Windows 8 has been out for about a month now, and Internet  Explorer 10 came along with it. Not only does IE10 have better standards  support, but it features substantially better performance. The good news is that  now those of us still using Windows 7 get to join in the fun thanks to the fact  that Microsoft has just released IE10 on Windows 7 Preview. I’ve  run some tests, and this is a substantial improvement from the previous version,  but how does it compare to Chrome?

First off, I did all of the testing on a fully patched Windows 7 installation  on a 2.5GHz Core i5 iMac with 16GB of 1333MHz DDR3 RAM and an AMD Radeon HD  6750M with 512MB of RAM. Each test was done without any browser extensions  running, and with a cache wipe between every benchmark. I wanted to know how IE10 compared to Chrome and IE9, so I did three different  tests: SunSpider JavaScript performance, HTML5 compliance, and page  load times on live websites.

JavaScript

Using the SunSpider 0.9.1 benchmarking tool from the developers of WebKit,  the three browsers are given an overall score depending on how long it took them  to execute a suite of synthetic JavaScript benchmarks.

For this test, the lower the score the better. IE9 finished running the  performance test in 814.4ms, give or take 0.6 per cent. Chrome 23 was able to  complete it in just 183.2ms, give or take 1.7 per cent. Most impressively, IE10  was the fastest at a mere 127.2ms, give or take 1.5 per cent. IE10 bested Chrome  by 56ms, but it absolutely destroyed IE9 by 687.2ms. That’s a huge difference  that will make for much improved performance when using complex web apps.

HTML5

HTML5 compliance is a bit hard to test because the W3C, the web standards  body, has yet to agree on the complete specification. As of now, we’re working  using its draft spec. Currently, the HTML5 Test is one of the best ways to test if your browser  supports five hundred different HTML5 features as well as bonus features not  defined in the spec, such as multiple codec support for video playback.

IE9 scored a measly 138/500 with five bonus points. Chrome 23 scored 448/500  with 13 bonus points. IE10 scored somewhere in between with 320/500 with 6 bonus  points. The HTML5 Test is not perfect. It doesn’t test how well your browser  performs its tasks, but it does check to see if your browser can perform them,  so it’s good to know where your browser of choice stands.

Load times

In this test, Chrome 23 and IE10 go head-to-head with real-world load times.  Using a stopwatch, I timed how long it took from pressing enter in the URL bar  until a page was in a readable state with all of the text in place. I used three  websites here, ExtremeTech, PCMag and Geek.com, and all were tested three  separate times on both browsers, and then averaged out. On IE10, ExtremeTech  loaded in 1.43 seconds, PCMag loaded in 2.00 seconds, and Geek.com loaded in  2.03 seconds. On Chrome 23, ExtremeTech loaded in 1.17 seconds, PCMag loaded in  1.50 seconds, and Geek.com loaded in 1.23 seconds. On average, Chrome loaded  pages faster, but not by much. In fact, individual tests on the same browser  varied more than the difference between browsers. In the real world, you won’t  likely notice a difference in load times between either browser.

Summary

After seeing how well IE10 compares next to IE9 and Chrome 23 on Windows 7,  the picture is clear. If you’re using IE9, drop it and move to the IE10 Preview.  Chrome users, go ahead and try out IE10 to see if you like it. We’re finally  getting close to the point where we can pick which browser we use simply based  on personal taste instead of basing that decision solely on performance.

Much of the progress made can be attributed to Mozilla for using Firefox to  light a flame under the browser industry, Google for picking up where Mozilla left off, and  Microsoft for taking responsibility for the quality of its product at long last.  Finally, Internet Explorer can hold its head high and compete head-to-head with  other modern browsers.

by Grant Brunner,                           

In Windows 8, Microsoft expanded its support for embedded hardware security, bundled a full-blown security suite into  the operating system, introduced Secure Boot and signed applications, and  enabled alternate authentication schemes, to name a few measures. Some of the  latest innovations are aimed specifically at enterprises, but there are plenty  of improvements that end-users will notice right off the bat, too.

“After reviewing the layers of technologies used by Microsoft to protect  Windows 8, it is our opinion that it is the most secure version of Microsoft  Windows to date,” Aryeh Goretsky, a researcher at ESET, wrote in a whitepaper  examining security technologies in Windows 8 released earlier this month.

Secure Boot

Microsoft designed Secure Boot to protect the computer from low-level  exploits such as rootkits and bootloaders. A security process shared between the  operating system and Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI, replacing the  BIOS), Secure Boot requires all the applications that are running during the  booting process to be pre-signed with valid digital certificates. This way, the  system knows all the files being loaded before Windows 8 fires up have not been  tampered with.

If a bootloader has infected your computer and it tries to load during the  boot-up sequence, Secure Boot will be able to undo all the changes and thwart  the attack. Having Secure Boot means it is that much harder for attackers to try  to compromise your PC’s start-up sequence.

While PC makers must have Secure Boot enabled in the UEFI firmware by default  if they want to be able to slap the Windows logo on their box, the feature can  be disabled within the UEFI interface. Anyone who wants to install a non-Windows  operating system on Windows 8-certified hardware would first have to manually  disable Secure Boot.

Windows Defender

Microsoft decided to release Windows 8 with built-in antivirus. This is a  much more robust application than Microsoft Security Essentials, the free  anti-malware software that users could download and install manually in  previous versions of the OS.

Windows Defender (Microsoft repurposed the name for the anti-malware product)  is enabled by default, right out of the box, which means users have some form of  security protection as soon as they turn on the machine. While it can’t be  uninstalled, it can be disabled if the user wants to install a different  security product from another vendor. In fact, Windows Defender must  be disabled if you want to install a third-party security suite.

Loading the AV first

Regardless of whether you are using Windows Defender or a different  anti-malware product, Windows 8 has tweaked its load process so that security  software runs first. Early Launch Anti-Malware (ELAM) ensures that the first  software driver loaded into Windows 8 is a driver from the user’s anti-malware software.

In previous versions, if the malware executed and was loaded into system  memory before the operating system and the antivirus, it was difficult to detect  and remove. Secure Boot prevents rootkits from interfering with the OS, and ELAM  ensures that pre-approved anti-malware software drivers are loaded before any  other application.

For now, whether or not it is effective is unknown, but Goretsky noted in the  aforementioned whitepaper that the concept was “fundamentally sound.”

SmartScreen

Originally an Internet Explorer security feature, Microsoft added SmartScreen  to Windows 8. When a user downloads a program or a file from the Internet, the  SmartScreen filter checks to see if other people have downloaded the same file  as well. If so, there is a rating for the file based on its popularity and  whether it was considered malicious.

Users trying to download something with a low rating while SmartScreen is  enabled will see a warning message. This can be good for detecting fake  antivirus and other rogueware programs.

Since SmartScreen is now part of Windows 8, the filter will kick in  regardless of what browser the user is running, not just Internet Explorer.

Alternate passwords

Picture Password is one of my favourite bits of Windows 8. The idea is that  instead of relying on alphanumeric passwords, you can use pictures. When this  feature is enabled, you select a photo from your image library and then define  three gestures on the photo using any combination of circles, straight lines,  and taps (using either touch or the mouse). It’s possible to switch to PIN-based  authentication.

Apparently, the alternate authentication methods still need some tweaking,  though. Earlier this month, password experts Passcape Software claimed that it  was possible to recover passwords from Windows 8 systems with Picture Password  enabled.

