Microsoft officially announced its new, lighter version of Windows, dubbed Windows 10X, at the latest Surface event where it revealed the Surface Neo, a dual screen device that will be among the first to use the new operating system version. There’s still lots we don’t know about Windows 10X, but Windows Latest recently provided a bit of clarity (via Thurrott) with some new information coming from a job listing on LinkedIn.
Microsoft has set itself up for comparisons between Windows 10X and Windows RT, the last slimmed down version of Windows running on the original Surface and only able to run Microsoft Store apps. However, according to the job listing, the company is working on running “Win32 application support for Windows 10X on dual-screen devices like Surface Neo.” Microsoft learned its lesson quite some time ago about trying to lock down devices to only run Store apps, so it’s not surprising to find that they’re working on containerizing Win32 support for Windows 10X.
Microsoft, along with the rest of the industry, has been heavy into containers, a way to set up software in packages, including setup and configuration, and then be able to run multiple containers in say a single cloud Virtual Machine. Bringing containers to the mainstream of consumer computing with Windows 10X would allow a lighter operating system to run software built for older versions of Windows, and do so quickly, safely, and securely.
Microsoft is already employing an emulation layer for its new Surface Pro X device running on ARM, allowing some Intel based applications to run, however that work seemingly has its problems, and the company continues to work on new ways to containerize software both for security and ubiquity.
Stay tuned to OnMSFT as we continue to follow all the news on Windows 10X, expected to be released in preview sometime next year and then ship with Surface Neo and other 3rd party dual screen devices next holiday season.
