build".

Build will be Microsoft's 'workshop' on how to develop modern hardware and software for the new Windows OS and future developments, mostly to help developers on the new tactile interface and how to develops Apps for Windows 8.

The reality of it all will be somewhere in-between multiple versions of the OS versus an intelligent install of the OS that matches the computer's or device's specifications, we're sure, but the simple idea of having a Microsoft OS adapt itself to the hardware that's installed, instead of just imposing its bulk onto the PC no matter what, seems to be a fresh approach from the software giant. µ