Windows 8

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Windows 8 is the codename for the next version of the Microsoft Windows computer operating system following Windows 7.[3] It has many changes from previous versions. In particular it adds support for ARM microprocessors in addition to the previously supported x86 microprocessors from Intel and AMD. A new Metro-style interface has been added that was designed fortouchscreen input in addition to mouse, keyboard, and pen input. Its server version is codenamed Windows Server 8. It will be released in late 2012. Early announcements In January 2011, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Microsoft announced that Windows 8 would be adding support forARM microprocessors in

addition to the x86 microprocessors from Intel and AMD.[4][5] [edit]Milestone leaks


A 32-bit Milestone 1 build, build 7850, with a build date of September 22, 2010, was leaked to BetaArchive, an online beta community, and to P2P/torrent sharing networks as well on April 12, 2011.[6] Milestone 1 includes a ribbon interface for Windows Explorer,[7] a PDF reader called Modern Reader, an updated task manager called Modern Task Manager,[8] and native ISO image mounting.[9] A 32-bit Milestone 2 build, build 7927, was leaked to The Pirate Bay on August 29, 2011[10] right after many pictures leaked on BetaArchive the day before.[11] Features of this build are mostly the same as build 7955.[12]





A 32-bit Milestone 2 build, build 7955, was leaked to BetaArchive on April 25, 2011.[13] Features of this build included a new pattern login and a new file system known as Protogon, which is now known as ReFS and only included in server versions.[14] A Milestone 3 build, build 7971, was released to close partners of Microsoft on March 29, 2011[15] but was kept under heavy security. However, a few screenshots were leaked. The "Windows 7 Basic" theme now uses similar metrics to the Aero style, but maintains its nonhardware accelerated design, and also supports taskbar thumbnails. The boxes that encase the "close, maximize, and minimize" buttons have been removed, leaving just the signs.[16] A 64-bit Milestone 3 build, build 7989, leaked to BetaArchive on June 18, 2011 after screenshots were revealed the





previous day. An SMS feature, a new virtual keyboard, a new bootscreen, transparency in the basic theme, geolocation services, Hyper-V 3.0, and PowerShell 3.0 were revealed in this build.[17] [edit]Official announcements At the Microsoft Developer Forum in Tokyo on May 23, 2011, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced that the next version of Windows would be released the following year.[18]: “ And yet, as we look forward to the next generation of Windows systems, which will come out next year, there's a whole lot more coming. As we progress through the year, you ought to expect to hear a lot about Windows 8. Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors. ” However, Microsoft quickly amended

Ballmer's words in a statement issued that afternoon:[19] “ It appears there was a misstatement. We are eagerly awaiting the next generation of Windows 7 hardware that will be available in the coming fiscal year. To date, we have yet to formally announce any timing or naming for the next version of Windows. On June 1, 2011, Microsoft officially unveiled Windows 8 and some of its new features at the Taipei Computex 2011 in Taipei (Taiwan) by Mike Angiulo and at the D9 conference in California (United States) by Julie Larson-Green and Microsoft's Windows President Steven Sinofsky.[20][21] The main feature that was shown was the new user interface.



On August 15, 2011, Microsoft opened a new blog called "Building Windows 8" for users and developers.[22] [edit]BUILD conference and developer preview

Windows 8 startup on a laptop in 14 seconds Microsoft unveiled new Windows 8 features and improvements on September 13, 2011, day one of the BUILD developer conference.[23]Microsoft also released a Developer Preview build (Build 8102) of Windows 8 for the developer community to download and start working with. This developer preview includes tools for building "metro style apps", such as Microsoft Windows SDK for Metro style

apps, Microsoft Visual Studio 11 Express for Windows 8 Developer Preview and Microsoft Expression Blend 5 Developer Preview.[24] According to Microsoft, there were more than 500,000 downloads of the Windows 8 Developer Preview within the first 12 hours of its release.[25] Microsoft has shown a development roadmap at the BUILD conference stating that they will develop Windows 8 using the same milestones as Windows 7 did. These will be Beta, Release Candidate, RTM, and general availability. [edit]Beta/consumer preview In December 2011, Microsoft held an event in San Francisco to demonstrate Windows Store, through which all Metro style Windows 8 apps will be sold. At the end of the event, Microsoft announced that the public beta will be released sometime in February 2012, along with the Windows Store Beta.[26] However, a few screenshots from a pre-beta build were leaked. New

features included an updated setup preparation, a new theme, Aero Lite, a new background on the start screen, and new metro-style apps like Reader, Music, Video, and Photos.[27] Microsoft announced at CES that it would not release a beta but a consumer preview of Windows 8 in late February 2012.[28] [edit]New features