The problem was related to the fact that users need to have an account with a  regular password before switching to the alternate authentication scheme. It  turned out that when the switch was made, the regular password remained in the  system and what’s more, it could easily be decoded to the original plaintext  form by a user with administrator-level privileges who could access the Vault where the information is stored. Here’s  hoping that Microsoft has fixed this issue, or a fix is imminent, as this seems  a rare misstep for the new operating system’s across-the-board security  improvements.

AppContainer

One of the invisible-to-the-user changes in Windows 8 is AppContainer, the  more secure application sandbox environment where Windows 8 apps will reside.  Designed to prevent apps from disrupting the operating system, AppContainer  decides which actions are available to which apps.

Following the same logic, all Internet Explorer plugins run in their own  sandboxes under Windows 8.

Apps will also be available through the new Windows 8 app store, which means  Microsoft will be able to check beforehand for malicious applications. Only time  will tell whether Microsoft will manage to successfully keep dodgy apps out of its store. The  restore feature will at least make it easier to return to a previous safe state  if malware does somehow manage to infect the machine.

Enterprise-specific security improvements

Samara Lynn, our networking expert, pointed out some of the  enterprise-specific features in Server 2012 which would flow into Windows 8 and  Windows 7 systems. Dynamic Access Control (DAC), which expands access control to include a wider list of attributes, is one  of them.

In previous versions, administrators could define who had access to files and  folders on a per-user basis, or by creating groups and assigning permissions  specific to those groups. In Windows 8, DAC allows administrators to use any of  the data stored in Active Directory, such as personal information, device ID,  log on method, or even location, to define access control rules.

Here is an example: Documents marked “confidential” or “private” are only  accessible to members of the Human Resources division. In this case, in Server  2012, the administrator would create a claim that “confidential” and “private”  would be accessible to people with the “Human Resources” attribute. There is no  need to create a specific group for HR and add individual users to it. So long  as the user in the Active Directory is defined as being part of HR, the access  control rule would apply.

This definitely makes managing users and permissions much easier within the  enterprise.

Microsoft also added a few new Group Policy settings in Windows Server 2012.  The settings could prevent new accounts from being created on the computer or  lock a session if the machine is inactive for a specified period of time.  Another policy automatically locks out users from accessing volumes that use  BitLocker encryption after a certain number of failed login attempts.

Hardware-based security

Windows 8 will really push the hardware-based authentication capabilities of  the Trusted Platform Module (TPM) to the forefront, Steven Sprague, the CEO of  Wave Systems, noted. TPM makes a lot of sense if you stop to consider the  increase in sophisticated rootkits and other malware that increasingly targets  the hardware layer such as the Master Boot Record. TPM stores  sensitive configuration data and credentials, making it possible to implement  single sign-on and access to VPN. Device-based security could be used to log in  users to the network, Sprague said. No passwords required.

Windows 8 machines can optionally ship with self-encrypting drives, which  provides businesses and security-minded end-users with hardware-based encryption  that can never be turned off. SEDs are ready-to-go out of the box, protecting  data right from the start. Hardware-based encryption also has less of an impact  on performance as well.

Speaking of encryption, BitLocker also has a new feature that will allow  users to encrypt only the parts of the disk that are in use, instead of  encrypting the whole volume at once.

And there you have it – these are just some of the more obvious security  changes Microsoft has made in Windows 8. There is plenty more under the hood  that we will never notice, but that’s the way it should be, with these features  chugging away in the background keeping users safe from attackers.

by Fahmida Y. Rashid,                            31 October, 2012

The firm revealed its OS sales figures during its Build 2012 conference  yesterday, adding that Windows 8 is so far moving at a faster rate than Windows  7. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer welcomed attendees to the developer event by  saying that the operating system is generating a groundswell of support.

“The level of enthusiasm and desire to learn about the new Windows 8  computers has really been remarkable,” said Ballmer.

The impressive volume of sales was likely spurred by the operating system’s  attractive pricing – £14.99 for customers who bought a Windows 7 PC on or after 2  June 2012 and £24.99 for an upgrade from any version of Windows since  XP.

In more good news for Microsoft, the company’s corporate vice president Steve Guggenheimer revealed in a blog  post that the Windows Store will be receiving an influx of apps from the  likes of Twitter, LEGO, Skype and Disney. Facebook, Netflix and Angry Birds  developer Rovio have all indicated that they are developing applications for  Microsoft’s online marketplace as well.

by Oluseun Alufa,                                            31 October, 2012

Early pre-orders of the RT-powered tablet will not reach UK shores until next  week as the software developer has had problems shipping units abroad. UK Surface orders were originally set to be fulfilled on 26  October, a deadline which has since been revised for 2 November.

Microsoft had previously refuted the reported disturbance to its shipping  schedule, though there was an apparent miscommunication, as the tablets only  began to ship on 26 October.

The computing giant has now sent out an apology to aggrieved customers, which  is accompanied by a £50 voucher code that can be redeemed in the Windows  Store.

New orders for the £399 32GB tablet now have an estimated three week waiting  period. Meanwhile, the more expensive £559 64GB version is less in demand and  consequently does not have such a long wait time.

by Oluseun Alufa,                                            29 October, 2012

I had to uninstall Windows 8, and I had to do it immediately.

What possessed me to put the latest version of Microsoft’s flagship operating  system on my home computer this past fateful weekend, I’ll never know. To some  extent, I’m sure, it was the persistent ministrations of my colleagues Michael  Muchmore and Samara Lynn, who had been trying to sell me on Windows 8 for  months. I’d dabbled in every major version since the Developer Preview, and  never warmed to it, but I’d somehow succeeded in convincing myself that this  time things would be different.

Yet the instant I saw my entire 1,920 x 1,200 monitor consumed with only the  Windows 8 update notifications – the rest of the screen a field of white vast  enough to drive Alaska to fits of murderous envy – it was clear I’d been  drastically mistaken. Windows 8 is not, by any stretch of the imagination, for  me. And it’s time I stopped pretending otherwise.

Don’t get me wrong: My feelings about it have evolved, and even softened,  over the past year. At first I saw nothing of worth in this radical new spin on  the tried-and-true Windows formula. But as I explored it on touch systems,  rather than on my beloved (and – pardon me if I brag – insanely powerful)  desktop PC, I began to discover some virtues in it. To my eye (and fingers),  it’s at least as good at driving such devices as iOS, and perhaps even better:  It’s slicker, livelier, and treats the user as more innately capable of making  intelligent decisions.

More power still revealed itself when I did additional research. Being a big  traditional computer guy, I live by the keyboard – and discovering and mastering Windows  8′s myriad Windows key shortcuts increased and improved the level of my  accomplishments. It was partially this experience, I think, that led me to  believe that maybe I could deal with this on a 24/7 basis away from work.

Unfortunately, the disjointed time I’d spent with Windows 8 before did not  prepare me for what using it at home would entail. After (an admittedly  painless) installation, I was faced with the garish Start screen, loaded with  apps that didn’t interest me at all. I clicked on a couple to see how I’d  respond to them. The Weather and Stock apps were pretty, no doubt – but did each  one need to occupy upwards of two million pixels on my screen? Because all the  Start apps open full-screen, too little information was looking much too big – and there’s no way to change this.

