PC users who are buying a new computer with the Windows 8 operating system, and those who are upgrading their existing versions will have to cope with quite a few major design changes over previous versions of the Windows operating system.

The new Metro UI interface obviously makes the top of that list. Tech savvy users who follow the development of Windows 8 are still not sure whether it will improve their workflow on desktop systems. The Windows 8 Beta, which will supposedly be released later this months, should give everyone an answer to that.

A recent screenshot on the PC Beta forum suggests that Microsoft may have plans to change the desktop interface significantly as well. The developer preview released last year already crippled the start menu that Windows users were using in previous versions for various tasks such as starting applications, searching or opening the Control Panel.

The screenshot now shows a taskbar without a start menu button.

According to Neowin, that button appears only when users move the mouse (or their finger) to the left lower corner of the screen.

The basic idea behind the move, besides removing noise from the interface, is to make users use the taskbar and the new charms for all the things they are doing on the desktop. Charms basically appear when you move the mouse to the edge of the screen.

The default start menu functionality had been crippled by Microsoft before, and it feels like they just followed their new all or nothing philosophy to the end.

Pinning applications directly to to the taskbar will become more of a necessity in Windows 8, considering that users do not have options anymore to start apps from the start menu. What about seldom used applications, you may ask? Your only options at this point in time seem to be the built-in search or to use windows Explorer to navigate to application folders directly.

What’s your take on the change? Lets discuss in the comments.

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Kinect is certainly one of the best products that Microsoft has at the moment. They’ve shipped an impressive number of units over the last year or so and also recently announced that they were going to be releasing a desktop edition of it as well. The desktop edition of Kinect ships from February 1st and has a slightly smaller sensor which has more accuracy at close range. But what if Microsoft built the Kinect sensor directly into laptops or monitors? Even tablets?

Well apparently Microsoft are looking into just that. According to the Daily, there’s some prototype laptops which are currently being tested which incorporate Kinect sensors into them.

The devices appear to be Asus netbooks which are running what we assume to be the developer preview edition of Windows 8. There’s an array of small sensors covering the top of the screen where the webcam is normally found and at the bottom of the display there appears to be a set of LEDs.

They’ve also said that a source at Microsoft has even confirmed that these devices are indeed the official prototypes of laptops featuring a Kinect sensor and Kinect technology.

Microsoft recently revealed a lot more information on an array of new sensors that they were incorporating into Windows 8 which you can read about here. They never actually mentioned anything about Kinect sensors so this must still be a prototype project.

If you think about it, there’s loads of ways that Kinect could be used in a portable device like a laptop or even a tablet. Of course gaming is an obvious one since that’s what Kinect is currently used for the most. But Kinect supported laptops could offer great support for people with disabilities and improve the accessibility options.

Of course Microsoft will more than likely not be making it’s own laptops with Kinect built in,  they’ll probably just license out the Kinect technology to interested manufacturers.

It will be interesting to see if Microsoft does bring this up at some stage. I ‘d imagine that they’d like to keep it quiet for the moment so as not to hamper sales of the new desktop version of Kinect.

What do you think, would Kinect work well in a laptop or portable device?

Let us know in the comments

Source:

Thedaily 

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At the moment we don’t have a solid release date for Windows 8, Microsoft never really give us a fixed release date until the final build has been completed. At the moment everyone’s thinking that it will be towards the end of this year, probably in time for the holiday shopping period. At CES this year, Pocket-lint reported on a conversation they had with Microsoft that indicated a October release date.

They spoke with Janelle Poole who is the director of public relations of the Windows Business Group. She had this to say:

We haven’t talked about the release date and we generally don’t. We are talking milestone to milestone, so for us right now we’re talking about the next milestone being the consumer preview happening in late February.

One of the things that I think is a good guideline though is we’ve always said that Windows releases come round about every three years and this year will be three years in October since we launched Windows 7. So I think that’s a good guideline to consider.

It would make sense that this is when Windows 8 will launch, as October 3 years ago will be when Windows 7 launched, which is hard to believe. Windows 7 did also come to market earlier than expected thanks to a series of extremely stable betas and release candidates. I’m sure that Microsoft are working as hard as they can to get Windows 8 ready as soon as possible to cash in on the tablet boom and also get their new OS out on the latest line of ultrabooks that will be flooding the market this year.

It will be interesting to see if Microsoft stick to their 3 year product cycle, or will they cut it down a little like they did with Windows 7?

When do you think Windows 8 will be released?

Let us know in the comments

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A leaked roadmap suggests that Microsoft’s upcoming operating system Windows 8 will be released to retail channels in August 2012. The roadmap, if legit, confirms a Windows 8 Beta release during next year’s CES 2012 in January (see Coming the Windows8 Beta Release In January). Microsoft will release the beta of the Windows Store and the online market customer preview at the same convention.

The release candidate and the beta of the online market will be revealed in April 2012 during the Mix 2012 conference. Windows 8 RTM (release to manufacturing) during the gaming expo E3 2012, and the final version of Windows 8, the online market, Windows Phone 8 and the Xbox Store during August 2012.

If the roadmap is legit, we will see a release of Windows 8 in about ten months from now.

The roadmap interestingly enough does not stop there. It covers the years 2013 and 2014 as well. It may come as a surprise to many that Microsoft may have the intention to ship Windows 8, the successor of Windows 8, two years after the Windows 8 release.

The roadmap suggests a November 2014 release for Windows 9. In 2013 we will see the release of Internet Explorer 11 during Mix 2013 and the Xbox loop and Windows 9 Developer Preview releases during Build 2013.

The CES in 2014 will see the release of the Windows 9 Beta, Mix 2014 the Windows 9 Release Candidate, the Build 2014 conference the Windows 9 RTM and Windows 9 Mobile RTM, and November 2014 finally the release of Windows 9, Windows 9 Mobile and the Kinect HP2.

The information are not confirmed and it is likely that we won’t see an official confirmation or response. What’s your take on the roadmap? Will Microsoft release Windows 9 only two years after Windows 8?

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In news that is hardly surprising, it seems that HP are looking to possibly reignite their attempts to get a foothold in the tablet world. But instead of using the failing Web OS platform, this time they’re looking to be more successful with Windows 8. The HP TouchPad was their first attempt at trying to conquer the tablet market, but unfortunately it failed miserably for them and after a few months on the market, HP decided to cut their loses and flog them off for little or nothing.

However it was these drastic measures which sparked a lot of interest in the TouchPad.So much so that HP decided to run another batch of them. Hardware wise it was pretty good, it’s just people weren’t too keen on adopting the Web OS.

If we believe the Fox news channel of Clayton Morris then HP are definitely looking at bringing it back with Windows 8, where it will probably have a much better chance.

Sources at HP tell me the hardware team has been busy doing proof of concept work testing Windows 8 Preview Edition on the fire sale devices. Internally there’s been discussion about reviving the defunct tablets or building new devices with Windows 8 in mind.”

So it looks like HP are thinking of possibly reviving the TouchPad and brining it back from the grave. It could be a big success for them, or it might just see the tablet device drop out of the market again, but I think it deserves a second chance. It makes sense for HP too. It’s quite a long and expensive process to develop completely new hardware from scratch, so why not just make use of something that you’ve already invested time and money in?

Yes HP might have to make a few tweaks here and there, or they might give it a further spec bump, but that’s never a bad thing right?

So what do you think? Could HP revive the TouchPad by bringing it back to the market running Windows 8? And if so would it be a bigger success than it’s Web OS predecessor?

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Windows 8 is expected to run across a variety of formats, desktops, tablets, netbooks, laptops, x86 and ARM. So the question is can Windows 8 and XBox 720 be merged so that Windows 8 will also run on Xbox720?

Here is the issue. Consider that when Xbox developers write code for their games, they specifically target circuits, like vector units, and shaders that exist in an Xbox 360 unit. However, those elements may not exist on a PC.  You can have emulators in place to make the transition. Yet, the Xbox user interface is distinctively different from the one on a PC. Xbox users may not be enamored by a less than optimum interface for their games.

Xbox Live and Windows 8

Now comes a possibility. Xbox will merge with Windows 8. Is that possible? Considering that Microsoft has announced that Xbox Live is coming to Windows 8, yes it is possible.

