A set of slides distributed to Microsoft's PC partners in April of this year has been leaked onto the Internet. The slides outline Microsoft's vision for Windows 8's hardware ecosystem: the form factors the software giant will be targeting, the hardware capabilities that will be offered, and the demands that these parameters will place on OEMs.

A new "Windows Store" is perhaps the most ambitious feature described. Microsoft would offer a store service to third-party software developers. The store would allow easy discoverability of applications both from within Windows and from the Web. The store would handle standard features like account management and software updates, as well as providing capabilities such as the ability to replicate applications and settings across different devices. The store would be curated, so only applications that reached a certain quality standard would be permitted. The basic model, then, is a cross between Apple's App Store and Valve's Steam.

Indications are that such a feature would be well-received. The slides are not the first such communication between Microsoft and its OEM partners; they contain feedback from the first "ecosystem forum" at which the Windows Store concept was apparently first discussed. The slides say that Microsoft's partners believe that a Windows Store "can't happen soon enough," and think that an improved application distribution model, including a unified catalog and purchase experience, is a "critical component" to their success.

The App Store has certainly won many fans on Apple's iOS platform, and similar models have been adopted on both Android and Windows Mobile/Windows Phone. Extending it to a desktop platform is in some ways logical, but thus far efforts to do so have been limited. Steam is successful, but relatively limited in scope, being used for games and game-related material.

Microsoft itself has attempted a broader store—the Microsoft Marketplace, used in conjunction with the Digital Locker for online purchasing of both first- and third-party software—but its efforts were terminated last August. It's therefore a little surprising to see Redmond trying again, and so soon. However, it's probably fair to say that consumers and software vendors alike are now more attuned to the idea of having a centralized store for purchasing applications, and if other problems faced by the Microsoft Marketplace can be resolved (for example, it was not available outside the USA, it was not well-promoted, and it was not well-integrated within the OS), the company's next attempt may yet succeed.

Still no tablet OS in the works

The leaked documents suggest that Redmond still sees no value in creating a dedicated tablet-oriented operating system analogous to Apple's iOS. Microsoft describes three form factors that are particular priorities: slates, laptops, and all-in-one desktops. These form factors are regarded as important because they give OEMs more ability to distinguish and differentiate their products than conventional desktops. To drive home the significance of creating well-designed, attractive products, Microsoft references Apple in many of the slides, highlighting how Cupertino leverages strong industrial design and a consistent experience across its various products.

The decision to equip slate machines with Windows 8 does not, of course, mean that Windows 8 might not be more finger-friendly than Windows 7 presently is, but it does mean that Redmond is still not going to have a platform that can properly compete with the iPad or Android-powered tablets. These low-powered ARM-based devices have no equivalents in the x86 world; if Microsoft wants to target them, it can't do so with Windows 8.

Beyond that, there are many slides that say, in essence, that Windows 8 will be a continuation of Windows 7. Windows 7's (little-used) sensor and location APIs are being heavily promoted. Microsoft's view is that Windows 8 hardware will support a richer range of sensors (GPS, cell-tower positioning, proximity sensors, accelerometers, webcams, not to mention the company's own Kinect), and that there is considerable value to be had from vendors properly integrating these devices into the platform's frameworks.

For its part, Microsoft outlined a few new possibilities that would exploit these sensor capabilities, such as the ability to automatically log on based on a webcam's detection of the user sitting at the keyboard, and then subsequently lock the machine when the user leaves.

In other slides, the software company said that it was continuing to emphasize start-up, shutdown, and restore-from-sleep performance. These areas were performance targets for Windows 7, and that is apparently continuing with Windows 8. This will include a new "Logoff + Hibernate" feature that will act as an accelerated alternative to shutting down.

Though it's possible that dates have slipped since the documents were distributed in April, they also stated that Internet Explorer 9 would have a beta release in August. Further, this beta release would include the full Internet Explorer 9 experience; the three Platform Preview releases have provided developers with access to the new browser's rendering engine and JavaScript processor, but have included only a rudimentary front-end. This front-end will be revealed in the beta.

Mysteries remain

The most interesting feature of the documents, however, is perhaps how uninteresting they are. Windows 8 is set to be a major release (like Windows Vista/Windows Server 2008, unlike Windows 7/Windows Server 2008 R2), so one might, naively, have expected Redmond to have a lot to say about it.

Instead, the picture painted by the leaked documents is very much an evolutionary one. The use of sensors and the improvements to certain areas of performance are certainly welcome changes, but they're direct continuations of the work already done in Windows 7. A successful application store might be a big deal for software developers, but its direct impact on the operating system is negligible. Windows 8 may well be a major release, but the nature of its major changes remain a mystery.