Frustrated, I decided to check my Hotmail account (also the source of the  Microsoft ID I entered while configuring Windows 8). I clicked on one new  message, then another. The first wasn’t marked read. Clicking on a third did  mark the second one read, for some reason. I decided I wanted to file these, so  I held down the mouse button and dragged the message just as on Outlook.com, but  that didn’t work as it had for some 17 years of Windows history. To move  the message now, you have to click an icon on the bottom right of the screen to  start the process; this is an unintuitive change whether you’re using your  finger or a mouse.

I was certain that Internet Explorer must be better. Launching it revealed  the ITProPortal home page, centred on my enormous display, with gaping chasms of  white on each side. Naturally, I couldn’t resize the window. So I went to open a  new tab. Except I couldn’t do that, either: One browser window per screen.

I then fled to my safe haven, the Desktop – now treated just as any other  app. No Start button, right. But I could launch Internet Explorer here. Finally!  Separate windows! Tabs! Except… things didn’t look very good. The smoothly  elegant rounded glass of Aero has been replaced by sharp, unfriendly  two-dimensional corners I was sure had gone the way of Microsoft Bob. I moved to  use Windows key-D to show my bare desktop, but my finger slipped half a second  too early and I was thrown back to Start.

From there, I decided maybe I should see the Control Panel. That shunted me  back to the Desktop. Ditto Task Manager. Ditto any of several other deep-dive  settings functions I use on a daily basis. But changing the image on the Start  or Lock screens, or powering off the computer, could only be done through the  new Windows 8 interface.

I gritted my teeth and endured it for as long as I could, the constant  schizophrenic flipping between Start and Desktop environments propelling me ever  nearer to total mental breakdown. When I decided to update a few apps from the  Microsoft Store, and received the indication that wasted more 90 per cent of the  screen, I knew it was time for this experiment to end. I wiped the hard drive,  reinstalled Windows 7, and have not looked back since.

As I struggled to try to make sense of what was where, and more importantly  why things were where they were, it became clearer than ever to me that  Microsoft had never actually intended the Start screen and the Desktop to work together. So haphazard, so clunky, so confusing was  everything, one could only conclude that all the company cared about was the  touch market, and it was doing everything it could to discourage Desktop (and  desktop) use once and for all.

Pushing past the present

Microsoft is not necessarily wrong for doing this. With tablets and other  mobile systems increasing in popularity, any tech company should be courting  them. And, as far as Windows 8 and its kid cousin, Windows RT, are concerned,  ruling over the kingdom of touch is a real possibility. Although I’m not sure I  can really say I’ve liked using Windows 8 on touch devices, I can absolutely say  I haven’t hated it.

Using it on anything else is another story. It makes everything I do more difficult. Michael and Samara have expounded at  great length on what Windows 8 has to offer (see Michael’s review here), and I don’t dispute much of what  they have to say. But for people who want or need to use non-touch desktop or  laptop computers in anything resembling the classic way, the learning curve  isn’t just steep – it’s vertical. Windows 8 was not designed to be used that  way, but I was shocked at just how unfriendly it was towards me and my way of  working, and how unwelcome it made me feel for wanting to do things with minimal  convolution.

I realise I’m not part of Microsoft’s target audience anymore, but I still  think power users like myself – I’ve been using Windows for 22 years – deserve  better. If I’ve been using GUI-based operating systems for nearly three decades  and this one regularly for over a year, and it still fails to suffice for basic  tasks, there’s something seriously wrong.

The danger Microsoft faces is also the danger it’s scrupulously trying to  avoid: The industry isn’t the same as it once was. Phones and tablets may be  taking over, but Microsoft’s dominance is also threatened as it’s never been  before. Real alternatives are getting real attention, and they’ve never had a  better opportunity to gobble up the people Microsoft is casting aside.

The latest versions of Mac OS X are far more usable and appealing than Windows 8.  Many Linux distributions, starting with the well-known Ubuntu, have made  rapid-fire about-faces in recent months to get themselves in shape to fill the  vacuum Windows 8 has been creating. Both operating systems make multi-window  multitasking a clean, smooth reality, acknowledging, as Microsoft will not, that  most people still work that way.

Hope for us Windows lovers, however, is not necessarily lost. Microsoft has  demonstrated some ability to learn from its mistakes and come back stronger.  Nearly six years ago, Windows Vista fizzled upon its release, but was redeemed  by a comprehensive service pack and then, within two and a half years or so,  Windows 7. There’s no reason it can’t weave similar magic on 2012′s deeply  flawed OS.

But Microsoft must have the will to do so. If the future is touch, why should it waste time and resources  considering how Windows 8 works with creaky keyboards and mice? What Microsoft  has forgotten is that you can’t get to the future without moving through the  present. In trying to skip over today, the folks in Redmond have angered a lot  of people – and wasted their time and monitor real estate just like they’ve  wasted mine.

I’ve been forgiving of Microsoft’s foibles and idiosyncrasies for a long  time, but my patience has about run out. If Microsoft wants me to use Windows 8  or a touch system, it has to give me a concrete reason – and one boring app per  screen ain’t gonna cut it. Otherwise, I’ll stick with Windows 7 – and maybe even  dual-boot Linux with it at the same time. Those two operating systems together  give me everything I need. Windows 8 doesn’t come close. Worse still, it doesn’t  even try.

by Matthew Murray,                            29 October, 2012

Microsoft knows this, of course, but that doesn’t mitigate the conundrum that  it faces: The entire Microsoft empire is built upon the desktop – upon Office – and yet here the behemoth is, backed into a corner and forced  to develop a touch-based operating system that confounds billions of users, and  spits in the face of millions of developers and specialists whose livelihoods  have been built on desktop Windows.

As consumers who actually have to interact with this crazy,  cross-paradigm hodgepodge of an interface, the utter ludicrousness of this  decision is plain to see. For developers and specialists, though, the problem is  far worse. For these experts, who are the actual lifeblood of the Windows  ecosystem, Windows 8 comes across as confused. If you’re baffled by  Windows 8, then I assure you that developers, sysadmins, and other businessy  types are looking at Windows 8 with the same agape, aghast scrutiny that one  gives a circus freak.

Identity crisis

You see, in business, the absolute worst thing is uncertainty. The last  30 years of Windows might have had its ups and downs, but at the end of the day  Microsoft has provided a very stable platform that millions of commercial  entities have used to create trillions of dollars in profits.

The Windows ecosystem, if we were to tally up all first-party  and third-party profits over the last 30 years, is probably one of the richest  veins the world has ever seen. It is this stability (and eventual  monopoly) that catapulted Microsoft to the top of the stock market in the 90s,  and has kept it in the top 10 ever since.

In short, Windows (and Microsoft to a major degree) is only as valuable as  its ecosystem. You might not like Win32 or .NET, but the sheer fact that you can  create an app that can instantly be used and understood by two billion users is  incredibly empowering. Take that stability away, and instead of an obsidian,  unassailable bulwark, you are left with a precarious pyramid of cards that’s  just waiting to be pushed over by Apple or Google or Mozilla or, well, just  about any tech company that has spent its life in the shadow of the Microsoft  monolith.

With the release of Windows 8, no one in the software industry really knows what to expect. Microsoft,  with assurances that it’s the Next Big Cash Cow, has tried to lead third-party  developers to the promised land of Metro apps – but as evinced by the severe  lack of Metro apps, developers clearly aren’t taking the bait.

Likewise, it still isn’t clear how the IT industry is meant to cope with  Windows 8. Are enterprises meant to create Metro versions of their in-house,  bespoke apps? Should support departments brush up on their Metro skills, or is  it wiser to just ban Metro from the workplace? Oh, but wait: Banning Metro isn’t  possible, because Microsoft, in its infinite wisdom, hasn’t even included a  group policy to disable Metro.

