Microsoft on Monday unveiled a redesigned version of MSN.com specifically for users of Windows 8, its new operating system due out October 26.
The new version of MSN.com, which will be only available for users of Windows 8 and Internet Explorer 10 at first, borrows many design cues from that software, including the “Windows 8-style” interface, which revolves around a series of interlocking, multicolored “live tiles,” that act as links and shortcuts to other apps and webpages, an experience Microsoft believes is optimized for touch-screen interfaces found on tablets, smartphones and other types of mobile devices.
As Bob Visse, general manager of MSN wrote in an official company blog post Monday:
The result is a cleaner more “app-like” experience that allows you use the Flip Ahead feature to swiftly jump from article to article with a simple gesture. The pages render twice as fast as the classic MSN web experience
Here’s a screenshot and video of the new MSN.com experience via Microsoft. MSN.com still counts 480 million visitors a month, according to the Associated Press.
But beyond the cosmetic redesign, Microsoft is looking to invest multiple millions of dollars in creating a new MSN newsroom and hire an unspecified number of staffers that will produce some original content, Reuters reported Monday.
