Windows 8 is a radical change in terms of its user interface compared to earlier versions of Windows for Microsoft. But what if you wanted to develop an application or game that would run on both Windows 8 and Windows 7? Informationweek.com reports that during a keynote speech at its TechEd conference in Orlando today, Microsoft showed how a Windows 8 PC could run a virtual version of Windows 7 at the same time.
The keynote included a demo, run by Microsoft's Linda Averett, that showed how the Windows 8 hypervisor software could not only run a version of Windows 7 on the same PC, but could even display both Windows 8 and Windows 7 running at the same time by splitting the monitor. Averett showed a Windows 8 Metro version of the game Cut The Rope that was on one side of the screen while also showing a Windows 7 version of the same game on the other side.
Averett said that such a feature will make it easier for developers to see if a Windows 7 program will work the same way in Windows 8 and vise versa.
The keynote address also showed a demo of the previously announced Windows To Go feature in Windows 8, which lets users store an image of their Windows 8 desktop on a USB drive; that drive can then be connected to any older Windows 7 PC to allow for a Windows 8 work environment.
Source: Informationweek.com
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