Microsoft expert Paul Thurott has published information regarding upcoming changes in Windows 8. While there’s been a number of leaks regarding Windows 8 emerging over the past couple of weeks, they are often leaks that are difficult to verify. While there’s likely to be changes before the release of Windows 8, Thurott works closely with Microsoft so you can take this one to the bank.
First introduced in Office 2007, the ribbon UI made the most commonly used features more accessible. Being context-sensitive, users see the appropriate tools for the task they are trying to accomplish. Since then we’ve seen a number of Windows 7 apps like WordPad, Windows Live Writer, Movie Maker and many others adopt the ribbon UI. In Office 2010 the ribbon UI was iterated with a new menu style, it looks like we’ll be seeing this in Windows 8 as well. 
Image credit: Supersite for Windows
It will be interesting to see the ribbon UI on Windows Explorer in action, but if it creates the same time savings we’ve seen in Office, it’ll be a welcome change. If your wondering about the orange placeholder icons, this is common for an early Microsoft build, we seen the same thing when Office 2010 and Windows Live Essentials was in development.
More info @ Supersite for Windows
