Microsoft Delivers the Windows 8 Release

 
Microsoft on Thursday delivered the Windows 8 Release Preview, the final pre-release milestone of its next OS. The Windows 8 Release Preview along with related releases such as the Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate (RC) and Visual Studio 2012 RC, come about a week earlier than expected. Is this a sign that Microsoft is revving up to deliver these products earlier in the year than was assumed.

“Today, Windows 8 Release Preview is available for download in 14 languages,” Microsoft’s Steven Sinofsky wrote in the Building Windows 8 blog post announcing the release. “This is our final pre-release, and includes Windows 8, Internet Explorer 10, new Windows 8 apps for connecting to Hotmail, SkyDrive, and Messenger (and many more), and hundreds of new and updated apps in the Windows Store.”

As I did with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, I’ve provided a ton of content for the Windows 8 Release Preview.

Microsoft hinted that the final version of Windows 8 could be coming a lot sooner than expected. “If the feedback and telemetry on Windows 8 and Windows RT match our expectations, then we will enter the final phases of the RTM process in about 2 months,” Mr. Sinofsky wrote, suggesting an early August RTM.  “If we are successful in that, then we are tracking to our shared goal of having PCs with Windows 8 and Windows RT available for the holidays.”



Microsoft also revealed that the Windows 8 Upgrade Offer will begin June 2, 2012, in 131 markets, including the United States and Canada, and confirmed my earlier report that this offer will cost just $15. Those who purchase eligible computers during the offering time will receive a copy of Windows 8 Pro.

Microsoft Looks Ahead of Windows 8

 

During its keynote address at the Computex trade show this week in Taipei, Taiwan, Microsoft showed off the Windows device innovations that consumers can expect from the software giant’s partners in the months ahead, many of which are aligned with the coming Windows 8 launch. But Microsoft also took a look back and examined the past 3 years of PC hardware innovation, hinting that the best was yet to come.

Microsoft Corporate Vice President Steven Guggenheimer demonstrated “the breadth of innovation happening across the Windows ecosystem,” as Microsoft puts it, “highlighting the latest Windows devices across PCs, servers, phones, and specialized devices that enable customers and partners to maximize their investments.”

Before looking at coming Windows 8 devices, Microsoft provided an interesting video, Windows 7 PC Evolution, which highlights how much PCs have changed in just the past 3 years. During this time period, which coincides with the mainstream lifetime of Windows 7, PCs have evolved from predictable tower PCs and notebooks to include highly mobile, thin-and-light Ultrabooks; slate-like tablets; and all-in-one desktops, many with touch screens.

However, the “wave of innovation” that’s coming promises to blow away the past 3 years. At the show, Microsoft highlighted a stunning number of new PC form factors and devices from a wide range of partners. Some of the highlights include the following:

Acer announced a number of Windows 8-based designs at Computex, including two new Windows 8 all-in-one PCs, the Aspire 7600U (27") and the Aspire 5600U (23"), two Windows 8-based tablets, the 10.1" Iconia W510 and the 11.6" Iconia W700, and a “premium touch” Ultrabook, the Aspire S7 series, which will come in both 11.6" and 13.3" variants and offer up to 12 hours of battery life.

ASUS will expand its Transformer series of tablets to include two Windows 8-based designs, the 11.6" ASUS Tablet 810 (running Windows 8) and the 10.1" ASUS Tablet 600 (running the ARM-based Windows RT). Both will provide detachable hardware keyboards for hybrid use.

Dell has redesigned its Inspiron laptop lineup and expanded its Ultrabook offering with a series of portable machines that will debut with Windows 7 throughout June and be eligible for Microsoft’s $15 Windows 8 upgrade program.

Lenovo announced the availability of two new Ultrabook designs, the IdeaPad U310 and U410, which feature third-generation Intel Core processors and start under $800.

Toshiba unveiled a new lineup of business-oriented portable products, all based on third-eneration Intel Core processors, including the Portégé Z930 Ultrabook, the Portégé R930 ultraportable, and new versions of its Tecra line of devices. Toshiba bills the Z930 as the “world’s lightest 13-inch Ultrabook”: It weighs less than 2.5 pounds (compared with about 3 pounds for most machines in this class). Toshiba also updated its consumer-oriented Satellite series, which now includes Ultrabook designs. But the big news is that Toshiba also announced Windows 8 hardware: It will deliver a Windows 8 Ultrabook, a touchscreen Windows RT clamshell PC, and a Windows RT tablet with keyboard dock.

As expected, hardware makers have started announcing their coming Windows 8-based devices just ahead of this week’s Computex trade show in Taiwan. And first out of the gate are new tablets, hybrid PCs, Ultrabooks, and all-in-one desktops from Acer, ASUS, and Toshiba. However, only Acer has released detailed information about its plans.

Acer on Monday announced a pair of Windows 8-based tablets: the Iconia W510 and Iconia W700. The W510 is technically a hybrid PC: It sports a 10" screen and a detachable keyboard that transforms the tablet into a clamshell notebook or flips backward over the device in a presentation mode. The W700 is a higher-end device with an 11.6" full-HD screen. Both devices provide over 8 hours of battery life, Acer says.

Acer Iconia W510

“The most unique part of the W510 tablet is the tri-mode, allowing users to touch, type, and view,” an Acer press release notes. “A detachable keyboard dock can be connected to the tablet for optimal typing as well as extending the battery life up to 18 hours. Rotating the tablet 295 degrees allows it to be used in presentation mode, which is excellent for watching a video, browsing a webpage, or viewing a PowerPoint presentation.”

Acer Iconia W700

 
Acer’s devices, notably, are based on Intel chipsets, though the company says it will release ARM-based Windows RT tablets “two to four months” after Windows 8 launches, as well. The W510 will cost $799,  Acer notes, while the W700 will cost $999.

Acer has also announced a touch-based Aspire Ultrabook, which comes in versions with both 11.6" and 13.3" screens. These devices will feature battery life of 9 to 13 hours, the company claims. And Acer will offer two all-in-one PCs in 23" and 27" screen variants. The PCs feature swiveling screens, multi-touch, and full HD graphics.

ASUS, meanwhile, has announced two Intel-based Windows 8 tablet PCs—the Tablet 810 and Tablet 600—and three hybrid PCs than can switch between pure tablet and notebook modes. These are named the Taichi, Transformer AiO, and Transformer Book. Toshiba, meanwhile, will offer at least one ARM-based Windows RT tablet, although the company’s official announcement is still forthcoming.Microsoft is expected to reveal a number of coming Windows 8 and Windows RT hardware designs during Computex. 

AMD Trinity Windows 8 hybrid hands on

 

 AMD brought along its latest 2nd-gen Trinity reference design along to Computex 2012 today, and we grabbed some hands-on time with the Compal-made tablet/notebook hybrid after the keynote. An 11.6-inch slate which docks into a well-spaced keyboard with trackpad and extra ports, the unnamed prototype is unlikely to reach the market in its current form, but AMD hopes will provide some inspiration to its OEM partners considering APUs.

The hardware itself is reasonably solid, though there’s some flex in the slate section. It docks with a reassuring click – the cradle itself has two latches and a cup-design that hugs the lower edges – while the speaker on the bottom of the tablet is replaced by integrated stereo speakers built into the hinges of the dock.

The keyboard section isn’t just a peripheral, but adds new functionality to the package as a whole: AMD says it has a large capacity hard-drive inside, along with automatic sync between it and the slate’s storage. Together, closed, they’re 20mm thick, which brings the whole package into ultrabook territory.

A couple of cameras, several USB ports spread out between the tablet and the dock, a wired ethernet port on the back of the keyboard and HDMI connectivity round out the main specs. It’s certainly not the first hybrid we’ve seen, but if AMD can deliver its Trinity APU performance claims in the real-world, it’s one we might consider opting for.

Windows 8 Transformer in Samsung Blinks Like Tablet

 

Samsung is in the line of getting a piece of the tablet-PC cake by introducing a Series 5 Tablet at Computex. This Windows 8 Tablet-PC takes a page off the Transformer AiO with its docking style like keyboard. The only difference here is that the Transformer AiO runs Android in tablet mode where as this is a complete Windows 8.

