Now what exactly DO people expect from Microsoft? Microsoft gave us Windows XP which was launched around 10 years back, and still dominates the operating systems market worldwide, and Microsoft's Windows range dominates with a majority 86 per cent share of operating systems used worldwide, including Windows 7, Windows XP and Windows Vista. Microsoft is heading for fresh changes, not long after they launched Windows 7. So Microsoft has designed the all new "Windows 8", with many new features, most of which haven't been disclosed yet, but some general features are now public (thanks to the CES, Taipei Computex and D9 Conference) !
It all began at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held this year in Las Vegas, where Microsoft made its first official "Windows 8 Announcement". It was announced that it would be including support for system-on-a-chip (SoC) and mobile ARM processors in Windows 8. As time passed by, and as we all expected, various 32bit/64bit builds were leaked online.
One of which included the following features:
Ribbon Interface for Windows Explorer
A PDF reader called Modern Reader
An updated task manager called Modern Task Manager
A native ISO image mounting
Various new builds included features such as a new pattern login, support for taskbar thumbnails and removal of the boxes that would encase the "close, maximize, and minimize" buttons, leaving just the signs. More of the features noticeable after various screenshots were revealed included:
Microsoft has "supposedly" worked pretty hard on this version of Windows, which is because the main feature that was presented was the extensively redesigned new user interface which has been optimized for touch as well as use with the mice and keyboards. For a better GUI, they have created Live Application Tiles. The new interface has been primarily designed for 16:9 screen resolutions. Microsoft has also taken security into consideration for protection against cracks, with OEM Activation 3.0 which is far more superior that OEM Activation 2.1 used for Windows 7. As Microsoft VP Larson-Green said, the new developer platform is based on HTML5 and JavaScript. Another thing worth noting is that the requirements for Windows 8 will be equivalent to or less than those of Windows 7, which is good news for Windows 7 users.
Overall, I feel Windows 8 can make a difference in the lives of Windows users worldwide, and people may just start switching to touch interface devices for the use of Windows 8, because the whole new interface of Windows 8 is just amazing when using a touch interface device! With the choice between a touch and a non-touch device, and the power of Windows 8, I'm sure you wouldn't commit the crime of not even giving it a shot!
It all began at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) held this year in Las Vegas, where Microsoft made its first official "Windows 8 Announcement". It was announced that it would be including support for system-on-a-chip (SoC) and mobile ARM processors in Windows 8. As time passed by, and as we all expected, various 32bit/64bit builds were leaked online.
One of which included the following features:
Ribbon Interface for Windows Explorer
A PDF reader called Modern Reader
An updated task manager called Modern Task Manager
A native ISO image mounting
Various new builds included features such as a new pattern login, support for taskbar thumbnails and removal of the boxes that would encase the "close, maximize, and minimize" buttons, leaving just the signs. More of the features noticeable after various screenshots were revealed included:
An SMS feature
A New virtual keyboard
A new boot screen
Transparency in the basic theme
Geo-location services
Hyper-V 3.0
Powershell 3.0
AppX (packaged application model based on Silverlight)
Hybrid Boot
Portable Workspace
Okay so enough of the new features that were notable( thanks to the screenshots of various build versions being released post the official announcement). Microsoft CEO, Steve Ballmer announced at the Microsoft Developer Forum in Tokyo (May 2011) that the next version of Windows will be released in 2012. His statement was eventually corrected by the company, which responded that afternoon by saying that they were waiting eagerly for the next generation of Windows 7 hardware that would be available in the coming fiscal year. Finally, on June 1, 2011, Microsoft revealed new features of Windows 8 at the Taipei Computex and the D9 Conference (California). Microsoft will be covering more of the new features in September, at the BUILD developer conference.Microsoft has "supposedly" worked pretty hard on this version of Windows, which is because the main feature that was presented was the extensively redesigned new user interface which has been optimized for touch as well as use with the mice and keyboards. For a better GUI, they have created Live Application Tiles. The new interface has been primarily designed for 16:9 screen resolutions. Microsoft has also taken security into consideration for protection against cracks, with OEM Activation 3.0 which is far more superior that OEM Activation 2.1 used for Windows 7. As Microsoft VP Larson-Green said, the new developer platform is based on HTML5 and JavaScript. Another thing worth noting is that the requirements for Windows 8 will be equivalent to or less than those of Windows 7, which is good news for Windows 7 users.
Overall, I feel Windows 8 can make a difference in the lives of Windows users worldwide, and people may just start switching to touch interface devices for the use of Windows 8, because the whole new interface of Windows 8 is just amazing when using a touch interface device! With the choice between a touch and a non-touch device, and the power of Windows 8, I'm sure you wouldn't commit the crime of not even giving it a shot!