Consider that the missing feature from Windows 8, is the Xbox Dashboard interface; however, the upcoming Dashboard update that Microsoft unveiled at E3 has a resemblance to Windows Phone 7′s Metro UI style which uses live tiles grouped together to organize content. This is similar to Windows 8′s Metro-inspired tile-based interface. In other words, even if the Xbox 720 doesn’t run Windows 8, it will still have the appearance like Windows 8.

A Unified Interface

In the end, what Microsoft needs to exploit is a singular user interface. This will eliminate the temptation to create alternative systems and instead have one OS ready to be used in multiple capacities.

Some speculation is in order here. For instance, Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 may support the same apps. This comes in view that Windows Phone 7 already has some Xbox Live support. So perhaps the Xbox UI and Windows UI may indeed be the same, because  both elements of the Xbox OS and Windows 8 OS will merge together.

Source: Geek.com

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What Windows 8 Features will Microsoft offer next?

Will Windows 8 support DVD drives? Everton’s recent post indicates it won’t. So what else is in store for Windows 8? What other things will it support or not support?

Here is a short list of upcoming changes to the system.

1. Do you like Mac’s Time Machine Backup System? Then you’ll like History Vault. Apple’s Time Machine is a backup utility. The software works with the Time Capsule as well as other internal or external drives. So Microsoft is planning to add the History Vault as a backup system in Windows 8.
2. IE 10 will be the default browser on the Windows 8 System. Whether it will be locked into the OS is still unclear. When Microsoft made the Internet Explorer a part of the Windows XP system, Europe forced Microsoft to break it out so other browsers could work on the OS.
3. Windows 8 Versions galore. Expect to have a Home, Pro, and Ultimate versions of Windows 8 available.
4. Intel and ARM processors will be the defacto processors for Windows 8 tablets.
5. Microsoft has learned a lot from Apple (so have many other companies for that matter). And one of the interesting things to come out of it is the Windows store, to compete with the Apple store.
6. Online storage service. Microsoft will have access to the Azure online storage similar to Apple’s iDisk.
7. Built in PDF support. On a Mac this has been a standard for years now; Microsoft will follow suit.
8. Boot up time will be faster with hybrid boot. The PC will be in semi-hibernation mode and will keep certain files pre-loaded to make boot up faster.
9. Pre-loaded Piracy Check Software. This will let users know if their version of the software is pirated or not.

While these are in the rumor stage, some have been confirmed by Microsoft and others await information displays on the Builds that come out.

Source: winrumors

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Following Apple’s recent decision to phase out DVD drives in its PCs, it seems that Microsoft is planning on following suit with Windows 8.  DVD playback is built into Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise and Ultimate, thanks to a deal between Dolby and Microsoft.

However, on a recent earnings call Dolby Chief Financial Officer revealed that no such deal will be in place for Windows 8:

Whether this will lead to PC manufacturers doing deals with Dolby remains to be seen.  By making this decision, it is possible that Microsoft are betting that most Windows 8 users won’t want or need a DVD drive in their shiny new Windows 8 PC.

I most certainly won’t miss having a DVD drive as I rarely use one.  None of my PCs have a DVD drive installed, although I have a portable DVD drive I keep in a cupboard that I take out maybe once every 3 months.  Last week my wife bought a CD for the first time in years, and it was quite comical trying to remember how to remove the copy protection to make a copy as it had been so long.

Will you miss having a DVD drive in Windows 8?  What do you think will be Windows 8 Min Spec?

Source: All About Microsoft

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There is a lot of speculation about the track that Windows 8 will take. On the one hand Microsoft says it will be Windows 7 backwards compatible, but on the other it plans to develop the OS around ARM processors. And this leads to a conundrum. Will Microsoft abandon the PC as Windows 8 moves to the tablet format?

The question comes from the fact that the entire PC industry has been supplanted by the smaller is better mentality personified by the mobile/smart phone technology and the iPad/tablet technology. This will make the technology makers look at the products in a different light.

ARM

Microsoft has already shown that Windows 8 can run on ARM. That is a 32 bit RISC based architecture that uses less power than traditional Intel or AMD processors. Indeed, as far back as 2005 almost 98% of the mobile phones had at least one ARM processor running the device. Since then it has found a place in consumer electronics, including PDAs, mobile phones, digital media and music players, hand-held game consoles, calculators, and computer peripherals such as hard drives and routers.

Tailored Apps

The success of the tablets comes in part from the fact that each user can customize the tablet by an App. In this case, the App is like and unlike a software program on a PC. It is like a PC program because it will use the traditional CPU, memory, drivers, and hardware components to work. But it is unlike a PC program because the Apps doe one thing only in a compact way. In addition they are very inexpensive. Forget about spending $200.00 plus for a program, when you can spend .99 cents for a program that will do what you want.

In that regard, Microsoft will launch special development tools for developers so they can create “tailored apps” for Windows 8. What will be different from the current crop of Windows applications is that they will automatically take over the entire screen when launched. In this way the full screen take over will help create a different and immersive tablet computing experience.

So with that in mind, the question is, how long will the PC last? If Microsoft abandons this technology it will be doomed. A new generation of hardware may be in the making now.

Source: Tablets-Planets

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As the details about Windows 8 start to become for frequent, a four prong Windows 8 strategy was unveiled last week.

Re-imagining of Windows

This means educating customers about Windows’ spread beyond the traditional desktop and laptop to other form-factors such as tablets. Windows 8, which is widely expected to debut sometime in 2012, will be available on tablets thanks to Microsoft’s new found commitment to SoC (system-on-a-chip) architecture, in particular ARM-based systems from companies such as Nvidia.

Continue to Push Windows 7 and Office 2010

People wonder if Microsoft will pull the rug on Windows 7 when Windows 8 comes out. But realistically, why would they? They have a very successful operating system, one that allows users and businesses to operate in ways that they couldn’t before. It’ tried and tested, which is not the same for Windows 8, despite the anticipation. So Microsoft will play conservatively when Windows 8 comes out.

The Productivity Experience … Second to none

Microsoft is fully behind the idea that enterprises will select their product if the companies feel that Microsoft is behind them, as a silent partner. Microsoft wants the partners to be productive and successful. This engagement means that the software will be viewed by companies as an asset, not as a cost.

Driving Customer Satisfaction

While it may appear to be a default position by any company … to drive customer satisfaction, Microsoft is not taking the view that they can supply software that is less than ready to go. The old view that they can fix it after release is not in their framework.

Microsoft is making it’s move to Windows 8 an ambitious move. It is not cowering behind a false name with no feedback. Even at the rumor stage, which this is still, Microsoft is making it’s charge to the next OS something that will not just be accepted when released but also making people grow in anticipation of the release.

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Well here’s a new rumor for us all. According to popular game site “Gamespot” Windows 8 will support games which are designed for the Xbox 360.

Now as usual with rumors, there is never really any proof to back up this idea so take it with a pinch of salt. It’s a rather wild rumor which appears to be more wishful thinking or from a conversation overheard in a bar down some back alley. The story originally comes from Insideris but don’t give any legit sources to back it up. They just casually state “according to our sources” so there really is no evidence for this feature.

They claim that Windows 8 will also have a subscription service similar to Xbox Live, but the online gaming will be carried out through the Windows Live Marketplace instead of Xbox Live. This will also mean that PC gamers won’t be competing with gamers using the Xbox console.

I can’t really see any reason why Microsoft would want to do this. The whole point of having Xbox games running on the Xbox console is so Microsoft can sell game consoles as well as PC’s. It wouldn’t make sense for them to suddenly unify everything to one platform, it would just mean that they’ll lose out on additional revenue.

The whole idea seems a bit far fetched to me, and very fragmented. Furthermore not all PC’s would be capable of running Xbox games properly, I really can’t see this happening. I think it’s another rumor we can ignore.

Unless you can come up with a valid argument as to why Microsoft would do this? If so I’d love to hear it in the comments below.

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Next week Microsoft is holding its Worldwide Partner Conference from July 11 through July 14. This conference is designed to prep developers for what Microsoft has in plan for the future, so obviously Windows 8 is a big part of that. As a result it is quite possible that Microsoft will release an early developer preview of Windows 8 at the conference.

It’s a bit of a long shot however so don’t count on it, I’d take this rumor with a pinch of salt. The news comes from the Twitter account of MSFTtm, who have actually proven fairly accurate in the past when it comes to Windows 8 build details in the past. They say Microsoft will release a Community Technical Preview (CTP) at the conference.