Offering a battery life of 10 hours, the tablet runs on Intel’s 2-watt Clover Trail processor based on its x86 architecture. The hybrid tablet features a 8MP rear camera and 2MP front camera along with various ports and slots including a USIM, SuperSpeed USB and a microSD card reader. The tablet will also be bundled with S-Pen and the S-Memo software which comes along with Galaxy Note. The display is a 11-inch screen which may be sporting a full-HD display but there is a possibility of lower resolution being offered, unless we have any further details on the specifications.

Weighing just 1.65 pounds and with a thickness of just 9mm, the tablet looks promising or we can say the PC looks promising as this is a complete PC than just a tab. But this might not be the final product as changes can be expected from Samsung before it hits the market just around the time after Windows 8 is commercially launched.

Samsung debuts new Windows 8 tablets

 

Samsung unveiled several new Windows devices on the opening day of Taipei's Computex show, including two tablets with attachable keyboards that are scheduled to arrive in markets in October.

The two tablets, called the Samsung Series 5 Hybrid PC and the Samsung Series 7 Hybrid PC, both run Windows 8 and feature 11.6 inch touchscreens. Samsung, however, said the tablets were still in the development stages, and offered few technical specs, only saying they would use Intel chips.

Battery life for the tablets will be around 7 hours. The Series 7 Hybrid will also pack more processing power, but its hardware design will be slightly thicker, compared with the Series 5 Hybrid, Samsung said.

Microsoft has yet to announce a release date for Windows 8. But analysts expect the new operating system to arrive near the end of this year. PC vendors Asus and Acer on Monday unveiled their own Windows 8 tablets, some which also feature attachable keyboards to make them into notebooks.

Along with the tablets, Samsung showed off a convertible laptop device with a touchscreen. The Samsung Notebook Series 5 Ultra Convertible is built with a 360-degree hinge, allowing the notebook to flip into a tablet.

The device uses an Intel Core i7 processor at 1.9GHz, and has about 6 to 7 hours of battery life. Samsung, however, said the device is only a concept at this point. The company also showed a similar device, called the Samsung Notebook Series 5 Ultra Touch, but this comes without the 360-degree hinge for its display.

Intel partners prep 20 Clover Trail Windows 8 tablets

 

Forget Ivy Bridge and Ultrabooks, Intel already has its partners working on 20 new tablet designs based on its Clover Trail Atom chips, as the firm looks to take on rival ARM in its own back yard with a renewed mobile push.

Chipzilla SVP Tom Kilroy revealed the plans during a keynote at the Computex trade show in Taipei – an event where Ivy Bridge-based Ultrabooks and tablet hybrids running Windows 8 have dominated so far.

Intel has of course been a little slow to the mobile game, where chips designed by British success story ARM have historically dominated, but is making up for it with a big investment in its 32nm Atom SoC Clover Trail designs.

The chip giant is pretty confident it has cracked the old power efficiency problems which have held it back in the past and will aim Clover Trail to coincide with the much-anticipated launch of Windows 8 at around October time.

In fact, it could have the edge on ARM when it comes to tablets based on the new Microsoft OS in that it will work with existing Windows apps, unlike the new Windows RT operating system being designed for ARM chips.

There were no details on exactly who’s making these 20 Clover Trail tablets, but expect the usual suspects of Asus (whose effort is pictured below), Acer, Lenovo and possibly Dell, amongst others.

ASUS' Windows 8 Clover Trail tablet from Computex

In fact, Taiwanese giant Asus has jumped the gun by already showing off one of its next gen Atom-based designs, the Tablet 810, at the expo on Monday.

Elsewhere at the show it has been all about Ultrabooks running Intel’s new Ivy bridge chips, with Kilroy claiming that more than 35 new models will be available within the next 30 days, and over 110 designs expected in the next year.

Aside from Asus and Acer’s pre-show beauty parade, MSI debuted a snazzy Ultrabook/tablet hybrid. The MSI Slider S20 features a 10-point multi-touch screen which collapses down neatly over the keyboard so that the device can be used as a tablet.

Windows 8 and the Cloudy Future

 

To this point, been the world's biggest fan of Windows 8, but I've had a difficult time pinpointing precisely why. Throughout the Developer Preview, the Consumer Preview, and now the Release Preview, I've found myself turned off by a startling number of things about the Metro interface, from its colors (Technicolor vomit dump) to its functionality (pre-school simplistic).

But today, while watching Intel executive Thomas Kilroy's keynote speech at the Computex e21 Forum , I think I finally figured out what bothers me so much about Windows 8 and Metro: They seem to want to take the user experience backward.

No, not just in terms of relegating you to one window per screen after you may have become used to five, six, seven, even a dozen at a time. (Over the last month or so I've started referring to the OS, only half-jokingly, as Window 8.) Rather, it's that until now the evolution of the PC has always been about giving the user more power over what he or she does. But here Microsoft is, in one fell swoop, taking a lot of that power away. Worse is that I fear the company is also abetting in the diminishing of the very drive we have to create and do more for ourselves, and instead turning us into devourers of content rather than people who maybe—just maybe—could make a lot of it ourselves.
Computex bug 2012

In his speech, Kilroy focused a lot on the senses, and examined how he perceived Intel-powered phones, tablets, and ultrabooks will help people become more aware of the sights, sounds, and physical sensations their computers inspire in them. "What we see, what we hear, what we feel," he said. "That's what defines our experiences. And the fuel for that is defined by content."

Right. But why is it that whenever people like Kilroy, in high-powered positions, praise Windows 8 and the hardware that's going to run it, all they ever do is praise the way it makes content easier to consume? Once upon a time, and not even that long ago, major new technologies were framed in terms of the active ways they'd let you expand your and others' horizons, and not merely the passive ways you'd be able to absorb other people's views of what you are, or should be, interested in.

I'm not saying I don't understand this viewpoint on some level. I do. It's easy to recognize it as the Apple model of "you'll take what we give you, and you'll like it," which has defined the App Store experience (and not without some controversy) from the very beginning. Apple is always the gatekeeper. That's not a point of view I share, at least most of the time, but even I'll admit I think it can have its place. Not coincidentally, I'm sort of okay with gatekeeping in the areas Apple has been exceedingly careful to relegate it.

By maintaining a closed ecosystem for iOS apps, Apple has successfully established some kind of quality control and also been able to easily deliver users what they expect from their software. It's the Apple way extended beyond Apple's own development boundaries; the company found a way to keep a grip on what bears its name, while no longer having to do all the work of building the programs themselves. This works for Apple because the company has always been about offering a completely integrated experience from top to bottom, and this is just the continuation of that same mindset.

But PCs are different and always have been. Using a PC has traditionally been about taking more control over your computer and your life as it relates to it. You've always been able to build a system that matches exactly your needs and budget, with either no excess or as much as you wanted. Back in the olden days it also meant modifying config.sys and autoexec.bat files so you could get your programs to run without conflicts. After that (and, to no small extent, still today) it was about rearranging icons and windows to help make you more efficient in whatever you did. And after that, it was about creating content, whether through blogging software, photo or video editing, and other similar activities: If you had the power and the drive to do anything, you just needed to find the right software to help you.

With Windows 8, however, Microsoft and its partners are diminishing your ability to create content, or at least the ease with which you can do so. "No," Metro coos, "just sit back and look at sports scores through this app, or check the DJIA through this one. We'll take care of it all for you. You don't need to do anything. In fact, we don't want you to do anything." Yes, yes, if you absolutely have to, you can always fire up the desktop and get some actual work done, but if that weren't really supposed to be the last of last resorts, wouldn't Microsoft let you boot into it and start your computing journey.

Windows 8 will launch luxury PCs and laptops

One of the largest manufacturers of PCs and laptops has today said Windows 8 will launch an offensive against Apple - by being as expensive.

Acer chairman JT Wang said that the first wave of machines bearing Microsoft's new operating system will aim for the luxury markets in North America - traditionally occupied by Apple's MacBook range.

Wang said the success of Windows 8 will depend on the North America market - and the company is pricing high as computer sales for low and mid-end PCs have gone down due to the economic climate.

So, due to the economic climate, Acer is putting its efforts into luxury market, and Wang said Windows 8 needs to be as successful as Apple in the higher-end of the PC market to win recognition.

Wang made the remarks at the Computex tech conference at the Taipei International Convention Center, where he introduced six new Windows 8-based PCs, including two tablets, two 'Ultrabooks', and two all-in-one PCs.

He also praised the new operating system as a 'one-of-a-kind'.

