
At this point, the only thing keeping Microsoft in the tablet conversation are rumors of its
Windows 8 or
Windows Next, and lo and behold we've got another one to add to the pile. While we heard last week that Microsoft could release the beta of
Windows 8 for tablets at PDC in September, "sources at Microsoft" have now told
Business Insider, that the company is hoping to show a public "design demo" of the operating system's tablet UI as early as June. The timing
is interesting -- and it actually lines up very well with
Computex, where the company does have a big presence -- but we're also intrigued by the part that says Microsoft's taking "a more Apple-like approach to interface design" and that it will use
Metro UI pieces. That's obviously similar to what Microsoft
showed us at last year's Computex (picture of that above) -- except it was using Windows Embedded Compact 7 underneath. The article also mentions that it will draw on some Media Center-like styling, which also syncs up with some
other whispers we've heard. Yep, there's a lot of rumors, and well, with this talk of summer / fall it looks like we'll be dealing with plenty more before we hear anything official.