Zdnet did also recently report that a CTP build of Windows 8 could be released towards the end of July which would coincide somewhat with this report as well. It’s important to remember however that even if these reports do prove to be true, a CTP build of Windows 8 will not be available to the consumer, it’s aimed at developers, IT pros and the technical community.

We recently covered a story here at Windows8News that Microsoft will be unveiling Windows 8 at Build 2011 in September. So it would be kind of surprising if Microsoft took the covers off of it’s latest OS next week with that event planned. I say we may get another little teaser or a bit more information but nothing substantial. I reckon Microsoft will save that for the Build 2011 conference in September

Microsoft did give us a good look at the new tablet interface for Windows 8 a while back, but no more than that. So it’ll be interesting to see if Microsoft have more to show us behind that fancy tablet UI

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The next big step for Microsoft is the compilation of the first beta of the upcoming operating system Windows 8. Development is currently at the end of Milestone 3, and it could be a matter of days and not weeks or months before the first beta hits the release channels.

While that does not necessarily mean that the first beta builds will become the public beta that Microsoft has promised earlier in development, it is clear that the development is progressing in a fast pace.

Most Windows experts expect the public Windows 8 beta to be released during the Build conference held in September 2011. This would give Microsoft ample time to produce the public beta release and several internal beta builds to make sure the public beta is as thoroughly tested as possible.

Source of the rumor is Russian news site MSwin, which reveals that the beta will be released between July 14 and 28.

It is not clear if Microsoft will release a second public Windows 8 beta after the first or move on to the release candidate directly. The Windows 8 release candidate is expected to be released in January during the International CES.

From there it could be a matter of months until the operating system is released to retail channels. This would fall into line with recent rumors that Microsoft plans to release the Windows 8 RTM in April 2012.

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There have been all manner of rumours about Windows 8 in the last few months and some of them have proven to be true.  Respected ZD Net journalist Mary-Jo Foley has come into some information on Microsoft’s planned timetable for their next generation OS.

According to one of her sources the Windows 8 RTM (Release to Manufacturing) date will be April 2012.  The source also claims the beta will be released this September at the BUILD Conference 2011 (this takes place between September 13th and 16th).

Now I’m not so certain what to believe on this score and I’m usually loathe to repeat rumours.  However let’s look at this logically.  I myself have been expecting Microsoft to formally announce Windows 8 this coming September for one reason.  This being that the company desperately needs a good showcase of Windows 8 tablets and laptops at the Consumer Electronics Show next year.  This show always takes place around the 4th January, which is a good couple of weeks before Microsoft shows kick off, later that month.

They can’t have all manner of companies showing off Windows 8 before a formal announcement is made, as this just isn’t the way Microsoft (or any company come to think of it) works.  Thus I have long believed we’ll see a formal announcement in September and a beta programme around two months later.

But I’ve also believed that Microsoft would be shipping the RTM version of Windows 8 in time for computer hardware manufacturers to get machines out for the return to school / college period in the Autumn.  This is a critical sales period and lots of computer manufacturers got angry and upset when Windows 7 missed that schedule.

It’s reasonable to assume then that the RTM would occur about a month or two before, in June or July.  April just seems far too early for me as Microsoft want good news as soon as Windows 8 launches and the summer is traditionally the slow sales period.

However, things are more complicated now because we’ll have an embedded version of Windows 8 launching at the same time as the regular one.  It will take hardware manufacturers much longer to get this appropriately modified and programmed onto chips that then have been installed into tablets and other low-power devices, this takes much longer than copying an image onto a PC.  From this perspective an April RTM makes complete sense as it will provide the hardware manufacturers with the time they’ll need to get this job done.

My personal opinion, and everything is speculation at this point, is that the ARM version of Windows 8 will RTM a couple of months before the regular edition.  This will make sure that it’s not widely leaked before-hand and that embedded and installable versions of Windows appear on computers at the same time next autumn.

As I’ve said, all of this is rumour, Mary-Jo would never post anything that didn’t have a grounding in fact, but it’s still not the complete picture.  There are still too many variables to consider.

Personally I’m sticking with my estimates (above) of what is going to be released when and why.  I’d certainly be very interested in hearing your comments on this too.

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Earlier this year when the CEO of Intel said his company would be releasing Windows 8 on a phone people laughed.  How could you possibly get something as heavy as Windows running smoothly on a phone, especially with it’s non-touch-friendly interface.

Then of course things began to change.  First Motorola released it’s Atrix phone which can plug into a netbook-style keyboard dock and convert to a computer, then Microsoft showed off Windows 8′s new Windows Phone-esque tablet interface to almost universal acclaim.

Only a few months later then and the thought of running Windows 8 on a phone, especially as smartphones are now beginning to ship with dual core processors and 1Gb of RAM, isn’t such a wild possibility.

Now an interesting rumour from RedmondPie adds fuel to the fire.  They have been examining some of the APIs of the most recently leaked build, v7989 and have discovered a reference in the Sensors controls that suggests the OS will support SMS short messaging.

Now I normally shy away from reporting Windows 8 rumours as the early development period for a new OS, which is what Windows 8 is going through at the moment, is a time when anything can, and frequently does, change.  There’s also no evidence to suggest that this is at all accurate and from this leaked build either.

RedmondPie also say there is evidence of using GeoLocation services in Windows 8.  Now for tablets running the new OS both of these features make sense.  They also put the Intel CEO’s comments into a different light however.  iOS runs on top of Mac OS X so it would make sense, especially from a development and maintenance standpoint, to have the tablet and smartphone versions of Windows running on the same code-base.

If there is any truth at all in these rumours it would be a huge step forward for Microsoft, and this is where I find this particular revelation personally very exciting (not something that happens very often).  Imagine a smartphone running what is essentially Windows Phone but when plugged into a dock similar to the Atrix keyboard or even a dock on your desk connected to a keyboard, mouse and monitor and all of a sudden being able to run a full version of Windows.

I’ve written about this before as I believe that this is where the future of computing is going, the PC in your pocket, and I have been watching very carefully for any hint that Microsoft may have seen this too.  If so then this is genuine innovation from a company that, at last, appears to be getting its mojo back.

Here is a feature we can all get genuinely excited about and that is capable of all manner of achievements.  These would include giving both Apple and Google a royal kicking and putting Windows Phone firmly on top of the smartphone market.  It would take some time for Google and Apple to respond to this, unless they already are that is, which is reasonably likely.

Any smartphone integration features in Windows 8 are things I will be watching carefully, and we’ll bring you all the latest news about Windows 8 here at Windows8News.

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Rumours have recently hit the web that Microsoft could be gearing up to enter the tablet market,  but this time with an actual tablet, not just an OS. According to a report by Digitimes, Microsoft is considering launching its own brand of tablet PC. The tablet will obviously feature Windows 8 and should launch by the end of 2012.

Microsoft are said to be working with Texas Instruments and Taiwan based manufacturers according to rumours coming from the supply chain. Of course Microsoft haven’t confirmed this rumour.

I’m not completely certain about this prospect however. I know it does work very well for Apple, if you want their OS, you have to have their hardware and vice versa. It works for them, but what makes Microsoft different is the fact that they do offer you choice. You can choose from a plethora of different laptops,netbooks and PC’s when you want to have Windows 7. Microsoft are following the same tactic with Windows Phone 7 as well.

If you look at Microsoft’s past history with selling their own hardware though, it hasn’t been too successful. They’ve barely made a dent on the iPod with their Zune player. And remember Kin, yeah that lasted long didn’t it?

However on the flip side of things, they have been successful selling their own line of mice and keyboard and the Xbox game console has worked out in their favour too. I’m just wondering if a tablet might be a step too far?

This would also mean that Microsoft are going to be competing directly with all other tablet makers who are currently or will be carrying their OS and Windows 8.

I know there’s an  old adage, “if you want something done right, do it yourself” and maybe this is what Microsoft are aiming at? They aren’t happy with the quality of tablets being produced by other manufactures so they’re going to do it themselves.

What do you think of this idea? Does it make sense for Microsoft? How do you think other manufactures will react to it?

Let us know in the comments

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A second Windows 8 build has leaked and will be soon available for download at P2P sites and through other means. This Windows 9 pre-release leak has the build string 6.2.7955.fbl_srv_wdacxml.110228-1930 which indicates that it has been compiled on February 28. The build number suggests that it sits between Milestone 2 and Milestone 3, considering that M2 builds ended with build number 7950 and M3 builds began with 7956.