Perhaps most worryingly, though, consumers don’t seem to be on board  with Windows 8. Windows 7 flew off the shelves when it was released in 2009, and  went on to become the fastest selling operating system of all time. With two billion non-touch-enabled PCs  in the world, and only small, mostly-cosmetic changes to the Desktop side of  things, can you really see Windows 8 following in its predecessor’s footsteps?  The inability to configure or disable Metro all but nullifies Windows 8′s  chances of success in an enterprise setting, too.

When giants fall

With Windows 8, everyone can see that Microsoft is uncertain about the future of PCs – and uncertainty coming from one of the  world’s largest companies is cripplingly contagious. By keeping the Desktop  around – even on Windows RT, which can only run four desktop apps! – Microsoft  is signalling to consumers, developers, specialists, stockholders, and employees  that it hasn’t a clue what the future holds. Compare this to Apple, which always  exalts its operating systems and devices as the best thing since sliced bread,  even if they aren’t.

It might have sounded like a good idea in the boardroom, but by shipping an  operating system with an identity crisis Microsoft has put itself in  an almost untenable position. Barring a miraculous intervention by third-party  app developers, Windows 8 looks like it will be a jack of all trades, but master  of none. On mobile, iOS and Android’s ecosystems will prevail; on desktop,  Windows 7 will be hard to supplant.

Instead of hedging its bets, Microsoft should have risked it all on an  honest-to-God tablet operating system. Sure, it might’ve failed, but at least it  wouldn’t have poisoned the incredibly lucrative Windows well. Instead of  equivocating and vacillating and hopping from one foot to the other in something  resembling an awkward rain dance, Microsoft should’ve shown the world that it’s serious about mobile computing. In one fell  swoop, Microsoft was praying that it could stitch up the mobile and desktop  platforms into one neat little package; instead, I fear that Microsoft may have  blown it all.

by Sebastian Anthony,                            26 October, 2012

It looks to impel a massive change both in the way software and hardware are  designed, as the touch sensitive control scheme has inspired an architectural  evolution in the new generation of Windows-based PCs and laptops.

However, in the unveiling of a plethora of new hybrid tablet-laptops and touch functional  PCs, the spotlight may have shifted away from the actual operating system.  Windows 8 has become a catch-all term that does not distinguish between the  three variations of the OS currently on offer.

Therefore it is paramount that the prospective buyer is made aware of the  differences between the various versions of the operating system. We haven’t considered Windows 8 Enterprise since it  is only available to Volume License customers and therefore won’t be available  in the retail market.

Windows 8 is the standard edition, Windows 8 Pro is for the advanced user  requiring more features and Windows RT (Runtime) is an ARM powered OS that is  specifically intended  for mobile computing.

The main differences between Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro are advanced  encryption features, the ability to sideload Windows Store apps and other  business-focussed features like Group Policy.

Due to RT’s focus on mobile computing, it stands as a radically different  iteration, compared with Windows 8 and Pro. Therefore due to a need for clarity  and a desire for expediency, I will be comparing Windows 8 Standard and Pro to  Windows RT.

Hardware Support

Windows RT: The primary difference between the three SKU  (Stock Keeping Unit) is what hardware they will be available on. Windows RT can  only operate on devices that run on ARM (either using an Nvidia, Qualcomm or  doTI system on chip), and is incapable of running on an AMD or  Intel powered PC.

Windows 8: Windows 8 operates on x86 devices and cannot run  on ARM powered devices. This means that the Microsoft Surface can only run Windows RT and cannot use  Windows 8. Conversely, the upcoming Surface Pro tablet will only be able to run  Windows 8.

Software Support

Windows RT: It runs solely Windows Store apps and comes with  a streamlined version of Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint only)  pre installed.  It is not compatible with existing Windows programs. Furthermore it actively  restricts the range of application programming interfaces (API) that developers  can use. This has direct repercussions on the web browser as Internet Explorer  will be the only browser capable of performing the advanced functions needed for  fluid web access.

Windows 8: Both SKUs are compatible with existing Windows  applications but do not come with Office pre-installed (ed : expect Microsoft Office 2010  Starter Edition to be bundled on some devices though).

Interface

Windows RT: Its app-based user interface is the new Start  Screen interface (formerly known as Metro) that is designed to be touch  friendly.

Windows 8: It carries a dual-navigation feature that allows  the user to switch between the Start Screen and a more mouse friendly desktop  mode.

Business Applications

Windows RT: The mobile specific OS does not support third  party software, with business applications having to be downloaded via the  Windows Store.

Windows 8: Its compatibility with pre-existing Windows  programs means that it supports most business software. Windows 8 Pro on the  other hand has a full array of new business-oriented features like the ability  to join a Windows Domain or Group Policy.

Battery Life

Windows RT: It is expected to have a longer battery life  than other Windows devices, estimated to be somewhere between 8-13 hours.

Windows 8: The upcoming range of Windows 8 enabled devices  are estimated to have 6-8 hours of battery life.

Upgrade

Windows RT: As of today, It is impossible to upgrade to  Windows RT as it is only available on pre-installed devices.

Windows 8: The new flagship OS will be pre-installed on most  if not all PCs launched on the 26 October and afterwards. Windows 8 and Windows  8 Pro will also be available at retail and as an upgrade. Those on Windows 7  Starter, Home Basic and Home Premium can upgrade to Windows 8 while Windows 7  Ultimate and Windows 7 Professional users will be able to get Windows 8 Pro.

Price

Windows RT: As it can only be obtained via the purchase of a  pre installed device the software itself is not available for retail. Though it  is believed that RT devices will be cheaper than Windows 8  devices as it will  have a lower manufacturing license fee.

Windows 8: The physical upgrade pack is currently on sale  for £49.99 with £25 additional charge for those who upgrade to Pro. Users can download Windows 8 upgrade for as little as £25.

Audience

Windows RT: If you are primarily interested in mobile  computing and are looking for a tablet with basic productivity apps, then the  Surface RT would be the ideal purchase.

by Oluseun Alufa,                                            25 October, 2012

Windows users have been able to download the revamped OS since 12:01 local  time today, with new Windows 8-enhanced PCs and tablets already on sale. Overall, Windows 8 will be sold in 140 markets and  37 languages.

Windows chief Steven Sinofsky said Microsoft has had 16 million   installations of the pre-release versions of Windows 8, resulting in 1.2   billion hours of pre-release testing.

“Windows 8 is simply the best release of Windows 8 ever,” Sinofsky said.

Steve Ballmer took the stage later and echoed Sinofsky’s sentiments. “Windows  8 PCs are simply the best PCs ever,” he said.

Ballmer said Windows 8 “lights up with your  life,” allowing for easy  accessto “everything and everybody that you really care  about.”

A number of PC makers have unveiled their Windows 8 line-ups, but for more,  check out Sebastian Anthony’s take on why you should up upgrade your PC to  Windows 8.

Microsoft is also making a big push on the tablet front. “For the  first  time, Windows also has first-rate tablets in addition to desktops  and  notebooks,” Ballmer said.

by Chloe Albanesius,                            26 October, 2012

PROs

• Faster boot times
• Some great new tools
• Excellent for touch input
• Nicely priced upgrade

CONs

• Unfamiliar and sometimes unintuitive UI
• Two separate Control Panels and browsers

Windows 8 may be the biggest gamble in technology history. Instead of simply  updating Windows 7 with new eye candy and features, Microsoft chose to build  something completely new – a combination tablet/desktop operating system. The company’s line is that it’s a “no-compromise”  proposition – a touch-friendly environment for tablets combined with the ability  to run all your existing Windows programs.

