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The Seattle Times Brier Dudley column [The Seattle Times](Seattle Times (WA) Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) June 06--Microsoft can't seem to win lately. For the past year, investors and tech enthusiasts have ripped the company for not offering a decent alternative to Apple's iPad. Every dip in PC sales was held up as evidence that the iPad was ending Microsoft's dominance of personal computing. Last week, Microsoft showed a new touchscreen version of Windows designed for tablets that are as fast and simple to use as the iPad. That prompted tech analysts to cluck about whether Microsoft's screwing things up for big companies, whose older programs may not run on the new devices. But the discussion -- and intense interest in the glimpse of Windows 8 offered last week by Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky at the All Things D conference -- suggest the Windows era isn't over just yet. Here's my opinionated FAQ on the Windows 8 reveal. Q: What exactly did Microsoft do? A: Sinofsky, president of the Windows and Windows Live division, demonstrated the interface for Windows 8, which will go on sale in the next six to 12 months. He showed a new touchscreen interface that computer makers can use to build Windows systems that look and feel more like smartphones or the iPad, and less like a traditional PC. Q: Does that mean I'm going to have to tap the screen to control my next computer? A: No. PC makers will continue to make "regular" desktop and laptop computers with Windows 8 and Intel processors. PC makers will also use Windows 8 to develop a third category of tabletlike computers that are controlled primarily by touch and powered by the tiny ARM processors used in mobile phones and tablets. They could also use the software to build touch-controlled desktop computers and TVs. Q: Where have I seen that Windows 8 design before? A: The new touchscreen design was pulled from the Windows Phone 7 software released last year, which in turn drew on the design of the Zune media player. The system of large "tiles" -- instead of the usual desktop icons -- is also used by the Xbox Kinect menu system. It's a reasonable guess that the touch versions of Windows 8 could also support touchless gesture controls using Kinect technology. I'll bet these pieces will be used to produce a pretty cool Windows TV within a few years, if Microsoft and its partners aren't overly focused on business computing. Q: Will Windows 8 run my programs? A: Mostly. Microsoft said programs that run on Windows 7 will run on Windows 8. But there is a big exception, apparently. Windows 8 tablets based on mobile ARM processors may not support programs built for Windows on Intel architecture. More details about compatibility will be released in September. Q: Who cares? The iPad works fine. A: Some people will opt for an iPad or other browsing tablet. They are nice machines. Other people have been waiting for a reasonably priced, slatelike device that's a full computer, with the ability to plug in external devices, directly load files, choose core applications and otherwise be customized. The PC industry has known for years that a new class of ultrathin, wireless, touchcentric computers was coming. If Microsoft and its partners produce decent tablets at a reasonable price, the hubbub about iPads vs. PCs will fade and we'll just come to expect clipboardlike PCs for $500 to $800. Q: Will Windows 8 tablets be better than the iPad or Android tablets? A: Buyers will have to decide for themselves. The best thing about Microsoft's entry into the tablet race with a good alternative is that it gives buyers more choice -- and not just a choice of brands. There's also a philosophical choice to be made, about what direction to head with personal computing. Google's Android and Apple's iOS platforms are heading toward an authoritarian, cellphone model, where you buy a device that's locked down and tethered to their networks. This is tidier and simpler for people, as long as the dictators are benevolent and don't abuse their power. For better or worse, Windows takes a more open approach, extending back to its roots as a personal computing system. It was built by hobbyists who wanted their own machines instead of terminals connected to a mainframe. The trade-off for this freedom is that there's a hodgepodge of systems, and they can require people to be more engaged in their management. Q: Hey, Microsoft's the evil empire -- I heard it's strong-arming computer makers again? A: There was a surprising report last week that Microsoft is pressuring Windows 8 tablet makers to use particular chips or lose Microsoft's marketing support and other incentives. This sounds like the bad old Microsoft that threw its weight around in the 1990s, leading to the antitrust decree that just expired last month. (This time Microsoft could argue that it's not abusing its monopoly because Apple dominates the tablet category, but still ... ) Microsoft took a similarly hard line with companies using Windows Phone 7, dictating screen sizes and other specifications to be sure a jumble of different models wouldn't be produced. These Apple-like limitations make life easier for software developers because they don't have to worry so much about different hardware configurations. But Microsoft may be softening its stance with Windows 8 tablet makers. When I asked its top spokesman, Frank Shaw, about imposing terms on them, he suggested that it's in flux. "We're still talking to our partners," he said. "There are things we're working out." Q: Whatever. Can I still use a keyboard with Windows 8? A: Yes. Windows 8 systems will come with and without physical keyboards. Touch-only versions have an on-screen keyboard, which can be split for typing with thumbs on each side of the screen. Q: What's next? A: Sinofsky said the company won't be saying much more about Windows 8 until a September conference. There's speculation that a beta test version will be released then. In the meantime, Apple this week will begin talking up the next version of its mobile device platform, and new Android tablets continue to appear. Brier Dudley's column appears Mondays. Reach him at 206-515-5687 or [email protected]. ___ To see more of The Seattle Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.seattletimes.com. Copyright (c) 2011, The Seattle Times Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. 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