We do not encourage our users to download the leaked build as there is no easy way to tell if it has been tampered with. It is likely that we will see an influx of new feature leaks in the near future thanks to that new build that has been leaked.

We have another leak! Anonymous again as you can expect. This could be the one you’ve all been waiting for.

Microsoft Windows 8 (”Windows 8” 6.2.7955.0) (Ultimate) (m2)
ISO Size: 2.47GB (2,657,079,296 bytes)
ISO MD5: 40861A02CB14B0D2D7930910DB6CC6E4

It is now available on the FTP Enjoy!

Notes provided by the leaker:
You can unlock the following:
- Ribbon UI
- Application Folder (now working, in 7850 it was broken)
- Full DWM (hideblur)

The following requires the ”red pill”:
- Webcam
- Login (that ugly guy with ctrl+alt+del, the fishy wallpaper, pattern login)
- TaskUI (new taskmanager)
- PDF Reader
- Immersive Browser

Information about the new leak were first posted on the Beta Archive website.

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A video was uploaded to the popular video hosting website YouTube the other day that demonstrates a new feature called pattern logon. It basically replaces the standard password with a pattern based login in which you have to click on, or touch, squares in a specific sequence to log on.

The video is not safe for work and I suggest you do not watch it if you are easily offended. That said, it is still on Youtube and the nsfw part is around the 20 to 25 second mark.

It is probably enough if you watch the first ten seconds or so anyway considering that the logon happens during that time.

You can view the full video over at Youtube

Pattern based logon is similar to Android’s pattern passcode. It is likely that this method will be part of the touch version of Windows 8. It is not clear yet if it will be included in all versions of the operating system.

The video originated from the My digital life forum.

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Windows 8 leaks come in left and right in these days and it appears to be only a matter of time until the first build leaks on to the Internet. The latest three screenshots have been posted by Winreview, a Russian news site. According to their information the Windows 8 rendering engine has been changed so that the Desktop Window Manager may use software rendering instead of hardware rendering which means that Windows Aero will run on many low end computer systems thanks to this change.

Microsoft seems to have removed the blur effect from all windows and all builds. The window borders are still semi-transparent but they are not blurred anymore.

The VirtualBox implementation of Windows 8 will feature hardware acceleration.

To sum it up. The Desktop Window Manager can now use software rendering instead of hardware rendering to make use of Aero on systems that do not meet the hardware acceleration requirements, and VirtualBox will make use of hardware acceleration.

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Leaks are not always the most reliable source of information, especially in a time where it is relatively easy to create believable fakes. The most recent leak appeared first on a Chinese Windows news site. The screenshot shows part of a Control Panel applet called Restore this computer.

It displays two options, first to use System Restore to restore to a recent point in time, and second to restore the operating system to its original factory settings.

The second feature, called System reset, was already reported as one of the new Windows 8 features earlier this month.

It basically allows the Windows admin to reset the full operating system to the state right after initial installation. It was rumored earlier that the new System Reset feature could reset the system in 2 minutes.

The screenshot is from a Milestone 2 build of the Windows 8 operating system. Still, it is another indicator that Microsoft indeed plans to ship the Windows8 operating system with a System Reset feature. (via)

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The leaked screenshots of the Windows 8 operating system so far did not reveal new features. Most showed build numbers, some minor user interface corrections.

New screenshots have been leaked today by the Chinese news site Win7China which for the first time displayed new elements and features of the upcoming operating system.

A total of three screenshots have been posted. Two show the taskbar and system tray, the remaining one part of the user profile directory. Lets take a closer look at each of the screenshots.

Please note that we tried our best to identify the features by carefully examining the screenshots and using machine translation of the news post on the Chinese website.

The first screenshot shows the Windows 8 system tray area. The core addition is the profile picture next to the system tray. According to the information on the Chinese site, these can be local or Windows Live ID accounts. It basically means that users can make use of their Windows Live ID to log into Windows 8. It is likely that additional features of the integration will be revealed at a later time. One possible scenario is to link backup or cloud based storage with a user’s Live ID.

The user account control shows that it will be possible in Windows 8 to use videos as user profile avatars.

The last screenshot shows the taskbar again, and more precisely that Windows 8 displays driver installation progress on the taskbar’s program icon. Windows 7 currently shows a similar progress bar when copying files in Windows Explorer.

Additional information have been posted on Winreview, a Russian news site. Windows 8 will include a hard reset option to reset the operating system to factory settings in two minutes. This feature alone is pretty interesting for users who want to start anew. A possible scenario is to reset Windows 8 every time it has been used to always start with default settings.

The installation time of Windows 8 has been reduced by a factor of 2.5 from 25 minutes to 8 minutes. Microsoft is using a fast system (24 Gigabytes RAM, 8-core cpu, 2 TB hard drive to measure the time).

What else? Windows 8 will feature an app store that is directly accessible from within the operating system.

Especially the improved installation time and the hard reset are features that many users will benefit from. The main concern is that Microsoft may deliver a thin client on disc to achieve the installation speed, and that additional programs and features need to be downloaded from the cloud on first use. This would be similar to how Windows Live applications are now handled in Windows 7.

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While we do not have official confirmation yet that Microsoft has started work on the third milestone of the upcoming Windows 8 operating system, we have the next best thing: Leaked information from Zukona, a user with a track record of reliable Windows build information.

Zukona posted the build string of one of the latest Windows 8 builds: 6.2.7956.0.winmain_win8m3.110228-1701

The win8m3 indicates that it is a Milestone 3 build, 110228 that it was compiled yesterday on February 28, 2011.

If we look back, Milestone 3 was the last step before Microsoft moved to beta builds of Windows 7 and it is likely that the Redmond company has intentions to stay true to the development process.

Windows 7 Milestone 3 appeared in September 2008 for the first time, 13 months before the final release of the operating system. If we take that as a measure, Windows 8 could be ready in the first quarter of 2012, any maybe even earlier if Microsoft decides to release only one public beta before the release candidate.

Windows 7 Beta was released January 2009, a good three months after the first Milestone 3 release. It could mean that we will see a first Windows 8 beta release in June or July 2011.

An early 2012 release would fall into line with Dell’s product roadmap which hinted at a Windows 8 Tablet in the first quarter of 2012 (see Could The Dell Windows 8 Tablet Run On ARM?).

The Windows 8 timeline could look like this:

March 2011: Windows 8 Milestone 3
June / July 2011: Windows 8 Beta
September / October 2001: Windows 7 Release Candidate
Early 2012: Windows 8 final.

What is your thought on this? Let us know in the comments.

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Dell’s leaked roadmap for the coming year revealed a Windows 8 Tablet for the first quarter of 2012 which left many analysts in bewilderment. Did it mean that Windows 8 would be released at the same time, or even before? That would mean that Windows 8 would be released in the next 12 months to the public which is unlikely, but not totally improbable.

There could be another explanation, one which Winrumors first came up with in a recent blog post. What if Microsoft develops two versions of the Windows 8 operating system? Steve Ballmer was showing Windows 8 running on ARM hardware on this year’s CES. What if Microsoft plans to ship Windows 8 for ARM before the desktop version?

There is not really a rush to get the desktop version of Windows 8 out. Windows 7 is performing very well and an early release of Windows 8 would certainly jeopardize the sales. But for tables and slates, there is no product yet on the market that manufacturers like to put on the devices. No Windows 7 for tablets. That’s where the decision to release the ARM version of Windows 8 first would make sense.

WinRumors understands that Microsoft has been working on an ARM based version of Windows for nearly a year and that it is laboring hard to bring this to the market as soon as possible. Microsoft has previously promised a “major revamp” of Windows for slate applications, that will come in the next version, Windows 8

An early release for ARM chipsets could still cause some confusion among Windows users, but it would have a far lesser impact than a release of Windows 8 for desktop systems.

The main question is this: If the story is true, will Windows 8 for ARM be more like a Windows 7.5, or will it offer most or even all of the features of the Windows 8 operating system that are supported by its hardware?

We keep you in the loop, as usual.

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While we’ve not seen the anticipated Windows 8 first peak at CES, which was unlikely anyway given the raft of WIndows 7 tablets being launched there, new details about the OS have emerged.

Technology blogger Paul Thurrott is reporting that the new OS will feature a tile-based interface called Mosh (presumably because you can dive right in).  This won’t be a new mainstream interface however, and will be one specifically for devices such as tablets, slates and other Windows embedded devices.  It also sounds initially rather like the custom Windows 7 interface for the ExoPC.

