A few days ago, Microsoft unveiled Windows 8. A user interface with new elements and jargon has been introduced. In what seems to be the first Windows 8 trademark, I spotted a filing for Charm.
In Windows 8, the traditional start menu is no more. On a tablet device, swiping from the right side of the screen brings up what is called as Charms. This is an implementation of the start bar. On a non-touch regular PC, Charms can be accessed by dragging the mouse to the bottom-left corner of the screen (where the start button used to be all along). Here are screenshots of what Charms look like:
Touch enabled (tablet) devices:
(Image courtesy LaptopMag)
Regular (non-touch) PC:
The sidebar has five options and selecting any one of them shows what is similar to the start menu. It is a bit like Apple top bar—application specific options with some system controls like Network, Volume, Brightness, Power, Language and Notifications. The five options are:
- Search
- Share: Social network sharing applications will appear under the list
- Start: Goes back to the tiled home screen
- Devices: Shows connected devices
- Settings: Brings up the sidebar with application specific options
Microsoft has applied to trademark Charm, I wouldn’t be surprised to see more of these popping up over the next few weeks.
More screenshots of Charms:
Update: Looks like TechCrunch wrote about this before I did.
