Microsoft eyeing Google, Apple with Windows 8 development

As it develops Windows 8, Microsoft has come to acknowledge both Apple and Google as competitors for the hearts and minds of current and would-be Windows users.

It has been months since Windows 7’s successor has entered the planning and early development stages, and already Microsoft is taking aim at its competition deep inside its headquarters. At least two of them, Apple and Google, are being scrutinized especially closely, according to sources within the company. Despite the strong start Windows 7 has had, and Windows’ huge installed base, the company realizes that there are new challenges in the changing marketplace that have to be met head-on if the Windows brand is to continue to flourish.

Specifically, Microsoft is taking note of competitive pressures from Google, with its Android and Chrome operating systems, saying that the search giant “poses a whole new set of challenges.” As for Apple, Microsoft noted that the company could not be forgotten, because there would still be the “the traditional competition” from Cupertino. Linux was not explicitly mentioned, though this is likely because Microsoft believes it poses a bigger threat in the business space, and sources say this particular discussion looked at the consumer-facing aspects of the Windows brand.

Read more: arstechnica.com