It is also rumoured that there will be a new applications model codenamed Jupiter, presumably accompanying the expected Windows app store.  This app model is expected to be based around Silverlight and will be delivered at .appx packages.

There’s no more information but both of these are believable and, frankly, were to be expected.  We’ll provide you with more news as we get it.

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The rumor that Microsoft’s CEO Steve Ballmer would showcase a development version of the upcoming operating system Windows 8 came up some weeks ago and it was quickly picked up not only by tech blogs but newspapers as well.

We have decided to post no article on it here on Windows 8 News as it was to vague and we wanted confirmation first before we did. With milestone 2 in the development just passed it seemed unlikely that a center stage demonstration was going to happen.

And the rumor of a Windows 8 demo at CES 2011 was quickly taken a backseat as it became clear that Microsoft would demonstrate Windows TV boxes at the convention.

Seattle based online news site Tech Flash is now reporting that Microsoft will indeed give users a glimpse of the Windows 8 operating system at this year’s CES.

Sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans confirm that the company tomorrow will show Windows running on the ARM architecture common in mobile devices and slate-style computers — a landmark move intended to make the traditional PC operating system work on a broader array of machines.

Tech enthusiasts should not get their hopes set to high however as this first open demonstration seems to target Windows 8′s ARM support only. Do not expect a shiny new interface or other feature revelations during the show.

Why ARM chips, why now? ARM processors offer longer battery life and other features that make them very attractive and Microsoft for now has no products that works really well with those chips. The software giant is changing that with the release of Windows 8, and it is likely that the show is used to give companies, manufacturers and developers confidence in the product so that they begin to use Windows 8 on ARM based devices.

Users who want to watch the keynote live can do so at the Microsoft News Center.

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The majority of information regarding Microsoft’s upcoming operating system Windows 8 has to be taken with a grain of salt. Why? Because the information usually come from third parties and Microsoft’s policy is to never comment on rumors and third party news.

Windows 8 Milestone 2 has been compiled by Microsoft according to the website Windows 8 Beta which reported on it on January 1.

The information posted basically state that Microsoft has moved to build numbers tarting with 6.2.79xx which indicate Milestone 2 releases. Milestone 1 releases are using the slightly different build number 6.2.78xx.

The latest known build was build 7904 which was compiled on December 16. It is likely that Microsoft has moved ahead in the last two weeks.

If you draw comparisons with the Milestone 2 phase of Windows 7 you could argue that Windows 8 will be released in the next 15 month if development goes ahead as planned. Windows 7 Milestone 2 was created in July 2008 and the release of the operating system came 15 months later in October 2009.

Will Microsoft release Windows 8 in the middle of 2012? Or will they spend more time on the operating system and release it at the end of the year just as they did with Windows 7?

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Information about a Windows 8 build from November have recently been posted on the Internet. The build dates back to November 8, 2010 and has the build number 6.1.7900.0. The build number indicates that Windows 8 in its current phase is still using the kernel used in Windows 7. That’s a natural process and Microsoft will switch to a newer Kernel later in the development, likely to 6.2.

According to sources close to the development process Windows 8 has finished Milestone 1 and is currently in the Milestone 2 phase. It is projected that the operating system will enter Milestone 3 stage in the first half of 2011 and it is likely that the first beta will be released in the second half of the year 2011.

Looking back at the history of leaks it is likely that we will see Windows 8 leaks in the first half of 2011 as well once Microsoft begins distributing them to a larger field of testers.

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When you look at computer gaming for a second, you see a trend in recent years that moves away from delivering the whole game on a disk. More and more games require Internet connections to play at all, and we are not obviously talking about mmorpgs like World of Warcraft. Most companies implement these new techniques as anti-piracy measures to prevent the illegal distribution of their properties. While that is not keeping pirates away for long in most cases, it does give the company more time to sell the game before pirated copies become available.

According to information at RumorPedia, Microsoft might be inclined to add a similar feature to Windows 8. Microsoft apparently considers to sync several kernel files directly with Microsoft Cloud servers. What are the benefits of doing this? It should be obvious that this might make it harder to pirate the operating system.

More importantly though is the ability to update core system files without reboots or user interaction.

The cloud based system is said to have a fallback in case the Internet connection dies. It would then use backup files stored on the computer.

The plan is to update those backup files directly after the installation of Windows, and probably whenever a new version becomes available.

The connection to the cloud gives Microsoft additional options to identify pirated versions of Windows 8. It will probably not take long until someone finds a way to always use the backup kernel files. (via)

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I have said it earlier and I’m going to repeat myself here: Job postings are one of the only official sources of information regarding Microsoft’s upcoming operating system Windows 8. A new job posting was recently discovered that connects the Windows 8 Client Backup feature with Microsoft’s cloud based service Windows Azure.

Here is what the job posting for a Software Development Engineer in Test reads:

The Windows Server Solutions group is under the Server and Cloud Division. Our mission is to promote adoption of Microsoft server and cloud platforms/products by using features that appeal to specific market segments. The segments we currently focus on are homes, educational institutions and small businesses. (Windows Home Server, Windows MultiPoint Server and Windows Small Business Server are our key product lines.) We work on a wide range of technologies to appeal to these segments – from kernel-level to native UI to managed UI to web services. For instance we have developed a centralized PC backup, extensible storage, UPnP-based router configuration utilities, a remote web workplace with a GFS backend and a simplified IT management UI. We are currently working on a Windows Azure-based service and integrating with certain Microsoft online services and Windows 8 client backup. Many of the features we develop have ended up in the Windows Client and Windows Server OSes.

The last sentence is the interesting one in regards to Windows 8. What could this mean? That Microsoft may include a hassle-free cloud based backup option in Windows 8. The job posting still leaves room for a lot of speculating. Will the cloud based backup be free for all Windows 8 users? Will it be included in all editions of the operating system? How much storage space will each user get for free, and will there be paid upgrades?

The integration of online backup in Windows 8 is an important step to improve the system’s recovery and restoration options.

Another job posting hints at the integration of online services such as Windows live with Windows 8.

Want to work on products that your friends and family use every day? Windows Live designs and runs some of the largest web applications in the world. We are Cloud Directory Platform, and our services are used by Windows Live, Office, Windows Mobile, Xbox, Bing, and MSN-branded properties. We are the backend of Windows Live providing identity (LiveID), contacts (ABCH), and social graph (SUP) for individuals and Microsoft services and applications. For the most part, you would know these as Messenger and Hotmail, as well as the entire Windows Live suite. We are seeking a highly motivated individual to come join our team and pour passion and talent into building some of the most used services on the planet. We are a growing team with a strategic and highly visible charter helping to build and operate some of Microsoft’s most strategic Internet assets. Our service supports hundreds of millions of users, who exchange billions of instant messages, photos and email each day, and store billions of contact relationships in our service. We live the life of “software and a service” every day, at high scale and you will play a pivotal role as we integrate our online services with Windows 8.

It should be clear from those two job postings that Microsoft plans to offer more cloud based and online services for the Windows 8 operating system. (via)

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Windows 7 has been out a little more than a year. Rumors abound that the next client will be Windows 8. But is that all? I mean will that be the name only of the client? Consider. After the advent of Windows 7, Microsoft began using the number “7” for other Windows operating system spin-offs. It appears that Microsoft might just be setting a trend for the upcoming OS’s.

Typical of Microsoft, it has not given the name of the next OS. But gone are the days when the development team used something like “Longhorn” only to have the final OS release called something else.

So what is going on? The fact is that there’s already information pointing to the fact that ‘8’ will end up replacing ‘7’, not just for the client but also for the vast majority of upcoming OS’s, if not for all of them.

Some rumored calls insist that the successor of Windows 7 client will be Windows vNext; yet company employees are using the Windows 8 moniker to refer to the next generation of the Windows client.

While Windows 7 and Windows Server 7 were developed in parallel (Server 7 became Server 2008), the future versions of the Windows client and server are also in parallel development.

The final label may not be known, and it could change, but Microsoft’s own have been using the Windows 8 client and Windows Server 8 brands. It may be convenience, since using an alias for an OS name becomes silly since it is just that, an alias.  But Microsoft could use an alternate name, like the year the produce is released. Think Windows 95, Windows 98, Server 2000, Server 2003, Server 2008; well you get the picture.