Bootable Windows To Go USB flash drive Main article: Features new to Windows 8 Windows 8 will contain a new user interface based on Microsoft's design language named Metro. With the new change, the Start Menu was replaced in favor for the new Start Screen, where there are tiles that contain shortcuts to applications, Metro style applications, and updating tiles, similar to Windows Phone.

Metro may be turned off in the Windows Registry settings.[29] A new authentication method allows users to sketch in three different places over the picture to login, instead of typing a password.[30][31] Windows Explorer now uses a ribbon interface, similar to those used in Microsoft Office applications.[32] Another feature expected to be introduced in Windows 8 is native USB 3.0 support, without the need to load drivers.[33] Windows 8 will come with Windows Store, an online marketplace for buying, selling, and advertising applications.[34] Windows 8 can be run from a USBconnected drive, such as a flash drive. This feature is called Windows To Go. It is intended for enterprise administrators to provide users with a Windows 8 image that reflects the corporate desktop; pricing and licensing details were not discussed when

the feature was announced.[35][36] WTG is not included in Windows 8 previews. Windows To Go enables users to boot and run Windows on any Windows 7 or Windows 8 capable computer. Windows To Go makes it possible for employees to use a managed device whether they work from home, a client office or in a free seating environment Windows 8 will support multiple monitors with the new ability to natively display different background images on each display and customized taskbar(s) on each of the connected displays. The Developer Preview comes with two new recovery functions.[37] Refresh and Reset, which both make a complete restore easier than a re-installation. The former keeps all the settings and files of the user intact and only reverses all changes to Windows files to their original state while removing all installed programs and apps. The latter

deletes all files and effectively re-installs Windows, but without any additional user input such as agreeing to license agreements or selecting a hard disk required. After a reset completes, the user will be asked for the product key and will then proceed to account creation.[38] One big change is that user accounts do not have to be local-only (or from an Active Directory domain) anymore but can be linked up to one's Windows Live ID. This has the advantage that users will not lose their settings as they move from their home computer to their work laptop or to any other computer also using Windows 8.[39] Other new features include a new Welcome screen,[40] a new packaged application model called AppX that is based on Silverlight,[41] and Open Packaging Conventions,[42] as well as a setting to automatically adjust window color to fit the wallpaper.[43]

There is also a stripped down "Immersive" version of Internet Explorer, using the similar Metro-based user interface of the mobile version of Internet Explorer 9.[44] The Immersive Version of Internet Explorer 10 does not support ActiveX plugins, in order to be an HTML5-only browser. The Desktop version of IE10 does support ActiveX plugins.[45] A new "Hybrid Boot" option that uses "advanced hibernation functionality" on shutdown to allow faster startup times.[46][47] A new version of Task Manager with a redesigned user interface is also present in pre-release versions of Windows 8. [edit]Hardware requirements Microsoft says that the developer preview works well on hardware suitable for Windows Vista or Windows 7; these system requirements may change in the final release.[48] Minimum hardware requirements for

Windows Developer Preview IA-32 (32- x86-64 (64Architecture bit) bit) 1 GHz Processor 1 GB 2 GB Memory (RAM) DirectX 9 graphics device Graphics Card with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver HDD free 16 GB 20 GB space A multi-touch screen is recommended for touch input (single-touch screens still work but lacking the multi-touch features which may be required by some Metro applications). For Metro applications, a screen resolution of 1024x768 or higher is required. [edit]Secure Boot Secure boot is a controversial[49] UEFIbased feature to "prevent unauthorized

firmware, operating systems, or UEFI drivers from running at boot time".[50] Microsoft will require new PCs to have the UEFI secure boot feature enabled by default to be given Windows 8 certification. Microsoft requires that manufacturers must offer the ability to turn off the secure boot feature on x86 hardware, but must not offer such an option on ARM hardware.[51][52][53] [edit]Controversy See also: Hardware restrictions#Windows 8 and Trusted Computing "This effectively makes it impossible to boot anything but Windows 8 on these ARM devices, rendering these devices entirely useless as general computing devices." — Thom Holwerda, writing about secure boot, forOSNews[54]

