Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told developers attending BUILD that Windows 8 would be a “re-imagining” of Redmond’s flagship operating system, with every other product “pivoting” around the long-awaited OS.
”There is no phone, [no] tablet, there is no operating system on the planet that will ship 350 million units of anything other than Windows,” Ballmer said.
According to Ballmer, Windows 8 is “all about the cloud,” as “each and every one” of Microsoft’s businesses are “re-designing” their systems and moving to the cloud as their fundamental business model.
“Each one is asking, ‘What kind of app scenarios can I build given that I have these new cloud services?’
“[Clearly, Windows 8 is about] building on the new technology foundation of Windows, and taking it in new and unexpected directions to reach new hardware, to reach the cloud, to create new developer opportunities.”
Microsoft’s strategy, said Ballmer, essentially creates an unprecedented opportunities for developers who would have access to a vibrant user base of 500 million PCs that can be upgraded to Windows 8.
“Betting on us and the work we’re doing will be an essential and valuable part of everything you do… It’s the day and age of the developer, the Windows developer. Let’s move forward together and let’s seize the opportunity for developers, developers, developers.”
Ballmer also noted that Microsoft wasn’t choosing one hardware architecture over the other and emphasized Windows 8 would run well on both x86 and ARM platforms.
“It’s [definitely] going to be Intel and ARM for various usage scenarios… PCs, tablet form factors, phones, new user interfaces and input paradigms like the Kinect paradigm we brought to the Xbox platform,” he added.
