Ballmer previews a drastic overhaul at the Vegas electronics show.
LAS VEGAS ? Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer promoted a series of new products ? including a drastically redesigned Windows operating system ? during the software giant's final pre-show keynote at the International Consumer Electronics Show on Monday night.
Windows 8 draws from Microsoft's mobile-phone operating system, Windows Phone, featuring square and rectangular tiles as shortcuts. The tiles reveal updates, such as the amount of new mail, without requiring users to launch the applications. Once launched, programs take up a machine's entire viewable screen, and a swipe of the finger shows its controls.
"With Windows 8, we've reimagined Windows, all the way from the chipset through to the user experience," Ball-mer said.
Another Microsoft executive showed off a tablet computer running Windows 8, which could present the company's best shot at tapping into the fast-growing market revolutionized in 2010 by Apple's original iPad.
A beta version of Windows 8 and a Windows store selling related apps is set to launch next month.
The system's predecessor, Windows 7, has reached 500 million users worldwide, Ballmer said.
Microsoft also showed off voice-activated features on its Xbox gaming console that allow users to search, play, rewind and perform other commands with speech.
"American Idol" host Ryan Seacrest, who emceed the event, closed by asking, "One final question: What's next?"
"Windows 8 is what's next," Ballmer said. "The next milestone's in late February, then boom, on to the shipment of Windows 8."
He didn't disclose an official release date for the operating system.
The electronics show runs through Friday.
Andy Vuong: 303-954-1209, avuong@denverpost.com or twitter.com/andyvuong
Source: http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_19709444?source=rss
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