In September 2011, Matthew Garrett, a Red Hat developer, alerted for the possible risk of Microsoft locking out alternative systems,[55] leading to wide media coverage.[56][57][58][59] Microsoft addressed the issue in a blog post,[60][61] stating that the manufacturer is free to choose which signatures are accepted by the feature.[62] In January 2012, the company revealed ARM manufacturers must not allow Secure Boot to be disabled, and it caused widespread concerns,[63][54][64] particularly in theLinux community.[65] Adrian KingsleyHughes, writing for ZDNet, suggested Microsoft is locking-out other systems for [vendor] lock-in reasons, among other hypotheses.[64] Canonical and Red Hat, two of the biggest companies involved with Linux, released a whitepaper regarding the issue, recommending that "PCs include a User

Interface to easily enable or disable Secure Boot".[66] [edit]Compatibility Windows 8 for x86 processors will run most software compatible with previous x86 versions of Windows, with the usual restrictions: 64-bit Windows will run also 32-bit software but not 16-bit ones; 32bit Windows will optionally run 16-bit software if installed to do so, but will not run 64-bit software. Either 32- or 64-bit Windows can be installed on x8664 processors. Some expertise in manipulating compatibility settings may be required to run, for example, 16-bit software for Windows 3.x under 32-bit Windows 8, in cases where it is possible. In
particular, applications compatible with 32- and 64-bit Windows 7 will run in the same way on Windows 8.[67] Windows 8 for ARM processors will not run software created for x86; software will have to be ported by its developers to create ARM versions from source code.[68][69] A blog post by Microsoft notes that the setup process is error-prone when installing in a virtual machine, and installing without hardware virtualization support can be particularly problematic.[70] It is reported to work under VMware Workstation, VMware Player, VirtualBox, and Parallels Desktop for Mac — detailed instructions for installing in these environments have been published.[71][72] The languages that are directly supported by Microsoft for writing applications for Windows 8 are JavaScript and HTML, Visual Basic, C++, and C#, but there are many

third party compilers which allow application development for the platform, for example, Free Pascal allows writing Object Pascal applications. [edit]See also Microsoft portal Metro (design language)  Windows 7  Windows Vista  Windows XP  Windows Live [edit]References 1. ^ Download Windows 8 Developer Preview Build 8102 M3 Free – The next generation of Windows, a re-imagining of the operating system from the chip to the experience. Softpedia (2011-09-14). Retrieved on 2011-10-14. 2. ^ Microsoft Announces Support of System on a Chip Architectures From Intel, AMD, and ARM for Next Version of Windows: January 5, 2011. Microsoft.com (2011-01-05). Retrieved on 2011-10-14. 3. ^ "Sinofsky shows off Windows 8 at D9". CNET. Retrieved 2 June 2011. 4. ^ "Microsoft Announces Support of System on a Chip Architectures From Intel, AMD, and ARM for Next Version of Windows". Microsoft. January 5, 2011. Retrieved January 5, 2011. 5. ^ Rosoff, Matt (January 5, 2011). "OK, So Windows Is Coming To ARM Tablets...Someday (MSFT)". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved January 5, 2011. 6. ^ "Leak: Windows 8 M1 Build 7850 Screenshots". 7. ^ Thurrott, Paul (April 4, 2011). "Windows 8 Secrets: Windows Explorer Ribbon". SuperSite for Windows. Retrieved April 10, 2011. 8. ^ "Registry Hack Enables Windows 8 M1 Webcam, Modern Reader, Ribbon & Task UI". 9. ^ "Leaked Windows 8 M1 Build 7850 Screenshots". 10. ^ "Windows 8 Build 7927 x86 leak.". 11. ^ "Windows 8 6.2.7927.x86fre screenshots .". 12. ^ "Windows 8 (7927) – UltraWindows.nl". August 29, 2011. 13. ^ "Windows 8 Build 7955 x86 leak.".


