Sven Johannsen

You can do that now, and will continue to be able to do that with Win8, as long as you opt for the non-arm version. By now I mean Windows 7 on a Samsung series 7 slate. Check one out at a MS store, and make them find you a stylus. Or use it with a keyboard and mouse. That's how the stores have it set up. I really don't see many folks trying to use Word or Excel, one handed while holding the slate in one hand.

On Win8 it appears that what you see is probably what you get, a metro Start screen, with metro apps, but a Win7 like environment which will work much like what you have today. Using the metro start concept takes a bit of getting used to on a laptop, but it isn't bad once you get it. Using a touch screen with just metro is much like an iPad (or a Windows Phone). The real unknown is going to be those ARM tablets that have just Metro, no Win7ish option, and MS has said something about office for that environment. Not sure what that is going to mean, but I really expect some sort of Metrofied Office subset, not the whole enchilada. Again, if you had full office, you likely be using it in a docked, desktop, mode.

In the full Win8 slate what I would really like to see is a Metro version of Office that has been fingerfriendlyized, but naturally contains a subset of features that accesses the exact same files as in the Win7 file system. For instance I would have one PIM store that I can access via metro apps one handed with fingers, but the same data is accessible via Outlook when I am docked and have a keyboard and mouse available. Same with Word. Touch friendly cut, copy, paste, light editing in Metro, on the same file I can do wonders with in Word, in the 'Win7' desktop. That's what I'm hoping for.

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