The Windows 8 Power Struggle: Metro vs Desktop

by Dave Altavilla — Friday, March 09, 2012, 11:25 AM EDT

We've been looking forward to Windows 8's Consumer Preview for months. This, after all, is Microsoft's big chance to show what they've been working on and unveiling bit by bit for the past year; a chance to evaluate the sum total of changes and advancements baked into the next-generation operating system. We'll discuss some of the features of Metro and Desktop (aka Classic) separately, but our overall focus will be on how the two environments interact with each other.

Metro, Microsoft's new UI, is bold, a dramatic departure from anything the company has previously done in the desktop/laptop space, and absolutely great. It's tangible proof that Redmond really can design and build its own unique products and experiences.

Now, let's consider Desktop mode and then look at how they mesh, or don't.

Tags: Nvidia, AMD, Intel, Microsoft, CPU, Desktop, ARM, SoC, Medfield, Windows 8, classic, Win 8, Metro UI, Sinofsky, Metro, Clover Trail

Dave Altavilla

With nearly two decades of experience as a semiconductor sales engineer, Dave Altavilla founded HotHardware.com over 25 years ago with perspective as an industry insider and a passion for the wonders of system-level development and performance that culminate into the next generation, cutting-edge devices of tomorrow. Cultivated with the sweat-equity of time spent in the engineering backrooms and offices of Chief Architects of Wall Street bellwethers like Motorola, Cisco and EMC, Dave's insight into the design and manufacturing of leading-edge technologies, brings a laser-sharp understanding of what it takes to deliver a best-of-class product to market. Dave handles final editorial responsibilities of HotHardware's content, along with the site's creative vision and business development efforts. In addition to feature product launch articles at HotHardware for major OEM releases, Dave is also a published author in various technology-based print publications and has been a featured guest on various webcasts and Tech radio shows. In his spare time Dave likes to spend time on the ocean and coaching youth Baseball. - Contact: davea(at)hothardware(dot)com and follow him on Twitter if you like. He also has an About.me page here.

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