14. ^ "Windows 8 – UltraWindows.nl". June 15, 2011. 15. ^ "Microsoft begins shipping Windows 8 Build 7971 via Connect". Windows 8 Center. March 29, 2011. 16. ^ "Windows 8 Aero Light UI Revealed". Windows 8 News. 2011-03-16. Retrieved 2011-05-20. 17. ^ "Windows 8 Build 7989 Leaked, Features Many New Enhancements". ITProPortal.com. Retrieved 2011-09-08. 18. ^ Ballmer, Steve. "Steve Ballmer: Microsoft Developer Forum". Microsoft News Center. Microsoft Corporation. Retrieved 26 May 2011. 19. ^ Keizer, Gregg. "Microsoft backpedals from Ballmer's Windows 8 comments". Computerworld Inc.. Retrieved 26 May 2011. 20. ^ "Microsoft Computex D9 Conference on Engadget.com". 21. ^ "Previewing 'Windows 8' at Microsoft Website". 22. ^ Steven Sinofsky (2011-08-15). "Welcome to Building Windows 8 – Building Windows 8 – Site Home – MSDN Blogs". Blogs.msdn.com. Retrieved 2011-0908. 23. ^ "Windows 8 Developer Preview Guide" (PDF). Retrieved 2011-09-16. 24. ^ "Windows BUILD by Microsoft". 25. ^ "Steve Ballmer touts 500,000 Windows 8 downloads in less than 12 hours.". Engadget. Retrieved 2011-09-16. 26. ^ Keizer, Gregg (December 7, 2011). "Microsoft slates Windows 8 beta for late February 2012". Computerworld. Retrieved December 13, 2011. 27. ^ "New Windows 8 Pre Beta Build Screenshots Leaked, As We Inch Closer to Final Beta Release". Windows 8 Beta. December 17, 2011. Retrieved December 18, 2011. 28. ^ Thurott, Paul (January 16, 2012). "8 Days a Week: A 2012 CES Recap". 8 Days a Week. Penton Media, Inc.. p. 1. Retrieved January 16, 2012. 29. ^ "Disable Metro in Windows 8 Developer Preview". MSTechPages. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 30. ^ Keynote #1 | BUILD2011 | Channel 9. Channel9.msdn.com (2011-09-13). Retrieved on 2011-10-14. 31. ^ Windows 8 Picture Password Patent Filed by Microsoft. Windows 8 Beta (2011-09-21). Retrieved on 2011-10-14.

32. ^ Mashable Tech – Spy Shots: Windows 8 With a Ribbon Interface?. Mashable.com (2011-04-03). Retrieved on 2011-10-14. 33. ^ Native USB 3.0 Support Coming to Windows 8. AnandTech. Retrieved on 2011-10-14. 34. ^ Microsoft limits Windows 8 Metro apps to its own store. Electronista. Retrieved on 2011-10-14. 35. ^ Mackie, Kurt (2011-09-16). "Microsoft Certified Professional Magazine: Windows 8 Will Run On Thumb Drive, 16 September 2011". Mcpmag.com. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 36. ^ Take, First (2011-09-20). "Windows 8: Windows To Go | ZDNet UK". Zdnet.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 37. ^ Windows Dev Center. Msdn.microsoft.com. Retrieved on 2011-10-14, 38. ^ Bright, Peter. (2011-09-18) Making the lives of IT easier: Windows 8 Refresh, Reset, and Windows To Go. Ars Technica. Retrieved on 2011-10-14. 39. ^ Tweaking with Vishal – Windows 8 Live ID Integration. Askvg.com (2011-0926). Retrieved on 2011-10-14. 40. ^ Thurrott, Paul. "Windows 8 Secrets: Welcome Screen". SuperSite for Windows. Retrieved April 10, 2011. 41. ^ Thurrott, Paul (April 5, 2011). "Windows 8 Secrets: Modern Reader". SuperSite for Windows. Retrieved April 10, 2011. 42. ^ App packages and deployment. Msdn.microsoft.com. Retrieved on 2011-1014. 43. ^ Thurrott, Paul (April 6, 2011). "Windows 8 Secrets: Aero Auto-Colorization". SuperSite for Windows. Retrieved April 10, 2011. 44. ^ Thurrott, Paul (April 5, 2011). "Windows 8 Secrets: Internet Explorer Immersive". SuperSite for Windows. Retrieved April 10, 2011. 45. ^ "Microsoft drops Flash from IE on Windows 8 tablets". BBC. 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2011-09-16. 46. ^ "Windows 8 "Hybrid Boot" discovered". 47. ^ Woods, Ben (2011-09-09). "Windows 8 'hybrid' mode brings faster boot | Desktop OS | ZDNet UK". Zdnet.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 48. ^ "ewindows Metro Style Apps Developer Downloads". Msdn.microsoft.com. Retrieved 2011-09-16.