He said: 'I’ve never been so supportive of Microsoft.

'The new operating system enhances users’ experience and productivity by allowing them to switch from entertainment applications to work applications in an instant.

'Acer will first focus on developing Windows 8 PC products, with plans to [commercially] launch its first Windows 8-based device in August and gradually launch all the announced products by the end of this year.'

He also said Acer is conservative about its second-quarter sales performance this year, as consumers are still waiting for the official launch of Windows 8.

Windows 8 is expected to stimulate demand for PCs later this year.

But one reason the operating system will not start out on budget machines is because hardware requirements has led to more expensive entry-level machines.

For instance, manufacturers will have to supply touchscreens on Windows 8 laptops, as the software is designed from the bottom-up to be touch-friendly.

Wang said this meant his company was targeting target markets such as North American, where ''purchasing power is strong and users appreciate product innovation'.

Microsoft is planning the official launch of Windows 8 in October - although some products may go on sale in September.

Ultrabooks, Windows 8 stars of Computex

 

Thin, lightweight ultrabooks, hybrid computers that transform from laptops and PCs into touchscreen tablets, and Microsoft's soon-to-be released Windows 8 operating system are among the highlights at this year's Computex. The event is proving that tomorrow's computer isn't a rigid device
that sits on your desk. It's portable, has a touch screen and converts into the most appropriate form factor for the activity you are completing, if new products on display during the first day of Asia's largest computer show, Computex Taipei, are any indication of future computing trends.

The event is second in the world only to CeBIT in Germany and is the launch pad for many large computing firms that have research and development centers or production factories in Taiwan.

Relaxnews has put together a recap of some of the stand-out products on display at the event:

Asus Taichi
The Asus Taichi is a dual-screen ultrabook that converts from a laptop into a tablet. The Taichi is available in 11.6" and 13.3" versions and runs on Windows 8. It features a high resolution 1920 x 1080 display, a full-size backlit QWERTY keyboard and trackpad and a third-generation Intel core processor.

Asus Transformer AiO
Asus's Transformer AiO is both an All-in-One desktop computer and the "world's largest tablet." It has an 18.4" LED touch display which can be detached from the base station and used and a touchscreen tablet. It features both Windows 8 and Android operating systems.

Asus Transformer Book
The Asus Transformer Book is a convertible ultrabook with a screen that doubles as a detachable tablet. The laptop is available in 11.6", 13" or 14" sizes and features a Full HD IPS display with multitouch. It has two cameras (a 5MP shooter on the rear and a HD video cam on the front), a full-size QWERTY keyboard and 3rd generation Intel processors.

Acer Aspire S7 Ultrabook
Acer's Aspire S7 Ultrabook series are thin and light full-HD touchscreen ultrabooks that run on Windows 8. The laptops are available in13.3-inch and 11.6-inch configurations and feature an aluminum metallic unibody design. The 13.3" version sports a 12 hour battery life while the 11.6" version will run for up to 9 hours on one charge.

MSI Slider S20
The MSI Slider S20 is also a hybrid laptop. The 11.6" Ultrabook runs Windows 8 and sports a new-generation Intel processor. Its display slides down over the keyboard to transform the device into a touchscreen tablet.

Samsung Series 5 Ultrabooks
Samsung has two touch-enabled Series 5 Ultrabooks on display at Computex, both of which run Windows 8 on 1366 x 768 resolution displays. The UltraTouch is a traditional-style ultrabook with touchscreen capabilities, while the Ultra Convertible has a 13" display that can fold backwards on top of the base.

Toshiba Satellite U840W Ultrabook
The Toshiba Satellite U840W Ultrabook lays claim to being the world's first widescreen ultrabook. It features a 14.4" 21:9 cinematic display, a two-tone aluminium chassis with a textured palm rest, a Intel Core i5-3317U processor, a 500GB hybrid hard drive, and Toshiba's new Hi-Speed Start. The Satellite U840W is expected to hit stores during Q3 for AU$1,499 (€1175).

Toshiba Satellite Z830 Ultrabook
Weighing in at 1.12kg, the Toshiba Satellite is the world's lightest 13.3" ultrabook. The laptop sports a second generation Intel Core processor, a 16mm thick aluminium chassis with magnesium cladding, a 13.3" Widescreen HD LED Backlit Display (1366 x 768) and up to 8 hours of battery life.

Microsoft Envisions 80-Inch Windows 8 Tablets

 

If you thought Samsung's 11.6-inch Windows 8 preview tablet was on the large side, it's nothing compared to the touch screen Steve Ballmer has in his office.

The CEO of Microsoft uses an 80-inch touchscreen with Windows 8 for communications and productivity, Wired UK reports. “He's got rid of his phone, he's got rid of his note paper,” spokesman Frank Shaw said. “It's touch-enabled and it's hung on his wall.”

An 80-inch Windows 8 touchscreen may sound like an exclusive luxury for Microsoft's boss, but Shaw said the company eventually plans to sell the device, though he wouldn't name the manufacturer, the price or a release date.

Microsoft lists 27 inches as the largest common screen size it expects for Windows 8 PCs, envisioning these large touchscreens as “family hub” devices. “Families might opt for an all-in-one desktop with a huge touch screen to view and organize all of the family photos,” Microsoft senior program manager David Washington wrote in a March blog post.

Much larger Windows 8 touchscreens would likely be aimed at commercial uses, at least at first. "It's not a consumer thing now, but we know historically that that's how all things start," Shaw told Wired UK. "The idea that there should be a screen that's not a computer, we'll laugh at that in two years.”
Microsoft Surface at a Harrah's casino.

Microsoft experimented with large touchscreens as tabletops when it introduced Surface five years ago. Harrah's Entertainment offered video games on the tabletop touchscreen in its casinos. We haven't heard much about it for a few years, but apparently Ballmer found an application for the big touchscreen.

Of course, in two years Windows may not resemble its current form. Though I don't doubt that Microsoft wants to get gigantic Windows-based touchscreens into people's homes, my bet's on some type of convergence with Xbox for that purpose instead of the straight-up PC software that Ballmer currently enjoys.

Windows 8

 

 Windows 8 is the codename for the next version of the Microsoft Windows computer operating system following Windows 7. 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 Start Screen interface has been added that was designed for touchscreen input in addition to mouse, keyboard, and pen input.

History and development

Early announcements

In January 2011, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), Microsoft announced that Windows 8 would be adding support for ARM microprocessors in addition to the x86 microprocessors from Intel and AMD.

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, which was soon leaked to P2P/torrent sharing networks on April 12, 2011.Milestone 1 includes a ribbon interface for Windows Explorer,a PDF reader called Modern Reader, an updated task manager called Modern Task Manager,and native ISO image mounting.

A 32-bit Milestone 2 build, build 7927, was leaked to The Pirate Bay on August 29, 2011  right after many pictures leaked on BetaArchive the day before. Features of this build are mostly the same as build 7955.

A 32-bit Milestone 2 build, build 7955, was leaked to BetaArchive on April 25, 2011. Features of this build included a new pattern login and a new file system known as Protogon.

A 64-bit Milestone 3 build, build 7959, was leaked to BetaArchive on May 1, 2011.This build is notable for being the first publicly leaked Windows Server 8 build, as well as the first leaked 64-bit build.

A Milestone 3 build, build 7971, was released to close partners of Microsoft on March 29, 2011 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 non-hardware accelerated design, and also supports taskbar thumbnails. The boxes that encase the "close, maximize, and minimize" buttons have been removed, leaving just the signs.

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, geo-location services, Hyper-V 3.0, and PowerShell 3.0 were revealed in this build.





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.

    "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:

    "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.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.

 Build conference and developer preview
Microsoft unveiled new Windows 8 features and improvements on September 13, 2011, day one of the BUILD developer conference.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.

Microsoft has shown a development roadmap at the BUILD conference stating that the coming milestones will be Beta, Release Candidate, RTM, and general availability.

According to Microsoft, there were more than 500,000 downloads of the Windows 8 Developer Preview within the first 12 hours of its release.
New features

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.

A new authentication method allows users to sketch in three different places over the picture to login, instead of typing a password.

Windows Explorer now uses a ribbon interface, similar to those used in Microsoft Office applications.

Another feature expected to be introduced in Windows 8 is native USB 3.0 support, without the need to load drivers.

