Windows 8 Finalized, RTM Arrives on August 15, "Metro" UI Name Dumped

schedule, Microsoft has reportedly finalized the build of Windows 8, with which the company will launch the operating system to the public. After releasing several internal and some public pre-launch builds (such as Beta, Release Preview), the company is ready with the RTM (release to market) build, which is fit for commercial release. Windows 8 RTM, in its various variants, will be available first to enterprise customers and industry partners starting August 15. The commercial launch is on course for October 26, 2012.

In related news, the threat of trademark litigation by German retail giant Metro Group has forced Microsoft to trash the codename "Metro" to refer to its new tiled user-interface (UI), which makes the OS optimized for touchscreens, but is also the primary UI for non-touch computing platforms (such as desktop PCs). According to reports, Microsoft will merely stop referring to Metro UI as such. Metro UI invited criticism from some evaluators of pre-launch Windows 8 builds, particularly from the desktop PC and non-touch notebook platforms.

Sources: Computex.biz, The Verge]]>

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Microsoft downplays Metro design name, might face a lawsuit over all that street lingo

If you've seen most of Microsoft's design language for nearly three years, there's only one word that sums it up: Metro. In spite of that urban look being the underpinning of Windows Phone, Windows 8 and even the Zune HD, Microsoft now claims to ZDNet and others that it's no longer fond of the Metro badge. Instead, it's supposedly phasing out the name as part of a "transition from industry dialog to a broad consumer dialog" while it starts shipping related products -- a funny statement for a company that's been shipping some of those products for quite awhile. Digging a little deeper, there's murmurs that the shift might not be voluntary. Both Ars Technica and The Verge hear from unverified sources that German retailer Metro AG might waving its legal guns and forcing Microsoft to quiet down over a potential (if questionable) trademark dispute. Metro AG itself won't comment other than to say that these are "market rumors," which doesn't exactly calm any frayed nerves over in Redmond. Should there be any truth to the story, we hope Microsoft chooses an equally catchy name for those tiles later on; Windows Street Sign Interface Windows 8-style UI just wouldn't have the same ring to it.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software

Microsoft downplays Metro design name, might face a lawsuit over all that street lingo originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 02 Aug 2012 17:53:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft Office 15 leaks suggest Office 2013 name, show off Metro logo and Web Apps UI

Didn't make it into Microsoft's Office 15 Technical Preview? Neither did we, however that has not stopped details about the next iteration of the office software suite from leaking out. CNbeta.com is flashing shots of a new red Metroized logo (no surprise) that's similar to Windows 8's err... window and showing off the name "Office 2013 Preview", while LiveSide.net has a comparison shot of the Web Apps Preview, seen above featuring a flattened look and spaced out buttons similar to screenshots seen earlier. We're still expecting a public beta of Office 15 / 2013 later this summer so it shouldn't be too long before we're all sharing the excitement of filling up cells and parsing data as though it was for the first time.

Update: Added clarification that the shot above is from the Office Web Apps preview.

Microsoft Office 15 leaks suggest Office 2013 name, show off Metro logo and Web Apps UI originally appeared on Engadget on Mon, 11 Jun 2012 22:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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