49. ^ Garling, Caleb (2011-09-23). "Windows 8 Secure Boot Sparks Linux Furor, and a Microsoft Response | Wired Enterprise". Wired.com. Retrieved 2012-0127. 50. ^ "Hardware Design and Development for Windows 8". Msdn.microsoft.com. 2011-12-21. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 51. ^ Glyn Moody (12 January 2012). "Is Microsoft Blocking Linux Booting on ARM Hardware?". Computerworld UK. 52. ^ "Why Microsoft should lift the possible ban on Linux booting on Windows 8 ARM devices - Computerworld Blogs". Blogs.computerworld.com. 2012-01-13. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 53. ^ James Niccolai (2012-01-13). "Windows 8 on ARM: You can look but you can't touch". Computerworld. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 54. ^ a b http://www.osnews.com/story/25507/Microsoft_Forces_OEMs_To_Lock_De vices_Into_Windows_8_Using_UEFI 55. ^ 02:01 pm (2011-09-20). "mjg59 | UEFI secure booting". Mjg59.dreamwidth.org. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 56. ^ Brodkin, Jon (2011-09-21). "Windows 8 secure boot could complicate Linux installs". Arstechnica.com. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 57. ^ http://www.theregister.co.uk/2011/09/21/secure_boot_firmware_linux_exclusio n_fears/ 58. ^ Noyes, Katherine. "Linux and Windows 8's Secure Boot: What We Know So Far | PCWorld Business Center". Pcworld.com. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 59. ^ Baxter, Matthew (2011-09-28). "Why the Windows 8 UEFI secure boot thing has me worried | Technology". guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 60. ^ Tony Mangefeste (22 September 2011). "Protecting the pre-OS environment with UEFI". MSDN Blogs. Retrieved 17 October 2011. 61. ^ Lance Whitney (26 September 2011). "Microsoft addresses Windows 8 secure boot issue". Cnet. Retrieved 17 October 2011. 62. ^ "Microsoft Attempt to Address Windows 8 ‘Linux Worries’". OMG! Ubuntu!. 2011-10-23. 63. ^ Brockmeier, Joe (2012-01-13). "Microsoft Says No to Disabling UEFI Secure Boot on ARM". Readwriteweb.com. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 64. ^ a b "Why is Microsoft locking out all other OSes from Windows 8 ARM PCs & devices?". ZDNet. Retrieved 2012-01-27.

65. ^ "Microsoft to Prevent Linux Booting on ARM Hardware?". Omgubuntu.co.uk. 2012-01-13. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 66. ^ "White Paper: Secure Boot impact on Linux « Canonical Blog". Blog.canonical.com. 2011-10-28. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 67. ^ "Windows 8 on ARM won’t run x86 apps Microsoft admits". slashgear. Retrieved 2011-10-01. 68. ^ "Will Windows 8 have an ARM app gap?". betanews. September 19, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2011. 69. ^ "Microsoft: No Windows 8 ARM support for x86 apps?". The Register. September 15, 2011. Retrieved November 7, 2011. 70. ^ "Running Windows 8 Developer Preview in a virtual environment". Microsoft. 2011-09-16. Retrieved 2011-10-07. 71. ^ "Installing Windows 8 Developer Preview in VMware". Tseonet.blogspot.com. 2011-09-15. Retrieved 2012-01-27. 72. ^ "How To Install Windows 8 On VirtualBox". Addictivetips.com. 2011-09-14. Retrieved 2012-01-27. [edit]External links
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Previewing 'Windows 8' Windows 8 Developer Preview downloads Windows Newsroom: Video Gallery Building Windows 8 Official website for BUILD conference: Keynotes and resources

Development platform
[edit]Language

and standards

support

Windows 8 has a new developer platform according to Microsoft Vice President Julie Larson-Green, who called it "our new developer platform, which is...based on HTML5 andJavaScript."[1] The new applications developed for Windows 8 could be easily ported as a Metro-style application and developers could use any existing Windows Application Development language to port applications as a Metrostyle app (by adding minimal amount of code). This is possible because of the architectural changes done to the Windows platform. All applications developed whether using C#, MFC, or HTML5/JavaScript will translate into WinRT (Windows Runtime) API's, which sits above the Windows kernel directly.

