Introducing Windows 8

Agenda Introduction Genealogy Windows 8 Overview Metro Start Menu Demonstration

Genealogy Windows 1.x, 2.x, /286, /386 Never a commercial “hit” Windows 3.0, 3.1, and bit, ran on top of MS-DOS Windows NT 3.1 and 3.5 First 32 bit Windows not reliant on MS-DOS Runs utilizing protected mode of the processor Windows 95, 98, and ME 16 bit, still reliant on MS-DOS Windows 2000 Next generation of Windows NT Both Server and Workstation Windows XP Built from Windows 2000 Workstation only O/S Windows Server 2003 Server only platform built with Windows XP & 2000 base Windows Vista Built from Windows XP & Server 2003 Major security changes from XP and Server 2003 Many Look and Feel Changes Windows Server 2008 Server only platform built from Windows Server 2003 and Windows Vista Windows 7 Built from Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 Improvements to UAC and other security mechanisms Windows Server 2008 R2 Based on Windows 7, server only O/S Windows 8 Built from Windows 7 Borrows from Windows Phone O/S Both Server and Workstation

Windows 8 Overview Unified Operating System for: PCs Tablets Smart Phones Support for: Intel Processors (x86 and x64) ARM (Advanced RISC Machine32 bit RISC processor) Two versions: Workstation & Server

Windows 8 Overview New Desktop Experience: METRO Metro originally appeared on Windows Phone 7 Operating System Provides an easy to use interface for touch screens (such as tablets and smart phones) Can switch to classic mode via registry edit New Internet Explorer (actually 2 of them) Dedicated Metro version No add-in No tabs Application Style Similar to current IE experience

Metro According to Wikipedia: Metro is based on the design principles of classic Swiss graphic design Metro runs side by side with the classic Windows user interface New Look Based on panels or rectangular sections of the screen New Programming Interface Classic.NET programming interface is still available Provides a whole new User Interface API

Metro (cont’d) Designed for touch screens Works well with a mouse but … Takes up more screen real estate Metro applications tend to provide horizontal scrolling (similar to iPhone, iPad, & Android devices) Metro applications share other user interface characteristics with phone/tablet operating systems (i.e.: left arrow button to return to previous screen)

Metro vs. Traditional Traditional applications are windowed Metro applications take over the whole desktop Traditional applications live within the legacy desktop Metro applications have their own display space (they take up the whole desktop) All applications participate in the application rotation (i.e.: Alt-tab and Windows-tab) including the desktop itself Metro icons (well, they’re not really icons, they call them “tiles”) can be “live”

Updated Desktop Apps Some of the desktop has been improved Windows Explorer now has a ribbon New Math Input Panel Not very useful on a desktop Many new or rewritten re-written in Metro Calendar Maps Mail Music Remote Desktop

Who Stole the Start Menu? The Start Menu has been replaced Now, the start menu is a Metro interface The Metro start menu doesn’t look like a menu Supports a search Segregates the results (apps, settings, files, etc.) Shows Metro applications differently than legacy Supports a “Show all apps” (right click) Also supports a show shrunken menu (click at bottom right)

Demonstration

Windows 8 Server Metro-Style Interface (not full Metro) New Server Manager Resilient File System (ReFS) Microsoft Online Backup Service (encrypted cloud backup for Windows 8 beta servers) Metro-style Remote Desktop Cluster Aware Updating (CAU) (all nodes in a cluster are updates in an automated way with no downtime for the cluster) SMB Encryption NIC teaming Hyper-V Increased Memory and Virtual Hard Drive Capacity Hyper-V replica

Conclusions The new Metro interface is good for phones and tablets but may not be optimal for a laptop or a desktop Basic underlying functionality is still Windows 7 based (plus the Metro infrastructure) The fast boot is amazing For developers, it’s nice to have a single platform to develop for But for users, do people want the same interface on all devices?

A new Feature What benefits are there for office use? Faster performance (old machines too!) Pre-installed Windows Defender security Enhanced built-in hardware failure protection SkyDrive cloud storage Multi-language Easy shareability and search everything! Default mode for public computers Use your existing monitor, mouse, keyboard

Some new major features The touch factor. Picture Password. New File Copy Confirmation dialog box. Support for USB 3.0 Native support for mounting VHD and ISO disc images. Faster boot time.

The touch factor Allow users to use Windows with the touch interface as well as with mouse and keyboard. Allow users to do two things at one by clicking the tiles along the side. Work really fast and fluid to get between your running app.

Windows Explorer Ribbon  Allow users to optimize Explorer for file management tasks.  Create logical and reliable locations in a streamline experience.  Bring back the most relevant and requested features from the Windows XP era.

New File Copy Confirmation Dialog Box  It is designed to make life easier.  Show individual progress bars when you have multiple copy operations occurring simultaneously.  Allow to pause a copy operation, if you want to give preference to another operation.

 Display a new conflict resolution dialog box if a conflict occurs while copying files.  Allows users to handle the situation much easier.

Native USB support  Still supporting USB 1.0 and USB 2.0 devices.  In the meantime, USB 3.0 will offer 10 times faster than USB 2.0 and much better power management.

Other features Supporting for mounting VHD and ISO disc images. * Windows Explorer allows users to select an ISO image and access its contents via a drive letter. * Constantly create a virtual CDROM or DVD drive and assign it to the next available drive letter to the new removable drive. Faster boot time. * Need only seconds to boot the system by hibernating the kernel session instead of shutting it down

Major Critics and Effects Not so many major changes in Windows 8, comparing to Windows 7, except for the touch screen option. Mouse and keyboard are practically useless beyond pointing, clicking and typing. Give users the option to use a Windows Live ID but not clear what data and where will be it stored?