I’ve been using and writing about the operating system in its pre-release  incarnations and the RTM (Released To Manufacturing) version for over a year  now. I consider the new hybrid tablet/PC operating system compelling,  beautifully designed, well thought out, and fast. And Windows 8′s upgrade price of £25 for users of all Windows versions back to XP represents a new  level of value from Microsoft.

But, lest we get carried away, there is a learning curve here, and one that  has and will exasperate many first-time Windows 8 users.

Users of Windows versions from the last dozen years or more will be greeted with  something completely unfamiliar: The new-fangled Windows Start screen, featuring  Windows Phone-like tiles that display info based on the apps they represent.  Touching or clicking on a tile, as you’d expect, opens the app, but it’s after  this that matters can get somewhat perplexing. To really get going with the OS,  you need to know a few gestures, either mouse or touch. This contrasts with  using an iPad, which most peoplecould pick up and operate without needing to know  about any special actions.

Still, I’d argue that the learning curve for using Windows 8 is not as steep  as a lot of articles would have you believe. Much has also been made of the  operating system’s slant towards touch input, and it’s true that Windows 8 makes  touchscreen interaction a smooth experience. After a couple days’ use, I found  navigating the OS nearly as fluid using mouse and keyboard, though some actions  remained awkward.

To bring back a large measure of the comfort factor to long-time Windows users, one of the Start screen’s tiles, Desktop, returns  them to a warm and fuzzy land – a Windows Desktop. This desktop “app” not only  looks pretty much identical to the familiar Window 7 interface, but in fact lets  you run any program you could run in Windows 7.

A tale of two operating systems

This duality between the new-style (formerly known as Metro) interface and apps and the  traditional desktop environment is just one to be found in the fresh operating system. Another is between Windows 8 and Windows RT, the  latter of which will only run the new-style apps and desktop apps specifically  updated for it (such as Microsoft Office). RT is designed for devices, usually  tablets – such as Microsoft’s own Surface RT – which are centred on mobile  processors using ARM designs. These make for lighter, more portable tablets with  a longer battery life. But there are serious limitations with Windows RT, such  as not being able to run Windows 7 (x86) software, and indeed not being able to  use any browser but IE10 (at the moment, anyway).

This two-in-one operating system is a radical departure from competitor Apple’s  approach. The Mac and iPad maker brings its phone OS up to the tablet as a  completely separate entity from its computer OS. Microsoft, by contrast, wants  to bring the full capability of its desktop OS to the tablet. Microsoft has  often used the phrase “no compromises,” meaning you get the best of both worlds,  but a lot of desktop users may feel that their Windows 8 interface is compromised  in favour of touch tablets.

A further breakdown of Windows 8 (not RT) is between its two main flavours – Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro. A much simpler choice than we’ve had in the past  with the overload of different Windows editions. Pro adds some corporate support  (joining network domains and the like) and support for Windows Media Centre – you can read up more on the differences between the flavours of Windows  8 here. This review is based on Windows 8 Pro running on an Intel-powered  Samsung tablet, and on laptops running the same.

Windows 8 brings more than just an interface and app-running capability. It’s  also a set of services, courtesy of the new Microsoft Account (which any  Hotmail, Xbox, Messenger, or Outlook.com account can supply) and SkyDrive. When  you log in to any Windows 8 PC, your settings, (new-style) apps, email account,  colour-theme choice, and more will be replicated. This eases setup when you get  a new PC. You’ll also get online storage and file syncing that can be used by  apps as though it were local storage. Apps and sites can also take advantage of  single-sign on, thanks to the Microsoft ID login, saving you from repetitive  account setups.

The Windows Store, where you acquire new-style apps, will use your Microsoft  ID to keep track of your downloads and purchases, which, as with Apple’s Mac App  Store, you can install on any other computers after logging in. The Store also  keeps track of which apps need updating. It will list pages for old-style  desktop apps, but those must be installed on the desktop and don’t get the update and multi-install features.

Before delving into a detailed analysis of Windows 8′s interface and  features, let’s take a moment to spell out what the new OS offers upgraders:

• A much faster startup time (see our benchmarking here), and improved overall  performance.
• New Start screen with live tiles that update with app info such as arriving  emails, news items, weather, and stock tickers. Default apps are included that  provide all this.
• Syncing with all your PCs via Microsoft account sign in. This capability syncs  personalisation preferences, Internet Explorer favourites, backgrounds, Wi-Fi  passwords and more with cloud-connected accounts.
• New App Store. The apps sold here will run on both Windows 8 tablets and  full PCs. The apps will have to pass standards, and can be updated and installed  on multiple PCs in your account (just as with the Mac App Store). They’ll also  get the ability to connect with other apps for services like email or social  network updating.
• SkyDrive cloud storage that any new-style apps can use.
• Improved battery life for laptops as well as tablets.
• File History – an automated backup and versioning utility.
• Faster Wi-Fi reconnect times.
• A much improved browser, Internet Explorer 10, with far better support for  the new HTML5 standards and faster performance.
• New Task Manager and more informative file-moving dialogs.
• Trusted Boot – this prevents malware from loading before the OS, on systems  with UEFI boot. In general, security in Windows 8 is much tighter than in Windows 7  (though we’ve heard that song before).
• Built in Consumer apps – People (for social network contacts), Photos, Mail,  Messaging, Calendar, and Video.
• Xbox Music – a free streaming music service similar to Spotify.
• Storage Spaces – this lets you easily use multiple drives as  one large virtual pool of storage.
• ISO mounting – the OS can now make a disc image file appear as a drive.

You’ll get all this and more for a mere £25 upgrade from Windows XP and later  (or just £15 if you’re upgrading from a Windows 7 PC purchased after 2 June 2012 courtesy of this offer). And don’t forget that Windows 8  runs on any hardware that can runs Windows 7. It will also be able to run any  programs that run under Windows 7, unless you opt for a Windows RT tablet, which  as we’ve already mentioned, will only run (some) new-style Windows 8 apps.

Before delving into a detailed analysis of Windows 8′s interface and  features, let’s take a moment to spell out what the new OS offers upgraders:

• A much faster startup time (see our benchmarking here), and improved overall  performance.
• New Start screen with live tiles that update with app info such as arriving  emails, news items, weather, and stock tickers. Default apps are included that  provide all this.
• Syncing with all your PCs via Microsoft account sign in. This capability syncs  personalisation preferences, Internet Explorer favourites, backgrounds, Wi-Fi  passwords and more with cloud-connected accounts.
• New App Store. The apps sold here will run on both Windows 8 tablets and  full PCs. The apps will have to pass standards, and can be updated and installed  on multiple PCs in your account (just as with the Mac App Store). They’ll also  get the ability to connect with other apps for services like email or social  network updating.
• SkyDrive cloud storage that any new-style apps can use.
• Improved battery life for laptops as well as tablets.
• File History – an automated backup and versioning utility.
• Faster Wi-Fi reconnect times.
• A much improved browser, Internet Explorer 10, with far better support for  the new HTML5 standards and faster performance.
• New Task Manager and more informative file-moving dialogs.
• Trusted Boot – this prevents malware from loading before the OS, on systems  with UEFI boot. In general, security in Windows 8 is much tighter than in Windows 7  (though we’ve heard that song before).
• Built in Consumer apps – People (for social network contacts), Photos, Mail,  Messaging, Calendar, and Video.
• Xbox Music – a free streaming music service similar to Spotify.
• Storage Spaces – this lets you easily use multiple drives as  one large virtual pool of storage.
• ISO mounting – the OS can now make a disc image file appear as a drive.