The new applications run in full-screen, but two of them can be displayed side-by-side using "Snap". Examples of new applications that were demoed include a Twitter client, a weather application, a stock-tracking application, an RSS news feeder, and a virtual piano. The new platform is primarily designed for 16:9 screen resolutions, with 1366×768 and larger screens able to display two Windows 8 "Metro-style" applications sideby-side by "snapping". 1024×768 screens can display one application in full-screen, and 1024×600 screens can only use the traditional desktop applications.[2] Windows 8 also introduces APIs to support near field communication (NFC)

on Windows 8 devices, allowing functionality like launching URLs/applications and sharing of information between devices via NFC.[3] [edit]Windows

Store

Main article: Windows Store Microsoft has confirmed the introduction of a Windows Store on Windows 8, similar to the Ubuntu Software Center, and Mac App Store, that allows developers to publish their Metro-style applications on Windows 8 devices. The Windows Store will also allow developers to publish their Win32 or "traditional desktop" applications, however, the store will only provide links to the application on their website. Ted Dworkin, a Partner Director of Program

Management on the Windows Web Services team highlighted that the Windows Store will be the only means of distributing Metro-style apps to users to allow Microsoft to scan apps for security flaws and malware.[4] [edit]Shell

and user interface

Metro-style lock screen

Screenshot showing Windows 8's ability to pin apps and show different wallpapers on different monitors, as well as displaying the new Explorer file browser interface, Task Manager, and multi-

monitor taskbar (in "Duplicated on all taskbars" mode).

[edit]Metro

style

Windows 8 features an extensively redesigned "Metro-style" user interface, optimized for touchscreens as well as mice and keyboards. A new "Start screen", similar to the one in Windows Phone 7, includes live application tiles. The start screen replaces the Start menu, being triggered by the Start button or Windows key, and is also the first screen shown on start up. The user can go to the regular desktop, which is treated as a Metro app with its own "Desktop" tile on the Start screen. Starting a traditional desktopbased application also switches to the

desktop. The Start screen also displays the user's name and picture. Windows 8 features a new login/lock screen that shows the date and time and notifications, along with a customizable background. [edit]Picture

password

Instead of typing a password, a new authentication method allows users to use a set of gestures in the selected picture to login. These gestures will take into account the shape, the start and end points, as well as the directionality. However, the shapes and gestures are limited to tapping and tracing a line or circle. Microsoft found that limiting the gestures improved the speed of sign-ins by three times compared to

allowing freeform methods. Wrong gestures will always deny a login, and it will lock out the PC after five unsuccessful attempts, until a text password is provided. [5][6] See also Draw a Secret. [edit]Taskbar Windows 8 provides a configurable taskbar in the traditional Windows desktop that spans multiple monitors. The Multiple Monitor Taskbar can be turned on and off and is used to display the minimized windows. Similarly, Windows 8 provides the user with the ability to show different wallpapers on different monitors, or the same wallpaper stretched across multiple monitors. [edit]Windows

Explorer

Similar to Microsoft Office 2010 and Windows Live Essentials, the redesigned Windows Explorer will use the Ribbon interface to enhance discoverability of commands and bring relevant commands to users depending on their file selection. For example, selecting photos in a folder brings up tools to rotate the photos and to start a slide show. The interface was selected to bring forward the most commonly used commands for easy access.[7] Additionally, Windows Explorer features a redesigned preview pane that takes advantage of widescreen layouts and the "Up" button removed from Windows

