Windows 8 to come in Multiple Avatars

At a company investor meeting on May 18, Renee James, senior vice president and general manager of Intel'™s Software and Services Group, spoke of how Windows 8 designed for Intel's x86 processor based systems will be able to run programs intended for earlier versions of Windows, while ARM-based devices wont support such functionality.Given the close relationship between Microsoft and Intel and their respective forays into the mobile market, Intel's statements assume a greater significance. Both companies have something to gain from their ongoing collaboration.

Intel is targeting ARM chips, as the latter currently dominate the very lucrative mobile market that includes smartphones, tablets and netbooks. By pointing out that ARM based devices will be unable to run legacy applications, Intel must be hoping that businesses and consumers will be more inclined to opt for Intel as it has a long history of supporting Windows on a variety of platforms.

Microsoft on the other hand, by introducing multiple versions of Windows 8 for both Intel and ARM based systems, is looking to expand its presence in the tablet market, which is currently dominated by Apple's iPad and Google Android devices.

Interestingly, Microsoft disagreed with the Intel executive'™s comments and said the following in a statement sent to The Register, "Intel'™s statements during yesterday'™s Intel Investor Meeting about Microsoft's plans for the next version of Windows were factually inaccurate and unfortunately misleading. From the first demonstrations of Windows on SoC, we have been clear about our goals and have emphasized that we are at the technology demonstration stage. As such, we have no further details or information at this time."