You’ll get all this and more for a mere £25 upgrade from Windows XP and later  (or just £15 if you’re upgrading from a Windows 7 PC purchased after 2 June 2012 courtesy of this offer). And don’t forget that Windows 8  runs on any hardware that can runs Windows 7. It will also be able to run any  programs that run under Windows 7, unless you opt for a Windows RT tablet, which  as we’ve already mentioned, will only run (some) new-style Windows 8 apps.

Interface and Gestures

When you start up Windows 8 for the first time, you’re treated to a  mini-tutorial on using Windows 8 during initial setup. Simple text and diagrams  show you how to swipe in from the sides of the screen (if you’re on a tablet),  or to move the mouse pointer to the corners of the screen if you’re using the  mouse and keyboard. Once users digest these simple concepts, they’ve got a lot of  what’s needed to operate Windows 8 under their belts.

When you first run the OS, you need to go through a four-step setup – Personalise, Wireless setup, Settings, and Sign in. Each step is very simple and  uncluttered, using the readable Windows 8 sans serif Segoe font.

The choice of colours is one reason Microsoft decided to go with a new  Windows logo that didn’t specify set colours. You just tap one of the 25 choices  along a bar, and the background instantly changes to reflect your selection. The  only other choice on this Personalise setup page is to enter a name for the  device.

The Wireless setup is a matter of tapping your Wi-Fi SSID from the typical  list showing signal strength bars, with an optional “Connect automatically”  check box that’s checked by default. You can actually skip this step, but that  will limit your Windows 8 experience. Hit Connect, and then you’re asked for a  password if your router requires one.

The Settings page of this initial setup process is more complex and  text-heavy – unless you just use Express settings. That choice sets the device  to automatically install updates, turns on malware protection, sends Microsoft  usage data, lets apps access your location, name, and account  picture, enables network sharing, and finally sets the localisation to UK  English. If you select Customise, you are simply taken through a page for each  of these choices.

Signing in

Next comes signing in to a Microsoft ID. It’s optional, but you’ll lose  several benefits if you don’t. In order to download apps from the Windows Store  and take advantage of the SkyDrive cloud service that stores files and photos,  and syncs your settings with other machines, you need to sign in. You can sign  into a “local account” instead, but as I noted you’ll lose a lot of advantages  of Windows 8 and apps designed to use these services. One of these is the  ability to directly email from within an app, such as the Photos app – something  I’ve used often.

Even after you do log in with a Windows ID, you are asked for a mobile phone  number or alternate email address, about which Windows 8 states: “We’ll only use  this info to help you recover your password and keep your account more secure.”  Nevertheless, it seems similar to the way Facebook tries to verify your  identity.

The Windows Start interface

After you’re done setting up and signing in, you finally get your first look  at the Windows 8 Start screen. This grid-like display of brightly coloured  rectangular “live tiles” is where you launch any apps, control settings, and  enter the more traditional Windows desktop. The tiles are “live” because they  flash information from the apps they represent – Mail shows the latest inbox  items, Finance shows stock quotes, and so on. If you find these distracting, you  can turn it all off under PC Settings, Notifications.

Speaking of Settings, one of Windows 8′s rough edges is that there are two  Settings areas. These are the new-style Settings page accessible from the “Charms” (icons accessible via swiping in from the right hand side of the screen – more about them in a moment), and the traditional Control Panel. And  unfortunately, there’s no link from the simple settings page to the advanced  panel.

After a shutdown and restart, you’ll see the lock screen (which will be  familiar to any smartphone user). On this you can see the battery charge level,  Wi-Fi signal strength, and notifications for email and any other apps you’ve  allowed. You can optionally boot from a USB stick or other external device or  disc by changing a PC setting. To dismiss the lock screen and launch the Start  screen, just swipe up on a touchscreen, or tap any key or your mouse button.

Gestures

A key Windows 8 concept for touch input is that the sides of the screen are  for Windows, while the top and bottom are for the app you’re running. Swipe in  from the right side, and you’ll see the Windows 8 Charms we’ve already mentioned – these are icons that grant access to basic OS functions, including Search, Share,  Start, Devices, and Settings. Using the mouse, you get to the Charms by moving  the pointer to the upper right corner of the screen and down, or the lower right  corner and up.

Swiping from the left edge of a touchscreen or touchpad switches you to a  previous running app, but also lets you pin a sidebar showing the app’s content  (formatted just for this space). You can easily swap the large and small views  by swiping down from the top and moving the resulting smaller window. Swiping up  from the bottom, or down from the top, opens an app’s own menu, also called the  “app bar.”

Windows 8 offers an advantage over both iOS and Mountain Lion – the ability  to use a swipe gesture to “snap” another running app to the side of the screen.  In iOS, you have to completely switch out of one app to take a look at another.  This snap action works for multiple desktop apps, too: When you snap the  desktop, you’ll see a stack of thumbnails, and you can choose one to occupy the  partial screen section.

Another advantage of Windows 8′s touch implementation for tablets is that you  can do nearly everything with your thumbs. This makes sense given the way you  hold a tablet. The gesture of swiping to show a sidebar populated with a second  app works for full-blown Windows desktop apps, too. Of course, when in the  desktop, you can use as many overlapping windows as you like, just as in Windows  7.

Semantic zoom is another helpful innovation. By using a pinch gesture on the  Start screen, the app icons shrink, but not in the simple way you zoom out on a  photo – the tiles resize to remain readable, and your groups of tiles stay  together, all visible on one screen. This lets you do things like moving an  app’s tile from the first to the last page without a lot of scrolling. Semantic  zoom can also be implemented in apps; for example, when you pinch on the Sports  app, the display condenses to a top-level menu.

Entering text with touch

Windows 8′s on-screen keyboard springs up from the bottom of the screen  whenever you touch a text entry field. It’s a very versatile tool, more so than  other mobile operating systems’ equivalent. You can either use a full keyboard,  a split keyboard suited to thumb entry, or stylus handwriting recognition mode.  Unlike the iPad’s, Windows 8′s thumbing keyboard is resizable, with a small,  medium, and large option. You also get system-wide spelling correction. But I do  wish I could split the virtual keyboard with an unpinch gesture, as I can on the  iPad.

Another input method supported by Windows 8 is pen (stylus) input. In my  testing, my writing was accurately converted to text. The stylus also makes  sense if you want to use the desktop interface on the road without the benefit  of keyboard and mouse. Though touch still works on the desktop, its smaller  controls are less suited to that type of input.

The on-screen keyboard doesn’t appear when you’re entering text in Desktop  mode, rather a keyboard icon in the system tray pops up the touchscreen keyboard. Now let’s look  at what you can do with an actual keyboard and mouse.

Keyboard and mouse functions

Microsoft’s philosophy for mouse interaction with the OS is that the corners  are key – previous versions of Windows’ Start button were in the lower left  corner, every app’s “X” to close its window was in the top right corner, the  most important menu item was at the top left, and the Aero Peek button in  Windows 7 nestles in the lower right corner.