Windows 8 will come with Windows Store, an online marketplace for buying, selling, and advertising applications.

Windows 8 can be run from a USB-connected 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. WTG is not included in Windows 8 previews.

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.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 its 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.

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 and files as they move from their home computer to their work laptop or to any other computer also using Windows 8.

Other new features include a new Welcome screen,a new packaged application model called AppX that is based on Silverlight,and Open Packaging Conventions,as well as a setting to automatically adjust window color to fit the wallpaper.

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.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.
A new "Hybrid Boot" option that uses "advanced hibernation functionality" on shutdown to allow faster startup times.
A new version of Task Manager with a redesigned user interface is also present in pre-release versions of Windows 8.

Hardware requirements

Microsoft say that the Windows Developer Preview (a pre-release version of Windows 8) works well on hardware suitable for Windows Vista or 7.

Minimum hardware requirements for Windows Developer Preview Architecture 


                                                                    
Architecture                        IA-32              x86-64             ARM

Processor       1 GHz       TBA
  Memory (RAM)           1 GB     2 GB       TBA
Graphics Card     DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver       TBA
HDD free space     16 GB     20 GB       TBA
A multi-touch screen is required to use touch input. For Metro applications, a screen resolution of 1024x768 or higher is required.

Microsoft may also require new PCs to have the UEFI secure boot feature enabled by default to be given Windows 8 certification. There has been some concern about this, that it could lead to machines that do not support alternative operating systems.The manufacturer is free to choose which signatures are accepted by the feature and to offer the ability to turn off the secure boot feature.Microsoft has addressed the issue in a blog post.

Microsoft has revealed the following maximum supported hardware specifications for Windows Server 8 at the BUILD conference.
                                 
Logical processors               640 (was 256 in Windows Server 2008 R2)

Random-access memory       4 TB (was 2 TB in Windows Server 2008 R2)

Failover cluster nodes          63 (was 16 in Windows Server 2008 R2)

Compatibility
Windows 8 for x86 processors will run much 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; 32-bit 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 x86-64 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.

Windows 8 for ARM processors will not run software created for x86; software will have to be ported by its developers to create ARM executables from source code.

Windows 8 Developer Preview is incompatible with some virtualization platforms, such as Virtual PC. 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.It is reported to work under VMware Workstation and VMware Player — detailed instructions for installing in these environments have been published.

Windows 8 Embedded

 
Windows 8 Embedded Technical Preview In the Works for Q1 2012
We might not see the Windows 8 Final release before the second half of 2012, but Microsoft is planning to release the Technical Preview of Windows 8 Embedded Operating System next year,as early as the first quarter of 2012, Winrumors reports.




This embedded version of Windows 8 operating system is tailor made for special kinds of devices like the kiosks, medical products, construction machinery and other such devices and not the usual desktops or laptops.This operating system like the general version of Windows 8 will support X86 and ARM based processors.Though there are no details available about the Windows 8 Embedded Operating System but it is said to be supporting different kinds of user interfaces.So it would feature Touch Screens as well as Speech Recognition Feature.


The embedded edition of Windows 8 will be fully compatible with  all Windows Application and will be as powerful as the Windows 8 desktop operating system.The Final version of Windows 8 Embedded Operating System will be released after the official launch of Regular Windows 8 Operating System which is expected in the Q3 2012.

ARM Based Windows 8 PC Running on Snapdragon

 Qualcomm is going to introduce the new Qaudcore Snapdragon processor by the end of 2012, the company CEO has stated. This processor will be designed to run the ARM version of Windows 8, which is expected to release the same time as the full version — sometime in the second half of 2012. With this step, the mobile chipmaker intends to step in to the PC market.

Qualcomm’s Snapdragon is currently the most commonly used high-end mobile chip. It’s current version can clock over 2.0GHz and is a dual-core processor. All of this without creating a severe drain on the battery — something that ARM specializes at.


Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm, said that the PC business will come much close to the smartphone segment in this manner. According to him, developers will be better invested if they are developing for the phone. That’s because the current growth is in that sector. Windows 8 will have its own app store where people can buy Metro apps. Windows 8 on ARM will only be running on Metro, unlike Windows 8 on Intel where it can also run legacy apps. So what Mollenkopf seems to be saying is that developers can now develop the same app to be used on desktops, laptops, tablets and smartphones because they’ll all be running Windows 8.

A lot of experts have commented on how Windows 8 on ARM will be crippled initially by the lack of support for legacy apps. However, most companies working on ARM based devices for Windows 8 aren’t very worried about it and neither is Qualcomm. What these makers are looking at is what the future will hold for the platform. They are not looking to woo those who are already entrenched in the current Windows experience. Instead, they are trying to capture the crowd that would be happy to buy a cheap and affordable Windows 8 PC running on ARM and has access to its own apps. This would be a solution for those looking for a way to bridge the gap between the netbook and the tablet. It will also be welcome by people who think that the iPad is too expensive and the other tablets are not functional enough.

In meantime, Qualcomm’s financial statement shows bullish predictions of growth through 2015. This means the company is pretty confident in whatever it is that they are planning.

ARM Based Tablet’s to have Only Metro Based Apps

 
Couple of days ago we reported about plans for ARM based Notebooks would go mainstream by the year 2013.Now to add to the list here’s one more developing story,this time around its for the ARM based Tablets. According to Mary Jo Foley from ZDNet , Microsoft would probably do away with the desktop apps as far as the ARM tablets are concerned and would only go with the Metro Based Apps.


Earlier in the Build Conference couple of months ago it was completely a different scenario altogether,ARM tablets in the conference were demonstrated featuring Desktop apps running on them,but now it seems that they are rethinking about their early plan of porting desktop apps on ARM tablets.

    If Microsoft does do away with the Desktop App on ARM, it also would mean — unless Microsoft also changes its strategy for x86/x64-based Windows 8 tablets — that Windows 8 will be different on different hardware. The Developer Preview Samsung tablets Microsoft gave to attendees of its Build conference include the Desktop app, which allows non-Metro, legacy apps to work on these machines.


If at all they do go with this idea,it would put some limitations on the usage of ARM based Tablets not running Desktop apps while the other counterparts with x86/x64 based tablets would run them will give a setback to ARM tablet makers.

New Xbox 360 Dashboard

Xbox 360 Dashboard Gives Glimpses In To The Final Look And Feel Of Windows8 Metro
There’s a upgrade coming to the Xbox 360 gaming console’s dashboard and it seems to have been heavily influenced by the Metro interface from the current Windows Phone 7 and the upcoming Windows 8 platforms. Windows 8 is not even in Beta yet and this dashboard is a finalized UI. This gives us a peek in to what the Metro UI would feel like when Windows 8 is finally released.
The new dashboard features the signature Metro UI tiles with live updates and other relevant features. It is an colorful array of tiles that totally changes the experience that you have had so far with Xbox 360′s dashboard. Part of the Xbox Live platform, the new dashboard will be launching officially on December 6th, Tuesday. The new dashboard is not only a precursor to the full fledged Windows 8 Metro experience, it comes with a host of new features like Sky Drive storage, voice search through Bing (UK, CA and US only at the moment, needs Kinect), better voice and gesture control (also requires Kinect) and some new content.

This new content will be supplied by different providers in over 20 countries. Many of these providers have a worldwide presence. New movies and TV shows are only a part of the whole entertainment upgrade that is about to come in with the new upgrade to the Xbox 360.

In changing the look of the new Xbox 360 dashboard, Microsoft seems to have started its migration to a unified user experience. Its one of the best design decisions that Microsoft has taken so far. They are looking to keep the user experience unified across all their platforms. Currently that includes both the Windows Phone 7 series and the Xbox 360. Windows Phone 7 is what introduced Metro in the first place and now that Xbox also has it, Windows 8 will be launched amidst familiar grounds for users of either or both of these platforms. But most importantly, new users will always feel like they are on familiar territories once Windows 8 launches and completes the cycle.

New Xbox 360 model In the Works for Windows 8,Scheduled for 2012 Holiday
Season
A New rumor has surfaced today in the Xbox 360 front and we are not talking about the successor to current Xbox 360 in the market but an upgraded version which would be designed keeping Windows 8 in mind.

