Yes, Windows of the virtual kind instead of the ones that you wind up and down in your vehicle. From the desktop, the operating system war has moved on to portable devices such as smartphones and tablets, and into the living room with Apple TV, plans of Android TV, as well as other set-top boxes, now we have another dimension to think about – the vehicle. Most of the time, the driver is supposed to concentrate on the road ahead, but it seems that smart operating systems are slowly but surely making their way into this niche market. At BUILD 2014, a next-gen Windows car concept was demonstrated during a panel called “Windows and the Internet of Things”.
Connected car plans were discussed by Microsoft’s Steve Teixeira, where the new Windows car concept UI would rely on the Modern design to keep a sense of uniformity about it. Users can also pin specific apps as well as task to the car’s Start screen, in the same vein as they have done on a Windows 8 tablet or a Windows Phone smartphone.
Apart from that, the demo also pointed to an app marketplace for the Windows car UI, so this raises up hope of software creators porting their Windows apps in order to have it work in the vehicle, too. Who knows, such apps will most probably be modified to cater to a driving person, since taking one’s eyes off the road can be dangerous not only to you, the occupants in your car, but others on the road as well.
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