According to the Korea Economic Daily, Microsoft and Samsung are collaborating on the tablet. If that proves true, it would dovetail neatly with earlier rumors that Microsoft plans on offering BUILD attendees a quad-core tablet loaded with Windows 8.
Microsoft's marketing and outreach campaign for the operating system is well underway. For weeks, the company has profiled the developing features and user interface via its official Building Windows 8 blog. Executives at BUILD will almost certainly discuss some as-yet-unseen aspects.
Why all the buildup? For starters, Windows 8 offers a significant risk for the company. The operating system deviates somewhat from the model established by previous Windows versions, with a touch-centric environment (for tablets) that will supposedly co-exist peacefully with a more traditional desktop interface.
Some of Microsoft's early reveals have proved controversial for Windows enthusiasts. Prime among them: the integration of an updated "ribbon" interface into the Windows 8 version of Windows Explorer. Windows and Windows Live Division President Steven Sinofsky used a Sept. 2 posting to defend the choice.
"We chose the ribbon mechanism, and to those that find that a flawed choice, there isn't much we can do other than disagree," Sinofsky wrote. "We were certain, and this proved out, that the dislike of the ribbon is most intense in the audience of this blog."
He also defended the choice to deviate Windows 8 away from the "Aero" design scheme that defined Windows Vista and Windows 7, toward the "Metro" aesthetic established in Microsoft's Zune software and Windows Phone. "We've seen a clear turn where Aero is the past and Metro is the future," he added. "And with that a strong desire for the existing Windows experience to take on a new look or a Metro redesign."
There's an eWeek slideshow breaking down some of the Windows 8 features we know so far. Expect a whole lot more news on the operating system in days to come.
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