article

windows-8-overview

[WHAT]

] windows 8 is a new Personal Computer(PC) (+ tablet + smart phone) operating system version from microsoft corporation (MSFT), it's user interface(UI) is "signifigantly different" then the previous version of the windows desktop operating system(windows 7) This version of windows attempts to provide a common os user interface across a variety of computing devices including desktop and laptop PC's, Tablet computers and windows based smartphones.

disclaimer : i have no vested interest in the sale of/non sale of windows 8 licences and have recieved no compensation from anyone in preparation of this article. My goal is to create a compilation of ...
just the FACTS ONLY please : i am trying to keep all statements on this page to just the facts about this subject (new windows 8 operating system). For "opinions" there is an Opinions section in the BONUS CONTENT at the bottom of this article that links to some popular bloggers/journalists "opinions" on the new os, as well as a REVIEWS section with links to some more in-depth reviews from the top tech web sites and of course, most importantly a windows 8 HUMOUR section.
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[for returning visitors - WHATS-new on this page]

if your a returning visitor to this page, Thanks and welcome back

here is a BRIEF SUMMARY of the NEW and UPDATED ITEMS added to this windows 8 page ( also .. check out the new "news" tab above for the latest tech news stories )

WHY=

NEW feature PAGES - we are re-writing each of the feature descriptions on this page to be a very breif ( 1 line) description of the feature with a link to a more detailed feature overview page for those that are interested in the specifics of each feature and how it works. So far we've added PAGES about the windows UI SkyDrive, File Explorer, Secure-Boot, Microsoft account/Synch and have more pages COMING SOON including .... ]
NEW feature PAGES - outlining the native APPS that ship with the os and also a listings guide to some of the BETTER third-party APPS that we have found so far.

OPINIONS

NEW ARTICLES the-people-have-spoken-and-the-word-is, i-love-windows-8(%) , i-hate-windows-8(%), i also weigh-in on why i think will-w8-be-a-gamechanger-for-msft, and have added a few new articles to the i-hate-windows-8 page including Philip_Greenspun's who thinks that windows-8-is-the-christmas-gift-for-people-you-hate and a couple of new video additions including an articulate and intelligent critique from michael mace.

HOW-TO=

NEW contents page- this LISTS ALL of our how to articles on 1 page, CATEGORIZED into groups, and LINKED to each individual article including the following ...
NEW ARTICLES why you dont need the start button and why-you-dont-need-the-start-button-PART-2
NEW ARTICLE - HACK-add-a-shutdown-button-to-your-start-screen

REFERENCE =

NEW LINK ms & dell released a free ebook on windows-8 for dummies
NEW LINK added link to microsofts compatability checker webpage to check if your software or hardware is compatible with windows 8
NEW LINK added link to microsoft surface RT tablet overview
NEW LINK added link to microsoft surface PRO tablet overview

top 10 reasons [WHY] you (the non-geek) PC/tablet user might want to check it out ...

[UI] windows ui - its not metro, its not modern, its "windows ui" (i believe) is the official name of the new graphical user interface(UI) replacing the traditional windows "start" button/menu with a new "start screen". This Start screen consists of a collection of "interactive TILES" representing your Start menu programs(apps) in a user configurable grid layout but, but, but you say, this is windows after all and windows has (almost) always had a start button, is there really no "start" button ??

] Yes Virginia, there really is no start button!! if you like, you can think of windows 8 as having an "invisible" start button(just slide your mouse to bottom left corner of your screen), the "start screen icon" will appear and you can click it to return to the start screen from wherever you may be. ( Or you can just press the "windows" key)
] start screen - screen where windows 8 starts, it displays tiles that represent your shortcuts to apps, documents, websites.
] active tiles - represent an application that you can launch, and display current information from that application, for example the mail tile displays the number of new messages that i have and the subject line of the message
] charms - are sort of the replacement for all those icons that were on the old start menu (besides your programs), things like the "Control Panel" and "Devices and Printers" and your "Documents", "Music", "Photos" folder shortcut icons. Charms provide options to ] Search ] Share - your content and to access ] Devices and ] Settings options for both the current app your working in and system wide, as well as to return to the ] Start screen.
] hot corners - hover your mouse in any one of the four corners of your screen (in any app) and you are presented with various options, like returning to the start screen, bringing up your open apps, displaying the charms menu
] desktop - and you do still have your "traditional style" desktop complete with task bar this is represented by a tile on the start screen, most appropriately named "Desktop" Keep in mind that there is NO start button per se, here either - the "start screen" is the "start" button, You can still install and run your regular windows software apps here.

[UI] touch - this is really a big part of what windows 8 is all about, making a windows os that is going to shine on your shiny new windows tablet computer (or touch enabled monitor). Perhap's the most promising feature of this os is the potential of the soon to be released windows based tablets like the MS SURFACE PRO that will run not only the new metro style apps but also traditional windows software applications as well.

Of course if you don't have a touch enabled screen or a tablet and you can't see the point of having these "touchy" features, see Reason #1.2
newer laptops - will come with touchpads that support these same touch "gestures". So you dont necessarily need a "touch" screen to take advantage of them ...
periphal touchpad devices - will also likely be available if you wanted to add those "touch" capabilities to your current desktop pc via another device.

