[Image Source: Cnet]

When it comes to inspiration at Microsoft, Zune (in particular) seems to be the team that keeps on giving. First, it was ‘now playing’ screen in Windows Media Center 7. Then Windows Phone 7 revealed its live tiles, which looked rather similar to the Quickplay list first seen on the Zune HD’s home screen. Lastly when Bing redesigned its home page for mobile phones the similarities between it and the other list on the Zune HD’s home screen were unmistakable. I suppose it should come as no surprise then that Windows 8 continues the trend of borrowing from the device teams past and present at Microsoft. This borrowing focuses upon not only on Zune but to the Ultra Mobile PC, KIN, and Window Phone team as well.

Thinking about desktop operating systems, mobility has become the name of the game. In short Windows 8 looks ready to get up and go more than any previous Microsoft desktop operating system. Looking at the few videos that have been put forth by Microsoft and the Wall Street Journal’s All Things D Conference Windows 8 demo, the design inspirations in Microsoft’s next operating system become apparent in a number of features. Where possible, the headings of the different features link to points in the Microsoft’s YouTube video exemplifying the feature discussed.

Swipe Up to Unlock – Even before we see the new start menu, the motion of swiping up to unlock is a process that first came to life on the Zune HD and was carried over to Windows Phone 7.

Windows 8 Start Menu – The new start menu is impressive, and looks like it draws upon a few areas. The first that comes to mind is not the Windows Phone 7 or Zune HD home screen but instead the Quickplay hub of the Zune software. In the Zune software, the Quickplay hub shows, your favorite content, the most recent content added to your collection, and what media you consumed recently. From the description provided by Jensen Harris, “every app on your system is a tile,” the similarities become apparent. Think about it, the Windows 8 Start Menu just became the Quickplay hub for your life. Lastly notice the similarity in the user credential location (upper right corner) between Windows 8 and the Zune software. This is something seen in a number of Microsoft’s Live-enabled websites, such as Hotmail and Xbox.

Video Playback – You could argue that certain elements within Windows XP Media Center Edition foreshadowed the rise of the Window Glass metaphor dominant in Vista and 7; I would agree. Similarly the playback screen on the Zune software seems to have foreshadowed the video playback screen in Windows 8. Like the Zune HD coming before Windows Phone 7, we looked the future in the face and did not even recognize it.

[Image Source: Engadget]

Split Keyboard – This is more a trip in the Wayback Machine than anything else. The split keyboard shown in Windows 8 reminds me a lot of split keyboards that I first saw with Ultra Mobile PCs. It feels like with the leap to larger capacitive screens the concept has grown up.

KIN’s Spot – Remember how people did not fall in love with the KIN, but on paper the phone, that was also a Zune, looked stunning? One of the device’s more innovative features, The Spot, lives on in spirit as the idea of selecting items within Windows 8. While shown only with selecting photos both locally and on the web (i.e. Federated search) this metaphor of showing selected files after selecting content from a number of different places will be available for other file types within the new operating system. It makes sense and extends the cut and paste / clipboard process beyond the way we use it today. To see the KIN spot in action, click the KIN picture above.

Music Tile – The music tile looks similar to looks similar to the one in Windows Phone 7 in that it appears to be showing a picture of the last few artists played. While music and video appear to not share the same tile in Windows 8 (music also looks double-wide), neither video previewed the music playback capabilities of Windows 8. I wonder if something similar to the Zune integration we see in Windows Phone 7 is at work in Windows 8.

So far, what I see is collaboration, over what worked and what did not across a number of past and present Microsoft products, had a net positive effect on the development of the next version of Windows. Paraphrasing Julie Larson-Green, the Windows team really did take a step back and reimagine Windows. Integration with your life and continuity between Microsoft products is apparent. If you have a Zune HD swiping up to unlock, and using the new Start menu are not foreign concepts. If you have a Windows Phone 7 device large tiles that present “glancable”  information on a number of items important to you is second nature. Even if you owned a KIN or UMPC there is some residual that might help you feel at home in the new operating system. We have the continuity between Microsoft products that many have previously sought. What remains unseen is is a question similar to what Kara Swisher asked at the end of the All Things D Windows 8 preview video, how deep does that continuity and inspiration go?