Windows 8 leaked ‘Immersive’ mode shows Windows Phone influence

By Jeffrey Van Camp April 6, 2011

windows-8-ie-immersive-history — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Windows 8 secrets are starting to trickle in. Today, WinSuperSite author Paul Thurrot revealed that Windows 8 will definitely have a Windows Phone-inspired mode in it. Based on the “Metro” design of WP7, “Immersive” will be the name of a secondary User Interface (UI) you’ll be able to select when you boot up Windows 8. The new interface will be the default when Windows 8 is installed on a tablet or phone.

Though Thurrott has been unable to unlock the full Immersive mode, he has found an Immersive version of Internet Explorer, which looks and acts a lot “like IE Mobile, but uses the desktop IE9 renderer.” In the image above, you’ll see that this version of IE looks very similar to its Windows Phone counterpart, but picks up some of the added site colorization features of IE9.

Recommended Videos

So far, we still know very little about Windows 8. Microsoft is supposedly designing a single operating system that will be able to run on phones, tablets, PCs, and anything in-between. We also know that the company is toying with a broader implementation of the Ribbon UI found in Microsoft Office and that W8 will have more cloud integration. The OS is scheduled to release sometime in 2012.

Topics

Jeffrey Van Camp

Former Digital Trends Contributor

As DT's Deputy Editor, Jeff helps oversee editorial operations at Digital Trends. Previously, he ran the site's…

Computing

This Alienware gaming PC with RTX 4090 is almost $1,000 off

Alienware Aurora R16 sitting on a coffee table.

Is your current gaming PC on its last legs? If you need an upgrade, check out Dell's offer for the Alienware Aurora R16 gaming desktop with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card. From its original price of $4,695, the machine is down to $3,700. It's still pretty expensive, but you won't always get the chance to buy such a powerful gaming PC with a nearly $1,000 discount. However, if you want to pocket the savings of $995, you're going to have to be quick with your purchase as there's no telling when this bargain expires.

Why you should buy the Alienware Aurora R16 gaming desktop
The Alienware Aurora R16, which received a rating of four out of five stars in our review, sits on top of our list of the best gaming PCs. Compared to the Alienware Aurora R15, this latest version of the gaming desktop is around half the size without compromising power or thermals, with upgraded internals for even better performance. In addition to the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4090 graphics card, this configuration of the Alienware Aurora R16 features the 14th-generation Intel Core i9 processor and 64GB of RAM, which our guide on how to buy a gaming desktop says would be useful for those who will use their machine for other purposes beyond gaming, such as editing videos.

Computing

Apple is surveying its own employees about smart glasses idea

Apple is asking its employees how they feel about smart glasses as the tech giant considers entering the fledgling market, according to the latest report from the prominent Apple tipster Mark Gurman.

Citing people with knowledge of the matter, Gurman said on Monday that Apple has started gathering feedback from employees in focus groups organized by the company’s Product Systems Quality team, which is part of Apple's hardware engineering division.

Computing

The humble bumblebee just messed things up for Meta

A close-up of a bee.

The humble bumblebee has played a part in obstructing an ambitious construction project by Meta, according to a Financial Times (FT) report.

The Mark Zuckerberg-led tech giant has apparently had to abandon a plan to build a nuclear-powered AI data center partly because a rare bee species has been found on the land where the facility would have been built.