As reported earlier by winrumors today, Michael Pachter,Wedbush Securities analyst believes that the new Xbox 360 is being prepared by Microsoft for the holiday season of 2012 that would operate Windows 8 operating system which is also slated to be released around the same time next year.This new Xbox 360 would be an upgraded version of current one and not the much rumored Xbox 720 the  successor to Xbox 360  which is in the talking for a while now.

This is what Michael Pachter,said about the expected hardware update for Xbox 360 to operate Windows 8,

    “I think the rumors are based upon leaks about modifying the current Xbox 360 to allow it to operate Windows 8,”. “I fully expect a new model of Xbox 360 by holiday 2012, but don’t think we see a new console altogether from Microsoft until 2014.”

The update to existing dashboard of  Xbox 360 is expected in a few days and the Metro Styled Dashboard would hit Xbox 360 in December.As we already know that Microsoft is planning to bring closer integration of Xbox Live Services to a PC user can play multiplayer game with the Xbox 360 user and a Windows Phone user asynchronously.

Windows 8 Improved Setup Experience Detailed

Here’s the new addition to the ongoing series of informative posts on Building Windows 8 blog  by Microsoft,today they detailed the new and improved Windows 8 setup.

One of the biggest challenges to be faced was to convince the users to upgrade their operating system rather than buying a new hardware along with to upgrade from the earlier version of Windows to Windows 8,first thing they did right is to optimize the Windows 8 to run on lower hardware requirements so that users will not have to upgrade their hardware along with their software.


But the problem doesn’t stop then and there itself,because most of the users directly go on buying the new Windows based PC or Laptop preinstalled with a licensed copy of newer Windows version was to avoid the tedious Windows setup on their existing machines.So to counter those issues microsoft have made a lot of improvements to make the Windows 8 setup experience a pleasant one and not a tedious one,so that it would encourage the potential upgraders to upgrade their operating system and avoiding the waiting process to save money up for the costly hardware upgrade instead.


Talking about the Big improvements in the setup experience,taking the upgrade experience online,so no need to buy the upgrade Disks instead upgrading the newer version of Windows.So whenever you want to upgrade and purchase  your Windows operating system you can do it with a few simple steps right from your PC via the Web upgrade method.The web upgrade method involves “pre-key” the setup image for each unique user so that after downloading the setup over the internet you don’t have to enter the 25 digit  product key again while installing Windows8.The physical Disk upgrade is also available for those who prefer the old school way of upgrade.But this digital distribution is indeed  a big improvement for ease of installation.
One more improvement is Integrating their  earlier Upgrade Advisor, Windows Easy Transfer, and Setup together to work seamlessly for Windows 8 upgrade.

Reducing the number of setup screens also plays a vital role in the enhancing the Windows 8 setup experience,less the number of setup pages/screens the user see less the confusion.

Here’s the sneak at what the Web Setup experience would look like:

1.The First Step would scan your PC for Compatibility checks and would return a summary like this.


2.The next screen would give detailed compatibility report about existing programs on the system and their compatibility with Windows 8.


3.Then the Download Manager screen would pop up with the Windows 8 download and other details such as estimated download timing and status of completion of the download.


4.After downloading the setup you get 2 options

    Continue with the installation
    If you want a dual boot system you have option as “install on another partition” which would allow you to choose the device to create a bootable media either the USB drive or choosing to create an ISO image which can later be burned onto a DVD-R.



5.Next screen you would get prompted to choose what personal data want to keep before proceeding with the upgrade.


As a result of this improved setup experience the maximum 60 screen setup of Windows 7 is narrowed down to 11 clicks in Windows 8 setup with 82% fewer clicks in the Windows 8 installation as compared to Windows 7.

Qualcomm President Elaborates on Windows 8

Qualcomm and Microsoft have collaborated on Windows Phone devices for the past year. Every Windows Phone device that has debuted since 2010, including Nokia’s new Lumia phones, runs on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon mobile platform.However,Nokia has already announced it intends to use chips from Europe’s ST-Ericsson in upcoming Windows Phone devices. But Qualcomm President Steve Mollenkopf says the company will continue to work with Nokia and other manufacturers on Windows Phone products,forbes reports.


In an interview ahead of the company’s annual Analyst Day in New York, Mollenkopf added, “We’re quite pleased with how [the Windows Phone collaboration] is going”.He also confirmed that Qualcomm’s relationship with Nokia for Windows Phone devices is “ongoing” despite the Nokia/ ST-Ericsson tie-up.Despite the low share of Windows Phone in US markets,there is still hope for Qualcomm from the upcoming Windows 8.The much-anticipated update to Microsoft’s ‘big Windows’ operating system will be the first version of Windows to support the ARM processors which Qualcomm and other mobile chipmakers use. The move will enable Qualcomm to move beyond phones and tablets into laptops and other gadgets.
Though Windows 8 is still some months away — Microsoft won’t say exactly when it will be released — Qualcomm is already working on Windows 8 devices and applications. “We’re investing very heavily to really prepare for [Windows 8],” said Mollenkopf.He also said, ” upcoming Windows 8 devices will share certain characteristics, such as extreme slimness and portability. Windows 8 laptops could resemble Apple’s sleek MacBook Air.”

Windows 8 will not only enable Qualcomm to sell chipsets for new classes of gadgets, it also shows that smartphone-like features can and should be incorporated into non-phone devices.One example of this phone/PC crossover is Windows 8?s “connected standby” feature, which pulls data for email and social networking updates even when the device is on standby or — in the case of a laptop — closed. This “always-on” connectivity and power efficiency is a trademark smartphone feature. “That’s exactly what we talked about with smartbooks,” contends Mollenkopf. “It’s a phone use-case, now appearing in the heart of the PC market.”

Windows 8 Bootkit

Microsoft is busy building what is by far the most secured Windows operating system ever.Windows 8 aims to secure the PC from malwares and other viruses infecting the system by introducing the Secure Boot feature.So with this security feature it will make any sorts of illegal activities of hacking into the system virtually impossible since it would require a digital authentication for any software to be added to the Windows 8 system making it almost impossible to hack.


But now Peter Kleissner a security analyst has created the first Windows 8 Bootkit which he is planning to release in MalCon International Conference in India.He recently was working on development of the Stoned Bootkit, a research project to subvert the Windows security model.In his previous work he has also released a bootloader for Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2003,which were built to install directly on the Kernel of the Operating System to get the Full Privilege access on the system.

So far he has successfully started the Bootkit  from USB/CD and the  infector can now  bypass the  UAC on admin account. -> UAC (default setting) on 8 with admin account according to his latest twitter status update.Though he made it clear that he is not attacking the  UEFI or secure boot,currently working with the legacy BIOS only and that he have already sent the full source and the paper for the Bootkit to Microsoft along with his suggestions.Let’s hope his suggestions help microsoft to rectify the flaws to make the final version of Windows 8 foolproof.

The MalCon conference is scheduled for next week in Mumbai,but due to  some issues with the VISA  he might not be able to attend the conference and would probably take a remote presentation via a video.

New Version Of 3D Mark For Windows 8 Announced

There still is considerable amount of time for the official unveiling of Windows 8, but that hasn’t stopped Futuremark from revealing plans to offer a new version of its most well known product.

On Monday, Futuremark announced plans to release 3DMark for Windows 8. 3D mark is a benchmarking software product which is set to be  released in 2012.The development of 3DMark for Windows 8 benefits from the co-operation of many of the world’s leading technology companies. The Futuremark Benchmark Development Program (BDP) includes AMD, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Imagination Technologies, Dell, HP and other well known companies.
3DMark for Windows 8 (working title)

    Measures and compares gaming performance on all Windows 8 devices
    Stunning real-time scenes stress test all levels of hardware
    Supports both x86 and ARM-based architectures
    Can be used in both Metro UI and ‘classic’ Windows environments
    Created in co-operation with the world’s leading technology companies
    Currently in development, expected to be released in 2012

Typically, Futuremark offers a new version of 3DMark when there is also a new version of Microsoft’s DirectX graphics API available. Currently, game developers are working on tools based on DirectX 11. Microsoft usually releases a new version of DirectX around the launch of a new Windows OS. It offered up a DirectX 11.1 version for the Windows 8 developers preview build. However, Microsoft has yet to reveal any plans for DirectX 12 and if history is of any indication then we should shortly see the next version of DirectX pretty soon.

