Microsoft will show Windows 8 on tablets at Build

SERIAL SOFTWARE REDEVELOPER Microsoft is set to show off Windows 8 for tablet devices at its Build conference in Southern California this week.

Microsoft has been slowly racheting up the hype for its upcoming Windows 8 operating system all year, starting off with a rather basic demonstration at CES in January. Throughout the year the firm has been banging on about the new interface, improvements to file explorer and fast boot times, but now it is set to show off how well Windows 8 works on tablets.

For Microsoft, Windows 8 on tablet devices is a big thing. Not only is the company developing a version of Windows 8 that supports the ARM architecture, it is making a considerable effort to become a player in what is undoubtedly one of the fastest growing markets in the IT industry.

Microsoft has already shown off the Metro user interface that it claims is better suited to touch based user input. The company has gone to great lengths to say that the more traditional desktop will remain, however it claims that for certain applications the Metro interface will provide a better user experience.

Although Microsoft Windows has been loaded onto devices with touchscreens before, the user interface was always designed to be used with a mouse, not fingers. Both Apple's IOS and Google's Android operating systems are designed to be used only with touchscreens.

Microsoft hopes that its Build conference will serve as a showcase to tempt both users and, more importantly at this stage, device manufacturers and software developers, to put money into supporting Microsoft's upcoming next iteration of its operating system, which it rewrites every few years to keep users on an upgrade treadmill and licence revenue flowing into its bank account. µ