Windows Server 8 could follow the model of previous server platform releases from Microsoft, and end up being called Windows Server 2012, provided the successors of Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 R2 will be delivered in 2012.

However, other products are using the Windows 8 moniker. For instance, Windows 8 Embedded was mentioned earlier this year, much like the Windows 7 and Windows Embedded Standard 7 model.

Then more recently, Windows Phone 8 also recently mentioned by the company, could become the successor of Windows Phone 7, which was just launched.

And although they are not connected with Windows 7, Windows Embedded Compact 7 and Embedded Automotive 7 also share the number 7. These could be upgraded to the “8” version themselves.

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Microsoft is pretty tight lipped when it comes to the release of the next version of Windows, which for now is known as Windows 8. Many experts have predicted that Windows 8 will be released in three year’s time after the release of Windows 7, which would suggest a release in the last quarter of 2012 in the most important markets.

A news post on Microsoft Netherlands has accidentally leaked the release date, or shall we say period, of Windows 8. The article, which for the most part dealt with the first birthday of Windows 7, looked at the future of Windows in the last paragraph.

Please note that this is a translation of the text from Dutch to English using Google Translate:

The phasing out of Windows XP, Microsoft is nearing completion. In July 2010, the support for Windows XP with Service Pack 2 stops. Today Microsoft will stop selling Windows XP to PC manufacturers and the aftermarket sales of Windows Vista. For Windows 7, Microsoft Service Pack 1. This service pack is still in the testing phase and is expected in the first half of next year available. The first update of Windows 7 is the new version of Windows Live Essentials (explore.live.com) became available in mid-June. Furthermore, Microsoft is of course the next version of Windows. But it will take about two years before “Windows 8 ‘on the market

The last sentence is the important one. The post, published on October 22, 2010 reveals that it will take another two years before Windows 8 will ship, which would fall directly in line with the predictions that Windows 8 will be released in the end of 2012. (via)

If all things go as planned, we will likely see a similar to Windows 7 development schedule, with a Windows 8 beta release in January of 2012, a Windows 8 release candidate in April 2012 and a Windows 8 RTM release in July.

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The ARM is a 32-bit processor that uses a reduced instruction set computer (RISC) architecture. The manufacturer and developer is by ARM Holdings. The ARM architecture is a widely used 32-bit ISA based on the numbers produced. Because the ARM processors are relatively simple, this has made them suitable for low power applications. In that regard, this has made them dominant player in the mobile and embedded electronics market. They have a relatively low cost, and low energy consumers.

There are about one billion mobile phones around the world and about 98 percent sold each year use at least one ARM processor. Since 2009, ARM processors have accounted for almost 90% of all embedded 32-bit RISC processors. ARM processors are low power chipsets so they appear in a variety of consumer electronics. These include PDAs, digital media, mobile phones, and music players, calculators , hand-held game consoles, and computer peripherals such as hard drives and routers.

Now it appears that Microsoft may be looking a ARM and Windows8 to see if there could be a union. Presumably, Microsoft could use the combination to offer new low power products ranging from consumer tablets for Office aficionados to Internet café systems in remote third, world countries.

The Basics are there

Microsoft has been working with ARM for several years now, with the Windows CE platform using ARM for years now, so it has intimate knowledge of the hardware.

According to a news release from ARM, “As the latest addition to ARM’s Cortex-A family of processors, the Cortex-A15 MPCore processor will enable a new and vast array of products ranging from next-generation smartphones, tablets, large-screen mobile computing and high-end digital home entertainment devices through to wireless base stations and enterprise infrastructure products.“

Recently, Microsoft licensed the ARM core. Microsoft may be poised to get intimate knowledge of what a 64-bit ARM implementation would be like for Windows 8.

Source: EETimes

Slashgear

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Server 2008 R2 has the Hyper-V technology, which allows multiple computers via their operating systems to be run simultaneously on one computer. They are, of course, hosted through Server 2008. The use of virtual machines has been one of the quiet innovations that may be ready to explode into the public mainstream.

Virtual machine software has been around for several years. It is a computer inside a computer. With VM software you can run Windows XP, Server 2003, Vista, Windows 7, all side by side in a sandbox frame and not interfere with one another. You can create networks inside a hosting computer. In fact you can even do it now with Windows 7. But that leads us to Windows 8.

Windows 8

The first question is, what will Windows 8 look like? Well if Server 2008 is any indication about how it changed from Server 2003, don’t be surprised if Windows 8 doesn’t look like Windows 7. Why should it? If you want Windows 7, get Windows 7. So, then it has to look and be different. that is where virtualization comes in.

With the talk about the new type of chips that will run Windows 8; maybe it will be a 128 bit OS, running on a 128 bit CPU, so Window8 will have not just new chip technology but it will have a different OS structure.

So virtualization will provide a new, radically new approach to delivering programs to users. One thing that virtualization can do is run programs simultaneously. True that occurs now with multiple OS’s in existence. That is what a “Window” is. However, most of the time, the CPU is idle. And as you add additional cores, which are designed to improve performance, you make more programs run simultaneously. The improved technology is running far ahead of the software implementations.

Consider this, most applications have not been re-written to take advantage of 64 bit OS processing, or the 64 bit processor. Re-writing the programs will be costly and many software designers, following the cliche “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” will be reluctant to re-write their successful programs. So you have very powerful computers that can run many applications but don’t have the use of their technology to its fullest. However, with virtualization, the programs do not have to be re-written, and the CPU’s will be pushed to their limit. With multiple OS’s running the different programs, then the CPU’s will be running at full capacity.

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A recent patent by Microsoft reveals a new feature that could make its way into Windows 8.  The patent calls it Direct Experience, and it basically speeds up the execution of media, and maybe other data, in the operating system.

This is done by circumventing some of the necessary steps to play media. In Windows 7 for instance, a user would have to start the computer, or resume from standby, login, wait until the desktop loads, before the appropriate application can be launched to play the media files.

Direct Experience checks for media to play before login. If media is found it can automatically launch a maximized media player and start playback mode.

direct experience

windows8 patent

Fig. 4 shows the user experience. The direct experience application needs to be loaded with the press of the button, but it may also be initiated by inserting media like USB devices into the computer.

The patent goes into further detail, and can be viewed in full here.

Described is a technology by which a computer system operates in a mode that is different from a general purpose operating mode, upon detection of a special actuation mechanism coupled to the computing device. For example, actuation of a special hardware button may boot or resume a sleeping computer system into a direct experience upon actuation, including by launching a special program corresponding to that button. The computer system may thus enter a mode in which it mimics a special purpose device such as a consumer electronics device, e.g., a dedicated media player. When in a direct experience, the computer system may also operate in a constrained/sandboxed mode in which operating system limits available functionality to less than what is available when running as a general purpose computer system, e.g., keyboard operation and/or file access may be limited. Different actuation mechanisms may correspond to different modes.

A feature like Direct Experience would be especially beneficial in mobile computing, considering that the devices might need less battery power to operate in Direct Experience mode. It also adds to the usability of the device, considering that it will speed up media playback considerably.

What’s your take on this? Would you like to see this in Windows 8? Let us know in the comments. (via Being Manan)

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Some confidential Miicrosoft documents have been leaked online which give some clues as to what Windows 8 might include when it is released.

The information appears to have been presented at a Microsoft ‘Ecosystem Forum’ conference back in April.  Details that I have managed to glean about Windows 8 from the documents include:

• Adding GPS support to Windows 8 netbooks and laptops via the system motherboard or WWAN module
• Further sensor improvements – HID, accelerometers, proximity sensors (cool – PC wakes up when you walk into the room!) etc
• Focus on the “big 3s”: Boot Time, Shut Down Time, Batter Life continuing where Windows 7 left off – “Experiences: Time to first email received, Time to home page, Time to calendar or media playback…Windows 8 PCs turn on fast, nearly instantly in some cases, and are ready to work without any long or unexpected delays.  when customers want to check e-mail, sports scores, or play media they love to reach for their PCs because they can get to what they want quickly”
• Faster On from 0 Watts and Instant Sleep resume performance for mobile PCs
• Better restoration tools and ‘Connected Help and Support” – ‘Windows 8 can be restored to the factory default easily.  when resetting a Windows 8 PC, all of the files, settings and even the applications are restored.  End users have confidence in resetting their PC without having to call support

Thanks to Daniel for the documents.