Windows 8 Build 8158 Screenshots

PCBeta has posted images of another leaked build of Windows 8, build 8158. This time around they have displayed an updated “Longhornesq” charm bar on the right side of the screen, and unlike the Windows Developer Preview, it’s brought out by bringing the mouse to bottom-right of the screen.Chinese site PCBeta posts up images of leaked Windows 8 build 8158.

Images include one of the Desktop with a charm bar located on the right side of the screen. It can be accessed by bringing the mouse pointer to the bottom-right-hand corner of the screen.

Another image seems to suggest that Microsoft has brought silent updates to Internet Explorer, which is something rivals like Google already have in their web browsers. The image shows the "About" Windows in Internet Explorer 10 with a checked option to "Install new versions automatically."

A public beta of Windows 8 is expected to be released next month, at the same time as the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) is underway in Las Vegas.

As you can see from above screenshot, now you can get on with your work while updates of IE are being installed with the addition of new fetaure “Install new versions automatically” option. However, there are still doubts of whether it will require any restarts after successful installation.There also seems to be an update to IE 10 which allows it to automatically update without disturbing you with annoying pop ups But whether or not this will require a restart or not to complete the installation is unknown.
The fact that the Control Panel icon has been placed on the desktop by the leakers of these screenshots, could mean that accessing it from the Start button is still a tedious exercise for desktop users, perhaps indicating that it still links to the Metro styled “apps” screen.

A few more screenshots of a build of Windows 8 that’s closer to the beta build that we can expect to see in a few months have recently found their way to the web. The images come courtesy from PCBeta . Now they don’t really seem to reveal a whole lot more about windows 8 that we don’t know already, and even using Google Translate, it’s quite difficult to make out what they’re saying in the post.
They refer to the sidebar in the post as a “charm bar” and seem to think that it’s a new feature (this could be down to a dodgy translation) but if what’s written in the post is correct, this can now be accessed by going to the bottom right of the screen with your mouse where the current “show desktop” button is located in Windows 7.

Windows 8 with Siri like voice recognition

With the announcement of a release of a beta version for Kinect on Windows 8 in January 2012, experts are expecting Windows 8 to incorporate a voice recognition which will be deeply integrated with the OS.

Speaking to Forbes magazine, Chief Strategy and Research Officer of Microsoft, Craig Munide, stated that Apple’s new voice activated digital assistant Siri is nothing new and that Microsoft has been doing the same for over a year now. Tellme, a Windows 7 Phone feature allows one to send text messages to people and dictate notes. There is also Bing’s voice search engine. Mundie also stated that Siri is so popular mainly because of marketing Apple has given the service and further admitted that the only area Microsoft could try learning from Apple is marketing strategies.

Now that Mundie has put a spotlight on voice activated digital assistants, and in light of the fact that Windows 8 is expected to be released sometime in 2012, anticipation among users is growing because of the wide range of changes announced for the OS. Even more intriguing are Microsoft’s claims of having come up with a voice recognition system even more advanced than Siri. In fact, Microsoft claims to have gone ahead a step and launched a color and gesture recognizing software with the launch of Microsoft Kinect. Kinect recently hit the news with Microsoft’s decision of creating an SDK for Kinect on Windows 8. It also announced that a beta version for Kinect on Windows 8 shall be launched in January 2012.

With the required technology already put together, experts say that it is hard to think of a reason why Microsoft would not incorporate these features. Experts also suggest that it is fairly possible that voice recognition on Windows 8 may be as simple as plugging in a Kinect and giving it instructions, which can extend to dictations, setting reminders, opening applications and websites. Evidence that this is already in the works can be seen in the announcement of Bing Voice coming to Xbox, which is a Kinect dependent feature.

Windows 8 on tablets and computers is expected to be able to deliver an almost similar experience that Siri is now delivering (and even more), but with a supported Kinect system. Even though Windows hasn’t announced voice recognition availability as of now, third party solutions are however eager to make it available soon for Windows 8 with the Kinect SDK. This is expected to boost the market appeal of Windows 8 even more.

Enterprise Zombies of windows 8

In the latest episode of the Windows Weekly podcast, Leo, Mary Jo and I discuss Microsoft's plans for ARM-based Windows 8 versions, rumors of a Windows 8 Beta delay to mid-February, a Windows Store event next week, whether Office will come to the iPad, Xbox 360 sees record sales over Black Friday, SkyDrive gets a quiet but major update, some Windows Phone news, a new Microsoft Security Essentials beta, Yahoo takeover rumors, and Amazon's millions of Kindles sold.

 Picks
Experience Windows Phone on iPhone or Android.And then cry because you have to go back to your old phone. A new Windows Phone emulator gives you a chance to walk on the wild side.

Software pick of the week: Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies for iPad

Activision delivers a version of the beloved Call of Duty "Zombies" games for the iPad (and iPhone). This one includes a classic Zombies mode but also "Dead-Ops Arcade," a top down shooter with 50 levels of its own. What's not to love? Well, it's a bit expensive ($6.99). But it's well worth it.

Enterprise pick of the week: SQL Azure Data Sync
MS seeks a way to share data between on-premises SQL Server and SQL Azure applications for hybrid on-premises and cloud-based applications.

Microsoft embraces ARM with Windows 8

CES 2011 Microsoft's next version of Windows will run on ARM systems using system-on-a-chip (SoC) architectures from NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments.

Microsoft announced its platform diversification for Windows 8 during the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, Nevada on Wednesday. Windows 8 is expected sometime in 2012.

This is the first time a version of Microsoft's sacred Windows client will run natively on ARM. In the past Windows Embedded CE ran on ARM, while Microsoft's built an $18bn annual business putting the full Windows client on PCs running x86 from Intel and AMD.

Also planned is a version of Microsoft's ubiquitous Office productivity suite that will run natively on ARM. Office is Microsoft's second major money spinner, generating up to $18bn annually.

Conscious of the fact that it's breaking 32-years of fidelity with the Intel architecture, Microsoft padded Wednesday's news, saying Windows is not completely abandoning Chipzilla clients.

Intel, along with AMD, will continue to evolve and improve the x86 platform with low-power systems new designs, such as Intel's second generation Core processor family and AMD's Fusion accelerated processing units (APUs), Microsoft said Wednesday.

But the move to ARM primes the planned Windows 8 client to appear on a range of small, thin, and low-powered mobile devices with increased battery life.

ARM's been a long time coming for Microsoft, though it has dodged the issue when grilled in public. The jump to embrace ARM SoCs should mean a fresh lease of life and licensing revenue for the Windows franchise and opportunity for OEM partners.

Microsoft's been taking flack for years now over the potential death of the Windows PC, an Intel- and AMD-dominated institution, against the backdrop of explosive growth in mobile and devices. Microsoft has also been grilled for failing to respond to the popularity of Apple's iPad tablet.

Last year, chief executive Steve Ballmer more or less apologized to investors for slipping up on tablets, and promised "it is job-one urgency" to deliver Windows tablets against Apple.

Windows 8 on ARM should finally mean an exciting new range of tablet computers from Microsoft partners that actually challenge Apple.

The first generation of Windows 7 tablets are generally clunky. And Windows 7 is built for keyboard and mouse use – not multi-touch input, which is limited.

Multi-touch input and the ability to run on a slate are among Microsoft's goals for Windows 8.

The downside for Microsoft and Windows partners and fans? The expected 2012 delivery of Windows 8. The date means OEM partners must continue to work within the limitations of Windows 7 for at least a year and use Intel's Oak Trail Atom processor if they wish to challenge Apple's iPad.

ARM means greater ubiquity of devices, but that's a year off.

Microsoft said support for SoC in the next version of its planned Windows 8 client would enable industry partners to design and deliver the widest range of hardware ever. Windows and Windows Live Division group vice president Steven Sinofsky announced the news at a press conference at CES, where he was surrounded by machines using SoC. During the event, Microsoft demonstrated Windows 8 on ARM and x86 netbooks running chipsets from old friends AMD and Intel.

Microsoft promised standard Windows staple features on SoC, such as hardware accelerated media playback, hardware accelerated Web browsing with the latest version of its Internet Explorer browser, support for USB devices, and the ability to print.

CEO Ballmer is expected to provide more details on his company's ARM conversion during the opening CES keynote later on Wednesday.