Explorer in Windows Vistaand Windows 7 is now included in the interface.[7] Windows Explorer will feature a new user interface for copying and moving files, offering both a simplified interface and an advanced interface for users to monitor the speed of the operations. Users now view all simultaneous file operations in one consolidated window, and can pause file operations in progress.[8] A new interface has also been introduced for managing file name collisions in a file operation, allowing users to easily control which conflicting files are copied.[9] Windows Explorer can now mount ISO, IMG, and VHD files as virtual drives through simple right-clicks or the

Explorer toolbar[10] (Windows 7 could mount VHDs but in a less-discoverable way via the Disk Management section in the Computer Management MMC[11]). [edit]Task

Manager

A new Task Manager replaces Windows Task Manager (though the old version is also included). The following changes were made:


The tabs are hidden by default. This view only shows applications. Resource utilization in the Processes tab is shown with various shades of yellow, with darker color representing heavier use. The Performance tab is split into CPU, memory, disk, Ethernet, and wireless





network (if applicable) sections. There are overall graphs for each, and clicking on one reaches details for that particular resource.  The CPU tab no longer displays individual graphs for every logical processor on the system by default. It now can show data for each NUMA node.  The CPU tab now displays simple percentages on heat-mapping tiles to display utilization for systems with many (64 or more, up to 640) logical processors.[12] The color used for these heat maps is blue, with darker color again indicating heavier utilization.  Hovering the cursor over any logical processor's data now shows the NUMA node of that processor and its ID.


A new Startup tab has been added that lists startup applications.[13]



The Processes tab now lists application names, application status, and overall usage data for CPU, memory, hard disk, and network resources for each process.  The new task manager recognizes when a WinRT application is in "Suspended" status.  The normal process information found in the older Task Manager can be found in the new Details tab.

[edit]New

easy restore

The Developer Preview comes with two new recovery functions.[14] Namely, Refresh and Reset, which both make a complete restore easier than a re-installation. The former keeps all settings & files of the user intact and only reverses all changes to Windows files to its

original state and removes all installed programs and apps. The latter deletes all files and effectively re-installs Windows, but without any additional user input such as agreeing to license agreements or selecting a hard disk required. After a reset completes, the user will be asked for the product key and will then proceed to account creation.[15] [edit]Windows

Live ID

integration
One big change is that user accounts do not have to be local-only anymore but can be linked up to one's Windows Live ID. This has the advantage that users will not lose their settings and files[citation needed] as they move from their home computer to

their work laptop or to any other computer also using Windows 8.[16] [edit]Windows

To Go

Bootable Windows To Go USB flash drive

Main article: Windows To Go Windows To Go is an upcoming Windows 8 feature that will allow users to create a bootable USB Flash drive (usually called a Live USB) with Windows 8 in it, including the user's programs, settings, and files.[17][18][19][20] It is planned to work on both USB 2.0 and USB 3.0, and both on legacy BIOS and UEFI firmware.[21] In addition to that, the system will freeze if the USB drive is removed, and will

continue to operate if the USB drive is inserted in the next 60 seconds after removal.[21][22] [edit]Storage

Spaces

Storage Spaces is a storage virtualization technology which succeeds Logical Disk Manager and allows the organization of physical disks into logical volumes similar to RAID1 or RAID5, but on a higher level. [23] A storage space will behave like a physical disk to the user, with thin provisioning of available disk space. The spaces are organized within a storage pool, i.e. a collection of physical disks, which can span multiple disks of different sizes and

different interfaces (USB, SATA, SAS). The spaces have built-in resiliency from disk failures, which is achieved by either mirroring or striping with parity across the physical disks, and the same storage pool can host multiple storage spaces. The process of adding new disks or replacing failed or older disks is fully automatic, but can be controlled with PowerShell commands. Each storage pool on the ReFS filesystem is limited to 4 PB (4096 TB), but there are no limits on total number of storage pools or the number of storage spaces within a pool.[24] [edit]Device [edit]USB

support

3.0

Windows 8 will have built-in support of USB 3.0 for better power management and longer battery life.[25] [edit]New

architecture support

Windows 8 will support System on a Chip (SoC) architectures, including ARM-based systems. On the x86 architecture, Intel Corporation and AMD continue their work on low-power SoC designs that support Windows.[26] [edit]Other

features and

changes
[edit]Activation Mike Angiulo confirmed at Computex 2011 that Windows 8 will use OEM Activation 3.0 instead of OEM Activation 2.1 (used by