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The transition according to Microsoft for client and server operating systems are … minor…then major…then minor…etc. That is how server and tools unit president Bob Muglia sees it. Basically, Microsoft is sticking to a schedule presented several years ago. It stated that the server and tools unit would put out alternating minor and major versions every two years. The most recent update of the server version of Windows 7, called Windows Server 2008 R2, was a minor update. This update was completed last year.

What will the be the name of the next version of Server 2008?  That was not revealed in the interview, but Muglia did point out that Windows Server “vNext” will be a major release of the OS. This is similar to the upgrade of Windows Server 2008 R2 as a minor upgrade to the plain version of Windows Server 2008.

“We’re not talking a lot about the next version of Windows Server today but I think what you’ll see is…that the learnings that we have from Windows Azure will be pulled back into Windows Server, just like there’s features in Windows Server and SQL Server that are being pulled up into Windows Azure and SQL Azure.”

Muglia did say that the next version of Windows Server is progressing in development alongside the next desktop operating system. As of yet, Microsoft is not displaying their cards about a formal codename, or list of features, or even a target date. But according to Muglia, the two teams, one on client and one on server, worked together side by side in the development process.

This goes with the development of the next version of Windows 7, probably to be called Windows 8. Why? Because of Steven Sinofsky.

Steven Sinofsky, whose position is president, of the Windows and Windows Live Division, has made an interesting feature known about how the development process of Windows has changed after he came to the helm of the project. He had been brought in from the Office team.

When Sinofsky was leading Office, Microsoft used product numbers. They did not use code names for future releases of the productivity suite. Office 2010, for example, was Office 14. The next version of Office has already been labeled Office 15.

So when Sinofsky moved over to Windows division, the follow up to Windows Vista became Windows 7, as Vista was Windows 6.0. Thus, it is only natural to assume, and apparently some of Microsoft’s own employees have done so, that the next version of Windows will be labeled Windows 8.

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Recently at the Microsoft Human Resources department, a new job position was posted in the area of computer security.

Microsoft Careers

“Our group is on a mission to build a rich, powerful platform to help protect Microsoft products against piracy. Here is your chance to join a team of exceptional developers as we build an extensible cross-company platform to support this vision. This is a fast-paced group that rewards smart and motivated individuals.

We are looking for an experienced software developer to help us design and build new anti-hacking mechanisms, hack detection, and work on the security processor driver. The work touches many layers of the operating system and includes opportunities for partnership with MS Research and other security teams at Microsoft to productize exciting innovations and ideas that help shake hackers and crackers off Microsoft products.

It’s not for the faint of heart, but the diversity of the problem space in this area is rich in growth opportunities just waiting for the right candidate. You will have ample opportunity to diversify your skill set and grow. In this position, you’ll get a chance to work on many aspects of the platform, starting with an assignment to drive the design of our application and Operating System (OS) virtualization support. ”

If software pirates, hackers and crackers always seem to be one step ahead of Microsoft it is in part because of the monumental position Microsoft holds in the technology area. It is a “badge of honor” claimed by some who feel that they have stuck it to “the man” by performing these odious tasks. Even when Microsoft has succeeded in locking down vulnerabilities, there is always the contest mentality of “I’ll bet I can hack into it.” Trinity would be proud.(see: The Matrix)

The modus operandi for Microsoft is that they must keep up with hackers new methods and continue to innovate and design new security technologies.

Some may consider anti-piracy measures similar to whistling in the wind, but that’s certainly not the case. I have posts in Windows7News.com, and ConnectedInternet showing how in many cases Microsoft has foiled anti-piracy efforts. Many believe that piracy is relegated to just illegal copying or theft. But that is not the case. Virus distribution and embedded malware, and privacy intrusion are typical features that result from piracy efforts.

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Additional Details about the position can be found here:  Senior Development Engineer – Windows

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I saw a documentary about Roswell, the place in New Mexico, USA that was supposed to be the place where an alien space craft went down. It supposedly was recovered by the US Air Force and had alien bodies among the wreckage. 60 years later, I smile when I hear how some people regardless of evidence or lack there of continue to believe wild stories about that event. The rumors persist…right?

Well, there are rumors about Windows8. Think of it. First of all, can MicroSoft really pull off selling a new operating system to have consumers buy this close to Windows 7, especially with the critical and commercial success of Windows7? If it had bombed, sure the public would be clamoring for a new one. But that is not the case.

Second, what can you expect from Windows8? To want people to buy the OS, it has to be radically different, otherwise, it will be considered a service pack to Windows7. The 128 bit rumor is around, but to make it really work as a 128 bit OS, then there have to be major rewrites of a lot of supporting software and hardware; otherwise, what’s the point? If the applications can not take advantage of the CPU to perform faster, it will be for nought.

Third, hardware technology must already be available to be incorporated into the next OS otherwise the time frame would be longer, maybe 2012, or even 2013. The technology may already have existed when Windows7 was being built, but was put off to wait for other hardware makers to design hardware around.

Fourth, the Windows8 kernel must be redesigned. If it’s just an extension of the Vista/Windows7 kernel, again what’s the point? Microsoft and their R&D team must be looking at what the next generation must be like, but with the emphasis on new technology.

So having said that about rumors, when will Microsoft release Windows8? From a spreadsheet designed by a Microsoft employee, the timeline is around July 1, 2011. That is a mere 17 months away. Here is a copy of the spreadsheet with the timeline not just for Windows8, but for other MicroSoft products.

Estimated Product Support Life Cycles

So here is the latest rumor. The spreadsheet picks the date of July, 2011 as the release date.  What makes this spreadsheet is the supposed origin: a Microsoft employee; furthermore, it has been accurate in the past for the software timeline. Take it with a grain of salt; but the rumors may be true.

Source: TechSpot

Roadmap Spreadsheet can be downloaded here.

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One of the problems with talking about a future operating system is 1) the little news that comes out of Microsoft about it, but 2) it is hard to speculate two years out about technology that might change considerably between now and then. So  we are left with rumor and wish lists and the like. Unless some company actually says something worth noting. In this case, Intel has announced that USB 3.0 will be an embedded product within the Windows 8 Operating System.

What is USB 3.0?

The original specification USB was released by a combination of manufacturers in 1996. These included, Intel, Compaq, Microsoft, Sony, Digital Equipment Corporation, IBM, and Northern Telecom.

On September 18, 2007, at the Intel Developer Forum a demonstration of USB 3.0 was presented. Two months later the USB 3.0 Promoter Group announced that the specifications for version 3.0 were complete and was ready for the USB Implementers Forum, the managing body of USB specifications to decimate the specifications and monitor implementation.

A new feature is the bus, which provides a fourth transfer mode at 4.8 Gbit/s. This gives is a “Superspeed.” With the raw throughput at 4 Gbit/s, and the new specifications, it is possible to achieve a speed of 3.2 Gbit/s, which translates to 0.4 GByte/s or 400 MByte/s or more after protocol overhead.

USB 2.0 maxes out at 480 MBits/s. USB 3.0 is expected to max out at 5 Gbits/s. This dramatic performance improvement over version 2.0, makes it more desirable. However, these new data transfer rates while attainable by the USB hardware, my not be easy to implement.

The USB 3.0 Icon

Current Timeline of Release

Consumer products are expected to become available sometime in 2010. With commercial controllers are expected to enter into volume production by April 2010.

In September 24, 2009 Freecom announced a USB 3.0 external hard drive.
Following that on October 27, 2009 Gigabyte Technology announced new P55 chipsets motherboards for computers that included an onboard USB 3.0.

On January 6th, 2010 ASUS release a USB 3.0-certified motherboard. . They had to comply with spesifications approved by the USB Implementors Forum to ensure compatibility between motherboards and peripherals.

Windows 7 and Linux

Drivers are under development for Windows 7, but initial support was not included with the initial release of the operating system. But on the other hand, the Linux kernel has supported USB 3.0 since version 2.6.31. That version was released in September 2009. This means that for the time being one complete system for end-to-end testing and development for USB3 is now available on the market.

USB 3.0 Super Speed Certified

Intel and AMD

Intel will not support USB 3.0 until next year, 2011. This will undoubtedly have the effect ofl slowing down mainstream adoption. These delays are related to problems in the CMOS manufacturing process.

AMD indicates that the new southbridges released in the beginning of 2010 will not support USB 3.0. Some market research from In-Stat predicts the relevant market share of USB 3.0 not begin to take hold until 2011.