In Windows 8 you can scroll through the Start screen’s tiles simply by  nudging the mouse cursor against the right side of the screen. You can also  scroll the Start tiles with the mouse wheel, which I find handy.

Fans of keyboard shortcuts won’t be disappointed: Windows 8 includes a ton of  very useful shortcuts, many of which take advantage of the Windows key. Hitting  this by itself at any time takes you back to the Start screen, and hitting it  again returns you to your running app. The venerable Alt-F4 now closes any kind  of Windows 8 app (as does slowly swiping to the bottom of the screen).

Of particular interest to the tech journalist is the new screen capture  feature, activated by hitting the Windows Key along with PrtScn. A final very  useful option is Ctrl-Shift-Esc, which opens the Task Manager.

Apps, IE10 and Windows Store

Default apps

Windows 8 comes with several useful preloaded new-style apps built by  Microsoft, including Mail, Calendar, Internet Explorer 10, People, Photos, Maps,  Messaging, Video, Music, and Camera. A few apps get their info from Bing – the  slickly designed Bing app itself, News, Travel, Finance, and Sports. The latter  in particular shows off a couple neat Windows 8 interface tricks. A right click  (or two-finger tap on a touchpad, or swipe down on a tablet) opens the app’s  menu, which now shows large, touchable buttons for each sport category, offering  a simple, clear way to get to the content that interests you. Some of the  included apps draw heavily from Bing – the Travel app lets you see info on  destinations, panoramas, and travel articles.

For Windows online services, you get Xbox Games, Xbox Music, and SkyDrive  cloud storage apps. A new version of Skype comes with Windows 8, but I didn’t have  time to evaluate it for this review. What I’ve seen of it looks good, though – it’s integrated with the People app, and offers live tile updates.

The Music app adds support for Xbox Music (which  replaces Zune), letting you stream a huge selection of popular music for free.  Music can keep playing in the background while you’re doing other things on the  tablet or PC. And if the machine slips into lock screen mode, the volume buttons  bring up the music controls – pause, play, next song, and so on.

Another nifty thing you can do with apps is to pin subsections to the Start  screen, rather than just pinning the whole app. So, for example, I could pin  just my football team’s page of the Sports app, or just the MSFT stock symbol  page from the Finance app. This lets me see important info like the team’s  latest result or the stock’s latest price right on its Start screen tile. The  Mail app lets you pin a particular inbox, and the People app lets you pin a  particular person’s updates.

Internet Explorer 10

The rumours that the new-style Internet Explorer 10 browser will support  Adobe Flash turned out to be true. Well, partly true. Yes, you can go to the  very popular sites that make use of Flash, but don’t expect that little hotel in  Eleuthera’s Flash-heavy site to work. The Flash support in new-style IE will only display  sites that are vetted and approved for a compatibility list. New-style IE10 uses  a subset of Flash 11.3 optimised for touch, power, and security. This means you  don’t get rollovers, but this limited Flash support will work on both Windows 8  and Windows RT.

Internet Explorer, like Windows 8 itself, is a tale of two browsers, the  new-style Windows 8 flavour and the desktop version. So, even though Flash is  limited on the new-style IE, its fully functioning on the desktop version.  There’s also a new navigation option called Flip Ahead. This lets you swipe to  the next most likely page on a web site you’re browsing, without actually  requiring you to click on the Next button or link. This feature, which echoes  one available in the Opera browser, is turned off by default, so you’ll have to  enable it in IE’s settings. Oh, and it’s new-style IE only, not desktop.

IE10 also improves vastly on IE9′s HTML5 support. HTML5Test.com scores  browsers on their HTML5 feature support with a maximum of 500 points available,  and IE10 notches up 320 points, compared with 138 for IE9 and 437 for Chrome 21.  The increase puts IE10 well within the realm of “modern” browsers.

Finally, and controversially, IE10 will have Do Not Track turned on by  default. The feature, designed to protect consumers from being profiled by  prying ad networks, is available in Firefox and Safari, but not Google’s rising  Chrome browser.

The Store is open

Windows 8 introduces an app store, called the Windows Store, that’s similar to Apple’s  two app stores for iOS and Mac OS. The Windows Store makes apps more  discoverable for users, and for developers, it makes their apps more visible,  and even lets them take home a larger cut of the proceeds than the Apple stores  do.

Other advantages of the Windows Store include simple one-click installation,  the ability to install on multiple machines, and unified updating. The latter  means that the Store’s tile notifies you of how many apps need updating, and all  the updates are handled by the Store. One advantage of the Windows Store over  Apple’s stores is that it allows trial versions, so you can sample before you  buy.

The Store also lists non-new-style Windows 8 apps – traditional desktop apps,  in other words – but the entries for these don’t include an install option.  Instead, they link to the software publisher’s download site. Of course, this  means you don’t get the multiple-installation rights and the updating facility  provided with new-style apps. But the same holds true for Mac apps you acquire  outside of the Mac App Store.

When in the Store you can just start typing to search for available apps,  just as you can start typing to search for installed apps when you’re at the  Start screen. But unlike the Start screen, you can’t simply nudge the mouse  cursor against the side of the screen to move through the store sections.

The Store is starting to fill up with apps, with somewhere around 5,000  expected to be available when its doors open, the majority of them free. Prices  range from a quid or so to hundreds of pounds. The developers get a 70 per cent  share of the profits up to $25,000 (£15,000), after which they get 80 per cent – 10 per cent more than Apple’s stores. Of course, there’s a far larger number of  iOS buyers at this point, with over 200 million devices purchased – and way more  apps in the Mac App Store, too, unsurprisingly.

The Windows Store is somewhat less “browsable” than Apple’s stores – you have  to page through the tiles to get to subsections, rather than being able to  simply choose a category from a link on the main page. Another missing piece is  a web version of the store: iTunes Preview lets you read an app’s info page without having to be inside the actual store app.

Picture password

Picture password is a tablet-only option, a clever feature that saves you  from having to type on your touchscreen. To create a picture password, tap  Settings, then More PC Setting, and choose Users. From here, you can not only  create the picture password, but also switch to a local account (without  SkyDrive benefits), change your regular password, or create a 4-digit PIN that  lets you quickly start, much as you can with iOS devices.

The first step is to actually choose your picture – something with several  objects and shapes is best. You then simply draw any combination of three  circles, taps, or lines. You then repeat the pattern to confirm it, and voilà.  The first time I tried to sign in, my “password” wasn’t accepted, but it soon  became second nature. The feature shows how deeply Microsoft has been thinking  about touch interfaces, letting you log in with gestures rather than character  entry. And for those worried about security, Microsoft reckons there are over a  billion possible gesture combinations for this type of password.

Multi-monitor support

Microsoft has done some work on the multi-monitor support in Windows 8, and indeed, using a  two-screen setup seems ideal for one typical Windows 8 scenario: A tablet  running the OS that docks into a workstation with keyboard and a larger monitor.  With multi-monitor, the user could keep the new-style Start screen on the  smaller tablet screen, while the traditional desktop and all its business apps  are displayed on the larger monitor.

Windows 8′s multi-monitor support even improves on what you get in Windows 7.  You can use different background images on each monitor, stretch a wide image  across them, and even play a slideshow using multiple monitors – for example one  showing landscape-oriented photos, the other portrait. Windows 7 and earlier  only allowed the taskbar to live on one display (unless you were simply mirroring  displays), but Windows 8 will let each screen get its own taskbar, either  including all apps or just apps running on that display. An interesting point is  that all these options are available only from the Desktop Control Panel; the  new Windows 8 Controls still offer a less tuneable “Project to a second screen”  choice.