Windows 8 Signals A Bold New Era For NighPads

Following a demonstration of Windows 8 at Microsoft's BUILD conference, headlines like this one, from BGR, abounded: "Sorry, Apple, Windows 8 Ushers In The Post-Post-PC Era." Following the huge market success of Apple's iPad, and the wave of tablet computing innovation around it, Microsoft wasn't looking so great. With its yet-to-be-released Windows 8 operating systems, could Microsoft be poised for a rebound.

Apple's iPad success represented, at the least, a transition in the PC market away from Microsoft's traditional hardware strongholds. Considering that after a year of trying, Google's Android OS hasn't broken iOS's hold of the tablet game and that HP folded its own WebOS attempt, optimism around Windows 8 comprises a bold position.

Here are the biggest reasons for the excitement: The Windows 8 tablet-friendly OS represents a big departure from Windows history and tradition, both in form and function while at the same time demonstrating innovation that differentiates it from its peers in the new tablet era.

This innovation comes in all sizes: Windows 8 enables a novel photo-touch unlock screen (where the user gestures across details of a personal photograph in subtle ways that act as a unique key) through to the panel-based dynamic Metro UI, extended and evolved from the design used in Windows Phone 7; underneath its highly touch-optimized user interface, the OS runs a "full" installation of Windows that operates in a more familiar manner, and runs all the apps that users will know from the office.

What Microsoft seems to promise is a tablet operating system that's as finger-friendly as the one Apple created for the iPhone and iPad, with some clever enhancements. Windows 8 is supposed to make a tablet run with all the usual tricks--like fast boot-up, long-lasting battery, slim form-factor--but then, with a simple click or two, make it run like a PC--right down to running task manager and Excel on your desktop.

In one line of argument, Windows 8 means MS has achieved the unlikely: It's created an OS that's actually useful for content creation, much like a Windows machine. That's a criticism that Apple's faced with its iPad--critics suggest that its touch-only keyboard and touch-simplified and sandboxed applications aren't ideal for typing long texts, manipulating complex spreadsheet data, or pulling together a web page or PowerPoint-style presentation. And this is what many people are thinking represents Microsoft's success here, and the first real challenge to Apple's iPad domination (currently running at a sustainable 68% of market share).

But there are a couple of large glitches in these arguments for Windows 8 tablet domination.

First, Apple is poised to release iOS 5--a radical overhaul of its operating system for the iPhone and iPad that fixes bugs, adds new features, and has some radical use-case-changing code. There's a split thumb-style keyboard for the iPad, for example, which will go a long way to solving criticisms of the text-input system. But there's also seemingly deep integration of speech recognition and synthesis ... including what seems to be some of the artificial intelligence from Siri--a company Apple bought a year ago. This may transform how you use the iPad, enabling a degree of user interactivity and content creation powers that could be almost sci-fi like.

Then there's the fact Apple's due to release a new iPad early in 2012, with what we can only assume are significantly uprated processors and graphics, along with better battery life (an Apple staple with almost every product evolution), and a higher resolution screen. On launch, it's possible the iPad 3's hardware capabilities alone will outshine almost every other peer device, securing Apple's market lead for at least another iteration--until probably 2013.

Let's assume that late in 2012--around the time we hear MS will actually release its Windows 8 code--Apple will again refresh iOS to version 6, introducing another raft of improvements and new features. What these are we can only guess, but glancing through Apple's patent archive should give us a hint, and they're big.

We also know that through 2011 Apple was working to bring some of the same user experience found in iOS to its major refresh of its Mac OS X operating system into the Lion edition. This trend is likely to continue, and who knows when iOS and OS X will achieve a merged synergy that equals the fact Microsoft's Windows 8 also runs on "traditional" PCs. Some speculation that Apple could be testing ARM chip-based Macs in preparation for this future could suggest this evolution is happening sooner rather than later.

Then there's Google's Android OS. The first tablet-centric edition, Honeycomb 3.0, is still relatively new and hasn't found its way onto many devices yet. Honeycomb already impresses, and Google's working on its next edition, Ice Cream Sandwich. We have a hint that the version after that is already in development. Where Apple goes Google will follow--if not surpass.

Finally, Windows 8, for all its tablet-focused goodness, has some controversial facets we don't understand yet--in its x86 installation it may run legacy Windows apps, but in its ARM-based installation it won't. It will run Metro as an iOS-like tablet-only app. This means it has a lot of legacy Windows design in it, needed to support that Outlook/Excel/Word/legacy software that MS is so proud of.

During the Windows 8 demo this week, Microsoft even felt compelled to note they'd improved the OS's running code burden by limiting the number of system processes it needs to run. This suggests that all the old Windows bug-bears, like task managing, crashed applications, viruses, and the Blue Screen Of Death may inflict themselves upon Windows 8 tablets. And this is in an era when Apple's training people to think that devices like the iPad "just work" seamlessly, no IT geeks required.

Windows 8 Will Be a Tough Sell for Businesses

 Microsoft held its first major unveiling of what's in store with Windows 8 at the D9 conference this week. Windows 8 looks bold. It looks slick. It looks impressively innovative. But, it also looks like it will be a major battle to convince business users to embrace it.

Windows 8 binocularsWindows 8 looks awesome, but businesses may not be anxious to embrace it.To be honest, I think that Windows 8 looks awesome. Despite my repeated pleas to Microsoft to abandon the concept of Windows on a tablet, and instead adapt Windows Phone 7, Windows 8 looks like it will be a very capable tablet platform. Perhaps that could be because Windows 8 looks more like Windows Phone 7, or the Zune interface than it does the Windows 7 I know and love.

What Microsoft demonstrated with Windows 8 is a distinct departure from the Windows OS that drives 90 percent of the PCs in the world. Businesses will be reluctant to rush too quickly to embrace Windows 8 because of the culture shift it represents, and the possible drag on productivity as users acquaint themselves with the conventions and features of the new interface.

See our full Windows 8 coverageUsers abhor change. And, if it is a change they don't like or don't understand, they automatically throw it into a pool called "change for the sake of change". It doesn't matter that the ribbon interface in Microsoft Office is more efficient and intuitive than the traditional file menu bar, it hasn't stopped a significant segment of Microsoft Office users from whining about the ribbon interface. Users averse to change don't care that Jump Lists in Windows 7 save time and help make them more productive, they don't comprehend why they need to learn something new.

That is how Windows 8 will be perceived. I have no doubt that the changes Microsoft is introducing in Windows 8 will make the operating system better. Once users get through the initial learning curve of adapting to the Windows 8 interface, they will be able to navigate the OS more quickly, work more efficiently, and get more done. But, many will stop at that initial learning curve and instead bemoan why Microsoft had to change things that worked perfectly well for them in Window 7 / Vista / XP.

One of the selling points of Windows 8 is that it actually uses fewer resources than Windows 7 and will not require new hardware. But, I beg to differ. It may not require new hardware to run and be functional, but in order to take advantage of the touchscreen features that seem to define the Windows 8 interface, new hardware will be required. Without new hardware that embraces the unique qualities of Windows 8, it seems like a less compelling move.

Perhaps some businesses will be more likely to make a switch from Windows XP to Windows 8 because the OS is so dramatically different that it creates more of a value perception. Companies that feel apathetic about moving to Windows 7 because they feel that Windows 7 is nothing more than Windows XP with some extra eye-candy, may find the complete revamp in Windows 8 compelling.

But, I am going to go out on a limb and say that companies that feel that way will be few and far between. The vast majority of customers will either feel that they haven't yet gotten their money's worth out of the investment in migrating to Windows 7, or they will be scared off by the completely new user interface in Windows 8, and the flashy "consumer" feel of it all.

Personally, I can't wait to start using Windows 8. I'm just not sure businesses will be as anxious to make that leap.

Windows 8 To Help You Efficiently Utilize Large Capacity Drives

A recent post on Building Windows 8 blog by Bryan Matthew explains how Windows 8 will help us efficiently utilize large capacity drives. Our digital collections keep growing at an ever increasing rate – high resolution digital photography, high-definition home movies, and large music collections contribute significantly to this growth. Hard disk vendors have responded to this challenge by delivering very large capacity hard disk drives – a recent IDC market research report estimates that the maximum capacity of a single hard disk drive will increase to 8TB by 2015.