Windows 8

At the CeBIT Global Conference in Hannover, Germany, Intel Manager Steve Peterson, attending said that USB 3.0 would become mainstream with the implementation of the next iteration of the Windows client operating system, Windows8. Intel is working with Microsoft to make sure that the hardware will work with Windows 8. It will fully support USB 3.0 Windows 8 integration. Although products featuring the USB3.0 technology have been release after the 2010 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, the current expectations for USB 3.0 are that only high-end PCs will feature USB 3.0, as a general rule.

Intel expects Windows8 and the continuing evolution of computers to make USB 3.0 readily available. But, Intel, however, is not optimistic when it relates to the mainstream adoption of the technology. Apparently the technical details and specification to overcome are still problematic.

Source:  Intel Intel and USB

Intel to Support Windows8 and USB 3.0

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Several sites have been keeping a close eye on the job postings at Microsoft Careers, to see if there are any indicators on there as to what direction Windows 8 may go in.  In total in November they spotted seven job postings for Windows 8 and windows server 2008 R2.

One interesting job posting was for a software engineer to work on delivering critical updates through Windows Update for Windows 8:

The WinSE UX Test team is one of the most fun teams in Windows Sustaining Engineering to work with! We release hot-fixes, security patches and Service packs for all Windows platforms on a regular basis. We help keep our customer install base humming through a significant portion of the lifecycle of the product. If the experience of shipping deliverables to millions of people on a regular basis energizes you, if you enjoy working on issues that impact those millions of our customers all the time, if you enjoy being in the limelight, and if you enjoy the thrill of solving critical problems, you have come to the right place!!!

The WinSE UX test team needs an strong SDET to develop new test automation, write robust test plans, designing test cases, debug reported issues across Windows Shell and related UX, help establish sound test engineering processes, and influence and contribute to the serviceability of Win8. As an SDET on this team, you’ll design, implement, and execute various types of test automation, including functional, integration and release tests. You will also have several opportunities to write test tools, and work on security bugs, and will be interacting with PM and Dev counterparts in a dev/test/pm trio, and various partner teams. In this team, you will have an opportunity to ship important updates for Windows to solve critical reliability, performance and security issues via the Windows Update mechanism. This position requires strong communication and collaboration skills, and a drive for results. Overall, this position is best suited for a strong SDET looking for an opportunity to showcase your skills and innovate.

Another software engineer job posting asked for a Windows 8 tester:

The Windows International Test OOB (Out of Band) team is handling a variety of International test projects including Windows Small Business Server (SBS), Home Server, stand-alone out of band releases for Windows 7/Windows 8, and down-level support packages requested by different business divisions by utilizing a state-of-the art vendor outsourcing model.

As a team member in this position, you will write test plans for World-Readiness- (Globalization & Localizability) as well as Localization Testing, and develop and manage test tools and guidelines. You will also perform globalization code reviews as part of the OOB process using tools and globalization guidelines. In addition, you will have to engage with Program Managers, Developers, International Project Managers and partner SDETs to collaborate on specification reviews, scheduling as well as budgeting and planning. Test execution will be done by vendor test resources in Beijing, China, so management of remote vendor resource will also be required.

To see details on the other job postings, which give insights into Windows 8 security, click here.

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Last month a number of sites, including this one, picked up on rumours that Windows 8 would support 128 bit processors.  The main ‘source’ of the windows 8 128 bit rumours was a Robert Morgan who was a “senior member of Microsoft’s R&D team” who leaked information about Windows 8′s 128 bit capabilities on his LinkedIn profile.

However, it looks now like the information was fake and that Robert Morgan never actually existed:

• The LinkedIn page has since been removed (cached version)
• When questioned about Robert Morgan, Microsoft have replied that “Microsoft has no comment regarding Robert Morgan”

i.e. Microsoft have made no attempt to quash or confirm any leaks that have been made, maintaining the official radio silence around Windows 8.  As George has stated on our sister site, the official position from Microsoft is that Windows 8 is under development and that’s all they are prepared to say for now.

That’s not to say that Windows 8 won’t support 128bit processors, but it looks like this particular leak was probably started by sites looking to benefit from the traffic.  It was a nice story, but unfortunately it looks like we are still waiting for the first set of concrete information concerning Windows 8.

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More and more evidence is emerging that Windows 8 will be released in 2012.  At this years Professional Developer’s Conference (PDC 2009), budding attendees managed to get their hands on two Windows roadmap slides that show ‘Windows 8′ launching in 2012:

Now these slides don’t really provide any information that we didn’t know; Microsoft typically leave 3 years between each release and with Windows 7 launching this year, Windows 8 was always likely to be in 2012.  It is unlikely that Microsoft would pull Windows 8′s launch forward to 2011 because it would impact Windows 7 sales with customers delaying upgrades, and unlikely they would delay until 2013 as Windows 8′s development seems to be progressing quite nicely.

Source: Microsoft Kitchen

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Long after Donald Rumsfeld has died, he will be known (sic) for one of the worst quotes ever:

There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don’t know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don’t know we don’t know.

Now although information about Windows 8 will eventually become available, rather than the lack of information to this day about WMDs, Windows 8 details still remain sketchy.  Here are Windows 8′s Known Knowns:

1. It will be called Windows 8 and there’s even a Windows 9 in the pipeline
2. It will be released no earlier than 2012 – it is unlikely it will be released in 2011
3. It will have new networking features
4. It will include 128 bit support and will see the end of 32 bit Operating Systems
5. It won’t be Microsoft’s last client based OS - Steve Ballmer says that won’t happen for 10-20 years.

Hopefully soon we will unravel Windows 8′s known unknowns and unknown unknowns!

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Windows 7 when it launched on October 22nd will include versions for both 32 bit and 64 bit users.  It’s successor Windows 8 expected in 2011 was expected to only come in a 64 bit version, because Windows Server 2008 R2 was released in 64 bit form only and the next Windows OS was expected to follow suit.

However it is now believed that Windows 8 might ship in 64bit AND 128 bit versions, based on the linkedin profile of Microsoft employee Robert Morgan:

Working in high security department for research and development involving strategic planning for medium and longterm projects. Research & Development projects including 128bit architecture compatibility with the Windows 8 kernel and Windows 9 project plan. Forming relationships with major partners: Intel, AMD, HP, and IBM.

Robert Morgan is working to get IA-128 working backwards with full binary compatibility on the existing IA-64 instructions in the hardware simulation to work for Windows 8 and definitely Windows 9.

Whether or not Windows 8 will support 128bit remains to be seen, but at this stage Microsoft are at least considering it.  I’m not sure how likely this will be though; 64 bit adoption is still low and although this will increase by 2011 I just fear that adding 128bit to Windows 8 will create a poor customer experience like Vista 64 bit, where driver availability was poor.

Eight Forums have manged to track down Robert via linkedin and they claim that he’s agreed to give them an interview  and he’s letting their readers ask questions.  Questions have to be submitted by October 11th.  If he really has agreed to do the interview, I’d be amazed if he still had a job at Microsoft on October 12th as news on Windows 8 is clearly embargoed at the moment.

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Windows 7 isn’t out the door yet, but Microsoft seem to be making good progress with Windows 8.  A roadmap slide from Microsoft’s Italian subsidiary has Windows 8 penciled in for a 2012 release:

Note though that Windows 8 is down as approximately 2012.  Even still, it looks like Microsoft are sticking to their 2.5-3 year release cycle, with Windows Vista launching Jan 2007 (it was late), Windows 7 in October 2009 and Windows 8 in 2012.

Windows 8 is also denoted as ‘codemane Windows 8′ – does this mean that ‘Windows 8‘ will not be called Windows 8?

I’m expecting big things from Windows 8.  Although Windows 7 is a great release and adds several much needed improvements to Windows Vista, it’s still too familiar for me and doesn’t feel ‘new’ enough and I’m looking forward to getting a new OS to get my teeth into!

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Eagle eyed Stephen over at techwoo spotted the following in the LinkedIn profile of a Microsoft PM, which seems to indicate that Windows 8 will have some new networking features:

Evaluating and collating technical and business requirements for developing new networking features in Windows 8.

Designing features, functional specification and prototype for Windows 8.

I can only hope that Microsoft improve Windows 7′s HomeGroup capabilities, which mean well, but don’t quit deliver for me.

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