Windows 7), which supposedly makes it less prone to cracks. [edit]Virtualization Windows 8 will also include Microsoft's Hyper-V virtualization software. Previously only offered in Windows Server, Hyper-V will now be available in client versions of Windows for the first time. The system requirements for Hyper-V are a 64bit processor, a 64-bit version of Windows 8, and a minimum of 4 GB of RAM. HyperV also requires a 64-bit system that hasSecond Level Address Translation (SLAT), a feature that helps with memory management. Many of Intel's and AMD's recent processors support this feature, including many of Intel's i-Series

processors (with Extended Page Table) and AMD's 10h family processors.[27] [edit]Shorter

boot times

On September 8, 2011, Microsoft announced that Windows 8 has short boot times, because it saves the kernel's memory to the hard disk on shutdown (similar to the existing hibernateoption) and reloads it on start up.[28] [edit]Boot

security

Windows 8 will support the UEFI secure boot feature.[29] This will enable a new foundation for an architecturally neutral approach to platform and firmware security. It is based on a public key infrastructure (PKI) process to validate firmware images before they are allow

Today, at the D9 Conference, we demonstrated the next generation of Windows, internally code-named "Windows 8," for the first time. Windows 8 is a reimagining of Windows, from the chip to the interface. A Windows 8-based PC is really a new kind of device, one that scales from touch-only small screens through to large screens, with or without a keyboard and mouse. The demo showed some of the ways we've reimagined the interface for a new generation of touch-centric hardware. Fast, fluid and dynamic, the experience has

been transformed while keeping the power, flexibility and connectivity of Windows intact. Here are a few aspects of the new interface we showed today:

• Fast launching of apps from a tile-based
Start screen, which replaces the Windows Start menu with a customizable, scalable full-screen view of apps.

• Live tiles with notifications, showing
always up-to-date information from your apps.

• Fluid, natural switching between running
apps.

• Convenient ability to snap and resize an
app to the side of the screen, so you can really multitask using the capabilities of Windows.

• Web-connected and Web-powered apps
built using HTML5 and JavaScript that have access to the full power of the PC.

• Fully touch-optimized browsing, with all
the power of hardware-accelerated Internet Explorer 10. We also showed effortless movement between existing Windows programs and new Windows 8 apps. The full capabilities of Windows continue to be available to you, including the Windows Explorer and Desktop, as does compatibility with all Windows 7 logo PCs, software and peripherals.

Julie Larson-Green, Corporate Vice President, Windows Experience
Click for high-res version.

Although the new user interface is designed and optimized for touch, it works equally well with a mouse and keyboard. Our approach means no compromises - you get to use whatever kind of device you prefer, with peripherals you choose, to run the apps you love. This is sure to inspire a new generation of hardware and software

development, improving the experience for PC users around the world. Today, we also talked a bit about how developers will build apps for the new system. Windows 8 apps use the power of HTML5, tapping into the native capabilities of Windows using standard JavaScript and HTML to deliver new kinds of experiences. These new Windows 8 apps are full-screen and touch-optimized, and they easily integrate with the capabilities of the new Windows user interface. There's much more to the platform, capabilities and tools than we showed today. We are excited to bring an innovative new platform and tools to developers and see how their creativity jumpstarts a new generation of apps. Windows 8 apps can

use a broad set of new libraries and controls, designed for fluid interaction and seamless connectivity. Apps can add new capabilities to Windows and to other apps, connecting with one another through the new interface. For example, we showed today how a developer can extend the file picker control to enable picking from their own app content or from within another Windows 8 app, in addition to the local file system and the network. We're just getting started. And this isn't just about touch PCs. The new Windows experience will ultimately be powered by application and device developers around the world - one experience across a tremendous variety of PCs. The user interface and new apps will

work with or without a keyboard and mouse on a broad range of screen sizes and pixel densities, from small slates to laptops, desktops, all-in-ones, and even classroomsized displays. Hundreds of millions of PCs will run the new Windows 8 user interface. This breadth of hardware choice is unique to Windows and central to how we see Windows evolving. The video below introduces a few of the basic elements of the new user interface. Although we have much more to reveal at our developer event, BUILD (Sept. 13 - 16 in Anaheim, Calif.), we're excited to share our progress with you.

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