Even as hard disk drive vendors innovated to deliver very large capacity drives, two key challenges required focused attention:

    Ensuring that the entire available capacity is addressable, so as to enable full utilization
    Supporting the hard disk drive vendors in their effort to deliver more efficiently managed physical disks – 4K (large) sector sizes

Addressing all available capacity

To fully understand the challenges with addressing all available capacity on very large disks, we need to delve into the following concepts:

    *The addressing method
    *The disk partitioning scheme
    *The firmware implementation in the PC – whether BIOS or UEFI

The addressing method
Initially, disks were addressed using the CHS (Cylinder-Head-Sector) method, where you could pinpoint a specific block of data on the disk by specifying which Cylinder, Head, and Sector it was on.The new addressing method was called Logical Block Addressing (LBA) – instead of referring to sectors using discrete geometry, a sector number (logical block address) was used to refer to a specific block of data on the disk.

The disk partitioning scheme

While LBA addressing theoretically allows arbitrarily large capacities to be accessed, in practice, the largest value of “n” can be limited by the associated disk partitioning scheme.The notion of disk partitioning can be traced back to the early 1980s – at the time, system implementers identified the need to divide a disk drive into several partitions (i.e. sub-portions), which could then be individually formatted with a file system, and subsequently used to store data. The Master Boot Record partition table (MBR) scheme was invented at the time, which allowed for up to 32-bits of information to represent the maximum capacity of the disk.As early as in the late 1990s, system implementers recognized the need to enable addressing greater than the 2.2TB limit (among other requirements). A group of companies collaborated to develop a scalable partitioning scheme called the GUID Partition Table (GPT), as part of the Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) specification. Beginning with Windows Vista 64-bit, Windows has supported the ability to boot from a GPT partitioned hard disk drive with one key requirement – the system firmware must be UEFI. We’ve already talked about UEFI, so you know it can be enabled as a new feature of Windows 8 PCs.

Firmware implementation in the PC – BIOS or UEFI

PC vendors include firmware that is responsible for basic hardware initialization (among other things) before control is handed over to the operating system (Windows).Windows has consistently required modern UEFI firmware to be used in conjunction with the GPT scheme for boot disks.

Beginning with Windows 8, multiple new capabilities within Windows will necessitate UEFI. The combination of UEFI firmware + GPT partitioning + LBA allows Windows to fully address very large capacity disks with ease.

Bryan also adds,”Our partners are working hard to deliver Windows 8 based systems that use UEFI to help enable these innovative Windows 8 features and scenarios (e.g. Secure Boot, Encrypted Drive, and Fast Start-up). You can expect that when Windows 8 is released, new systems will support installing Windows 8 to, and booting from, a 3TB or bigger disk.” Here’s a preview:


Designing for large sector disks

Learning from some issues identified with prior versions of Windows, AF disks have been a key design point for new features and technologies in Windows 8; as a result, Windows 8 is the first OS with full support for both types of AF disks – 512e and 4K Native.

Issues addressed included the following:

    Introduce new and enhance existing API to better enable applications to query for the physical sector size of a disk
    Enhancing large-sector awareness within the NTFS file system, including ensuring appropriate sector padding when performing extending writes (writing to the end of the file)
    Incorporating large-sector awareness in the new VHDx file format used by Hyper-V to fully support both types of AF disks
    Enhancing the Windows boot code to work correctly when booting from 4K native disks.

NTFS in Windows 8 fully leverages capabilities delivered by our industry partners to efficiently support very large capacity disks. You can rest assured that your large-capacity storage needs will be well handled beginning with Windows 8 and NTFS.

Windows 8 Server

Windows 8 Server to include a new PowerShell Automation platform

A new job post has been posted on the Microsoft Career site,stating that a new Powershell Automation platform would be added for managing Windows Servers.

Windows Server is the top-selling server operating system and is growing share in a growing market. Central to the success of Windows Server is the experience of IT Professionals managing Windows Server. For our next release, we are taking that experience to the next level by helping to make IT Professionals more effective and more productive by shipping a product they will love to use.
We work closely with a passionate PM & Test team to deliver world-beating next generation of PowerShell for managing Windows Servers. For Windows 8 Server, we are planning, architecting and building a new PowerShell Automation platform around themes that are key to the success of the entire Server product line.
We are looking for a Senior Software Development Engineer to help design, implement and deliver the next generation of this Automation Platform. In this role, you will deliver new features for the Windows Server Management which will help in the data center automation. You will work closely with many other teams delivering in Windows Server. You will take on the challenge of bridging the existing with the new and have an understanding and appreciation of lower level protocols and higher level user interaction design, using the automation platform as a middle tier. You will also have a record of technical leadership, good planning, and shipping world-class software.
Qualifications:
• BSCS/MSCS (or equivalent)
• At least 5-7 years of experience as a commercial software developer in C++ or C# (C# preferred) in all phases of a product cycle.
• Ideally familiar with PowerShell language.
• Prior management technology experience is an advantage.
• Experience in Windows Workflow Foundation, WS-Man, RBAC and/or repository technologies (SQL, AD) are an advantage.
• Experience in development of a scalable service is highly preferred.
• Experience with other IT management products like System Center is a plus.
• Delivery of several business-impacting components for which you were directly responsible.
• Passion for quality. A core belief that all members of the feature team share the responsibility for the quality of the product.
• Technical Leadership. Track record of building and leading world-class product design and architecture.
• Ability to work with partners and drive cross-group initiatives.
• Execution. Proven track record in project definition, articulation, planning and delivery.
• Can-do entrepreneurial attitude with experience working in a team with industry-leading, innovative, and high-quality releases.
• Deep understanding and passion for IT Professionals as customers.


HP ProLiant ML110 G7, first Windows 8 server from HP
Microsoft has recently discussed about Windows 8 Server at WPC 2011 which was held from July 10 to July 14, and according to the video available on net from the conference Windows 8 would have more than 100 new features including the next version of Hyper-V Hypervisor and support for more than 16 virtual processors per machine. Recently probably after the conference HP has upgraded the technical specifications of one of it’s entry level servers HP ProLiant ML110 G7 and has included Windows 8 Server as one of the operating system.


We already know that Microsoft would be releasing the beta builds of Windows 8 client and server during Build conference which is scheduled to be held in September and now we don’t see any builds leaking soon, so wait for the Build where we definitely would have lot of info to talk about.

Microsoft talks about Windows Server 8 at WPC 2011
Microsoft has earlier talked about Windows 8 on the first day of WPC 2011, while on the second day the emphasize was on Windows Phone 7, cloud computing and Windows Server 8. ZDNet.com reports that Microsoft gave the first glimpses of Windows Server 8 at WPC 2011.

Here are some of the points mentioned by Mary Jo Foley on ZDNet-

    Windows Server 8 would contain more than 100 new features
    Will have next version of Hyper-V Hypervisor and will support more than 16 virtual processors per machine.
    Hyper-V Replica feature will allow asynchronous virtual machine replication

Windows Server 8 has already been leaked months back though expect for the new Hyper-V no other important features were discovered in that build. Windows Server 8 would be released alongside Windows 8 client and according to information available we may see the Beta version in September during BUILD and RTM version during April 2012.

Improved Server Manager found in Windows 8 Server Build 7959
We have earlier posted that Windows 8 Server build 7959 has been leaked, though the changes in Windows 8 build 7955 and Build 7959 are very less still the enthusiasts at BetaArchive forums have managed to find the improved Server Manager in this new leak. The Server Manager eases the task of managing and securing multiple server roles in an enterprise.

Though Server Manager has already been available in Windows Server 2008 R2, Microsoft has considerably improved the features and UI in Windows 8 Server.

Here are the screenshots of the Server Manager in Build 7959





If you are running Windows 8 Server Build 7959 you can run Server Manager by running .


Windows 8 build 7959 x64 server edition leaked
It has hardly been a week since Windows 8 build 7955 has been leaked, today BetaArchive has again leaked another build and this time it’s Windows 8 build 7959 Server Edition. This is the first 64 bit build to be leaked.

Here are the details of the build-

Microsoft Windows 8 (”Windows 8” 6.2.7959.0) (Enterprise) (m3)
6.2.7959.0.fbl_srv_wdacxml.110307-1930_amd64fre_server-enterprise_en-us.iso
ISO Size: 2.87GB (3,229,550,592 bytes)
ISO MD5: 99375D7782027CBF2E70F5D0F8648406

The build is currently available on BetaArchive FTP but would hit the torrent and file sharing sites soon.

Also there has been rumors that Windows 8 build 7971 may leak soon. We would keep you updated on the same.