Windows 8

Windows 8 is an upcoming version of Microsoft Windows, a series of operating systems produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, netbooks, tablet PCs, and media center PCs. According to unofficial sources, the release date for Windows 8 has been set for October 2012, three years after the release of its predecessor, Windows 7. Windows 8's server counterpart, Windows Server 2012, is in development concurrently with Windows 8. The most recent official pre-release version of Windows 8 is the Consumer Preview, which was released on February 29, 2012. An almost-complete Release Preview is scheduled for the first week of June 2012.

Unlike Windows 7, which was intended to be a more focused, incremental upgrade to the Windows line, Windows 8 has been “reimagined from the chipset to the user experience” to connect more with the user. It features the Metro interface that is designed for touchscreen input similar to that in Windows Phone and on the Xbox 360. A version of Windows 8, called Windows RT, also adds support for the ARM processor architecture in addition to the previously supported microprocessors from Intel and AMD.

Early Development

Windows 8 development started before Windows 7 had shipped in 2009. However, it was in January 2011, at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), that Microsoft announced that Windows 8 would be adding support for ARM microprocessors in addition to the microprocessors from Intel, AMD and VIA.

On June 1, 2011, Microsoft officially unveiled Windows 8 and its new user interface as well as additional features at the Taipei Computex 2011 in Taipei (Taiwan) by Mike Angiulo and at the D9 conference in California (United States) by Julie Larson-Green and Microsoft's Windows President Steven Sinofsky. A month before the BUILD conference was held, Microsoft opened a new blog called "Building Windows 8" for users and developers on August 15, 2011.

Developer Preview

Microsoft unveiled new Windows 8 features and improvements on the first day of the BUILD conference on September 13, 2011.Microsoft also released the Windows Developer Preview (build 8102) of Windows 8 for the developer community to download and start working with. This developer preview includes tools for building Metro style apps, such as Microsoft Windows SDK for Metro style applications, Microsoft Visual Studio 11 Express for Windows 8 Developer Preview and Microsoft Expression Blend 5 developer preview. According to Microsoft, there were more than 500,000 downloads of the developer preview within the first 12 hours of its release. The Developer Preview also introduced the Start screen. The Start button in the desktop opened the Start screen instead of the Start menu.

On 16 February 2012, Microsoft postponed the expiration date of the developer preview. Originally set to expire on 11 March 2012, this release is now set to expire on 15 January 2013.

Consumer Preview

On 29 February 2012, Microsoft released Windows 8 Consumer Preview, the beta version of Windows 8, build 8250. For the first time since Windows 95, the Start button is no longer present on the taskbar, though the Start screen is still triggered by clicking the bottom-left corner of the screen and by clicking Start in the Charm. Windows president Steven Sinofsky said more than 100,000 changes had been made since the developer version went public. In the first day of its release, Windows 8 Consumer Preview was downloaded over one million times. Like the Developer Preview, the Consumer Preview is set to expire on January 15, 2013.

Metro UI

Windows 8 will employ a new user interface based on Microsoft's Metro design language. The Metro environment will feature a new tile-based Start screen similar to the Windows Phone operating system. Each tile will represent an application, and will be able to display relevant information such as the number of unread messages on the tile for an e-mail app or the current temperature on a weather application. Metro-style applications run in full-screen, and are able to share information between each other using "contracts". They will be available only through Windows Store. Metro-style apps are developed with the new Windows Runtime platform using various programming languages (or in the case of HTML, a mark-up language) including: C++, Visual Basic, C#, and HTML/JavaScript.

The traditional desktop environment for running desktop applications is treated as a Metro app. The Start button has been removed from the taskbar in favor of a Start button on the new charm bar, as well as a hotspot in the bottom-left corner. Both open the new Start screen, which replaces the Start menu.

Software Compatibility

Windows 8 for x86/64 processors will run most software compatible with previous versions of Windows, with the same restrictions as Windows 7: 64-bit Windows 8 will be able to run 64-bit and 32-bit software while 32-bit Windows 8 will be able to run 32-bit and 16-bit software (although some 16-bit software may require compatibility settings to be applied, or not work at all).

Windows on ARM processors (Windows RT) will only support the applications included with the system (including some Office 15 desktop applications), supplied through Windows Update, or acquired through the Windows Store, which will only provide Metro applications. Windows on ARM will not support running, emulating, or porting existing x86/64 desktop applications, in order to ensure the quality of apps available on ARM.

Metro applications can be cross-compatible with both x86/64 based systems and Windows on ARM, or compiled to support a specific architecture.

Logo

On February 18, 2012, Microsoft confirmed that in Windows 8 the Windows logo will be significantly updated to reflect the new Metro design language. The logo was designed by Pentagram partner Paula Scher. The formerly flag-shaped logo has been transformed into four window panes, perspective was added, and the entire logo will be rendered in a single solid color, which will depend on the user's personalization changes.

Editions

On April 16, 2012, Microsoft announced that Windows 8 will be available in four main editions. Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro will be available for retail sale to consumers in most countries.The other editions are not available in retail. The new Windows RT edition is only available preinstalled by OEMs on ARM based devices while the Enterprise edition is only available through volume licensing.