All of the monitors can display the Start screen, the Charms, or switch to  other running apps by moving the cursor to the appropriate corners of the  screen. You can even drag and drop new-style apps between monitors. The new  Windows version also extends the sensitive area of screen corners, making it  much easier to invoke the Charms or other screen-corner actions.

I tried all this multi-monitor goodness out using a Samsung Series 9  ultrabook attached to a gorgeous 46in Samsung HDTV. The extended desktop image  would have looked better with two similar-sized monitors, and I could mix and  match new-style and desktop apps on either screen. The ability to invoke the  charms from either monitor was welcome, but sometimes slower than I’d like.

A little practice made this easier, but invoking the Charms or list of  running apps does involve two separate motions. And my cursor did spill over to  the left hand monitor sometimes when I was trying to bring up the running app  list. Swapping apps on the monitors was a snap with the Windows key and PgUp  shortcut, but I couldn’t drag and drop new-style apps to the other monitor. I  also wish you could launch apps from one screen’s Start page to another monitor,  thus using one as a dashboard and the other as the work display.

The cloud connection

SkyDrive is Microsoft’s online storage service that offers anyone a free 7GB  of space (25GB  for long-time users). The new OS makes SkyDrive cloud storage  and its syncing service available to any Windows 8 app that wants to use it  (providing you allow the app to use it). The SkyDrive app itself gets a small  Start screen tile, and the app’s own interface uses pages of tiles. This makes  sense for a touch interface, but I’d like to be able to switch to a more concise  list view. You can’t pinch to a semantic zoom view, but an app bar choice,  Details, does offer a slightly more compact view.

At any rate, Windows 8′s cloud capabilities go way beyond this simple  SkyDrive app, and indeed, you can always hit your browser and hop onto  SkyDrive’s more powerful web interface. The system integrates messaging and  sharing throughout, using whatever communication services you’ve enabled. As  with Chrome OS, when you sign into any Windows 8 PC, you’ll see all the same  personalisation details, settings, and even apps.

SkyDrive now offers a synced folder, too, thanks to a desktop utility you can  install in Windows 7. So any new or changed files in the synced folder or any of  its subfolders will be accessible from any other device logged into the SkyDrive  account. Unfortunately, this syncing isn’t built into the new-style Windows 8  SkyDrive app – you have to install the syncing utility in the desktop mode.

Devices

The Devices charm is accessible by swiping in from the right on a touchscreen  or moving the mouse cursor to the upper right corner. From here I only saw the  multi-monitor setup choice, but heading to the Devices section of PC Settings  let me check for new hardware and connect Bluetooth mice, speakers, keyboards, and the like.  It also lets the user prevent device software from being downloaded when they’re  using a metered mobile connection.

When I plugged a USB memory stick into the Windows 8 PC, a notification asked  me whether I wanted to use it for backup, view its files or take no action. This  new type of notification for Windows 8, or “toast,” also pops in from the upper  right if, for example, you have an incoming instant message. When I plugged in  an SD card loaded with photos, the OS knew enough to ask if I wanted to import  the photos, and even created a new Album in the Photos app for the freshly  imported images.

Backup and storage

Finally, there are two new tools that all Windows 8 users, tablet and desktop, can take advantage of: File  History and Storage Spaces. The first is similar to the Mac’s Time Machine. By  default, it makes copies of your Libraries (documents, music, pictures and  videos), desktop, contacts, and favourites. File History checks these places  every hour for changes, though you can crank this frequency up to every 10  minutes, or down to just the one daily check.

Storage Spaces gives users who might not be comfortable with setting up RAID  drives an easy way to add disk space to their systems. It creates a pool of  virtual drive space that looks like a single drive letter to the user. It can  also duplicate your data on multiple drives to protect you in the event of a  disk crash. Look for in-depth articles on both File History and Storage Spaces  on ITProPortal in the coming days.

Verdict

Microsoft needed to do something drastic to head off the “post PC” world. The  company – like every tech analyst – saw the writing on the wall that tablets  were the way of the future. So why not leverage its billion-plus user base to  get some skin in the game?

Despite the new emphasis on touch input, Windows 8 doesn’t leave existing  desktops and laptops out in the cold – far from it. If you want a faster boot  time, and a new class of lightweight, easily obtainable apps, but aren’t afraid  of getting used to a somewhat different way of interacting with your computer,  then upgrading makes sense. And those aren’t the only benefits upgraders will  get. They’ll also get a new, simple backup and file versioning tool, better  multi-monitor support, tighter security, and Storage Spaces to ease using  multiple hard drives.

Windows 8 is probably the most beta-tested operating system ever released, and it feels sturdy in day-to-day use.  And yet, it’s still basically a version one. Tablet apps for Windows 7 and  Windows RT trail competitors in numbers, and the new OS doesn’t feel quite as  polished as Mac OS X Mountain Lion. If you’re not comfortable with  change, then this upgrade may not be for you. But Microsoft gets big points for  the audacity of the release, and I do recommend the upgrade if you don’t mind a  slight learning curve and want to reap the many benefits which Windows 8 brings  forth.

by Michael Muchmore,                            25 October, 2012

I’ve been trying to dig up the real reasons that Microsoft has decided to  make Windows 8 into a loopy phone OS scaled up into a desktop OS while stopping  along the way to drop it on a few tablets. The entire idea makes no sense.

I suspect Microsoft is concerned that there are still too many people unfamiliar with computers and who have never been  mentally poisoned by any GUI. Try to explain the “desktop metaphor” to the  digitally naïve. It’s simply not possible. “This is your desktop. These are file  folders into which you put documents.” They might even be confused by the  concept of a folder.

Bill Gates recently came out extolling the  virtues of the Windows 8 OS and was roundly criticised by some media outlets for  being a typical rah-rah booster. You have to consider the possibility that  Gates, who is now a great traveller and has seen first-hand how usersworldwide experience computing interfaces, has a  broader view. But how do you universally translate an office desktop or the  usefulness of a file folder? Bring on Windows 8!

Windows 8 is the new version of what used to be called a “file loader” or  “program loader” back in the MS-DOS days. How many users actually need to have a  slew of Windows open on the screen anyway? Maybe readers of ITProPortal, but  Microsoft must figure that all of you are going to gravitate towards Linux  anyway.

By simplifying the interface with giant blocks you move around with your  finger like a kindergartener might do naturally, the goal of being fully inclusive is finalised. Everyone can now  use a computer. No matter that people with some sense of the older metaphors are  completely lost in the process; they will learn to love the giant tiles and  eventually figure out how to turn off the machine.

And while the idea makes no sense to anyone in the industry, it must satisfy  some need for originality that Microsoft desires. I mean, there has to be some  reason the company did this besides the fact that it’s just different and  original. Nobody will accuse Microsoft of stealing this concept, although the  idea of full-screen-only applications seems to be nothing more than a throwback  to MS-DOS 2.0. I’d call it anything but an advancement in technology or UI  design.

If we look at it as an experiment, we may learn something. We already know  that Microsoft copies other ideas and then goes out on its own and seems to  fail, even with good ideas. It’s a shame that it has to use its huge user base  as the lab animals on which it experiments. I’d rather not have to go through  this agony.

by John C. Dvorak,                            23 October, 2012