Windows 9 will allow you to transform your PC into a walking, fighting robot. Separate downloadable content in the form of add-on packs, Microsoft Flight-style, will allow you to train your PC robot to perform common household chores.
Another no-brainer: Windows 9’s going to be tied into the cloud. Just how much, though, remains the big question. At the very least, you can count on deeper integration – perhaps even build directly into the file system – of Microsoft’s SkyDrive-based hosting.
The time is not far off when cloud-based storage won’t be a separate app you load within Windows or a folder you simply drop things into. It’ll just be. You’ll still be able to keep certain apps and mission-critical files on your desktop (for performance or security), but Windows’ default storage mindset will switch from the local to the ethereal.
Plus, this would give Microsoft a way to upsell customers on virtual storage space and permanently tie them into the Windows family forevermore. Ta-da!
Now, how much crazier we get with the cloud is anyone’s guess. This includes everything from behind-the-scenes backups of your entire hard drive, to apps that run completely in the cloud and just require a minimal hook within your OS to function, to the real biggie: A cloud-based operating system. In the latter – which would use techniques Microsoft’s been busy patenting – you’d download or physically install just a small chunk of data required to actually boot an operating system. Which I suppose could even be stored on a flash drive, if you want to get really fancy.
The bulk of Windows 9 (or 10?) would live in the cloud – your device would be akin to a terminal. Which makes me wonder how we’d approach software like games: Would these run in the cloud as well and just stream an image to one’s device? What happens when one’s internet connection is slow, jittery, or non-existent? Does that mean your OS goes offline for good? Your video game dude dies?
We can keep our heads in the hardware clouds all day long, if we’d like. But at the very, very least, here’s hoping that future incarnations of Windows adopt a Valve-like approach to software.
A “buy once, run anywhere” concept could allow a user to authenticate into Windows 9 on any hardware device, and then just as easily download and run apps he or she has previously purchased via the good ol’ Microsoft Store. Given just how app-centric Windows 8’s Metro UI has become, it only makes sense to let users download (or stream) a “Microsoft Office” app, or a partner’s “Adobe Photoshop” app, for example. The world is going digital distribution: Microsoft should, and will, embrace its conveniences for end users.
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