MSFN Forum: Microsoft Prepping Windows 8 Glimpse: Report

Microsoft is about to offer an early glimpse of the next version of Windows on a tablet, according to a new report. Speaking to three unnamed people “with knowledge of the company’s plans,” Bloomberg reported May 26 that Microsoft will demonstrate how the next version of Windows will run on an Nvidia Tegra chip, itself based on the ARM architecture that underpins most of today’s smartphone and tablet processors.

In a recent speech to the Microsoft Developer Forum in Tokyo, CEO Steve Ballmer seemed to confirm that Windows 8 will make its debut in 2012, and appear on a variety of form factors, including tablets and PCs.

“As we look forward to the next generation of Windows systems, which will come out next year, there’s a whole lot more coming,” he told the audience, according to a transcript published on Microsoft’s Website. “As we progress through the year, you ought to expect to hear a lot about Windows 8. Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors.”

Just as quickly, though, Microsoft seemed anxious to tamp down on Ballmer’s comments. “It appears there was a misstatement,” a Microsoft spokesperson wrote in a statement circulated to media. “To date, we have yet to formally announce any timing or naming for the next version of Windows.”

Steven Sinofsky, president of the Windows and Windows Live division, will appear at the ninth D:All Things Digital conference scheduled to kick off May 31 in Rancho Palos Verdes, Calif. It’s not inconceivable that he could demonstrate some features of the next version of Windows at the event; but coming so soon after Microsoft’s strident official denials, it would also give more astute company observers a serious case of mental whiplash.

Full story: eWeek