[UI] unification of os platforms - across devices - desktop, laptop, tablet, phone - why would you want to use/learn a different os interface to access your information on different devices if you didnt have to? Having one os for your android tablet, one os for your desktop pc at work, one os for you personal laptop at home, another os for your iphone. windows 8 is microsoft's step on the path towards what some refer to as the "holy grail of computing", where you (have the same / a similar) os interface across multiple computing devices, learn it once, use it everywhere.

important note: while the os interface is similar across each device platform, the underyling operating system "workings" are different. so be aware that the "app" that you just purchased on your PC is likely NOT going to work on your windows phone and vice versa and may or may not work on your surface tablet, depending on which version of the surface tablet that you purchased (confused yet?)
important note: while their is a big attraction to the convenience of having 1 interface across all devices, it comes with the potential cost of getting yourself inextricably entwined in 1 manufacturers ecosytem of hardware, software & services. Proceed with caution, explore your options, yada, yada ...

[ FILESYSTEM & SERVICES ]

microsoft account - a new account that you CAN have and that you can associate with your windows user account which will then enable you to take advantage of additional features like ...
single sign-on - Using your "microsoft account" you can simultaneously sign on to your PC, and into your applications with a single log in.
synch - This gives you the capability to synch your os "settings" (aka your windows account settings and preferences) and your APPlication settings in your microsoft account. You can now sign on to any windows 8 pc using your microsoft account and you would have access to your Start Screen, your Applications and even any of your files that you had saved to your ...
skydrive OneDrive - is microsofts online/cloud based file storage service. windows 8 integrates access to this service into the operating system. This enables you to upload files as a back up or to access them from multiple devices or from multiple locations.

DID YOU KNOW'S - if you have a skydrive/live account you also have access to the microsoft office's online versions of WORD and EXCEL for FREE.

file history - is a new feature that you can use to automatically and continuosly backup your files.
file explorer - a new and improved version of windows explorer, renamed as FILE EXPLORER and introducing a new RIBBON style menu interface (ala ms office). There are also new file copy dialogs that provide more information and improved file copy performance along with the ability to pause/resume file copying operations.

[APPLICATIONS]

the app windows "store" - install APPS and get content through the new windows app "store", similar to the app procurement and installation/update models by apple, google and rim, users can now browse, download and install the new windows APPS from the windows store.Users can also still install traditional windows applications (aka PROGRAMS) via traditional methods. (DVD, downloaded exe files)

* important note - At the present time - the shelves are somewhat barren in the "store", especially when compared to competitors offerings at Apple and Google. Not really a big deal for PC users (see 1.3) BUT an important factor to consider for buyers of the new windows RT tablets, IMO its likely that the APPS will come in time, but for now ... it is what it is.
another note - is that the RT tablets are shipping with the home and student version of microsoft office included.

new - windows - APPS - you can also install and run a new style of windows application software. which we will call windows APPS. It's very important to KNOW THE DIFFERENCE between APPS and PROGRAMS. These APPS cover the full screen (no window frame, no visible menu bar) and they are ONLY available through the windows store.
old - windows - PROGRAMS - also very important to know is that you can still STILL install and run almost* any traditional windows application software which we will refer to as PROGRAMS.These programs run in a resizable, framed window, the frame contains a title bar and controls to minimize, maximize or close the window.
internet explorer 10 - APP - an improved experience - much improved performance, better interface, more compliant with current web standards, a big step forward for the native web browser
internet explorer 10 - PROGRAM an improved experience ( and NO this is NOT a typo ) there are 'somewhat' 2 different versions of ie10 in windows 8. the fullscreen APP version and the traditional/desktop PROGRAM version. There are some differences between the way the 2 browser versions look and operate
free* music (sort of) - integration with microsofts new xbox streaming music service, offering Free ad supported version or premium subscription service (@ $10 per mth),

free* - streaming is limited to 10 hours per month (after the initial 6 month trial period for win 8 users). Is not available in all markets. Streaming only (no downloads)

free native anti-virus protection - now included in the operating system, previously the windows defender app provided anti-malware protection only but now it also includes anti-virus protection, garnered from the microsoft security essentials software, that you can enable.

UPDATEd 2012-12-02- AV-Test.org is reporting that the microsofts security essentials did not pass the "efficay" testing. The only 1 of the 24 suites that they tested that failed to earn certification.

] windows to go - is a new feature that enables users to put a copy of your installed windows 8 OS (with your User settings, your apps and your files) on a thumb drive and then use that thumb drive to boot up on any PC (?with windows 8 installed?) to get your windows 8 settings / your apps and your files on that pc. You can work on them, save any changes back to your thumbdrive when your done and leave no traces of any of your data on the pc(? device) that you are using.
] windows 8 repair options - new features that enables you to re-install the OS should it become damaged, corrupted or should you want to just wipe it clean of any of your data and programs.

] windows refresh - new feature that will restore your windows 8 operating system (should it become corrupted or damaged) without affecting your data files, although you will need to re-install any windows PROGRAM
] windows reset - new feature which will restore windows to its original install state (as it was when new). This will delete all of your data and programs.
] recimg - is another new feature of windows 8 that enables you to create a custom image ( windows 8 + your apps + your programs) that can be set to be the installed image should you have to use the reset option to re-install your os.

note - keep in mind - that when your os is damaged or corrupted, relying upon a feature of that damages operating system to try and repair itself may not always work out ...

[OTHER]

] cheaper - it seems to me, that the previous upgrade releases of the windows OS were around the $120 USD mark(in north america), and that was for the "home" version. Currently microsoft is OFFERing the windows-8 PRO version at around $40 for the "downloaded" copy(aka no disks) from microsofts website. If you own a previous version of windows including (windows 7, windows vista or even windows XP ) you are eligible to of windows 8 at that pricing .

note - there is also a promotional offer that applies to most PC's sold after June of 2012 where you can purchase the same upgrade version for $15
note - this upgrade pricing is a promotional offer that expires ( January 2013 ), at which time the price of the upgrade may increase.

or top 10 reason [WHY] you the (geek-ish) PC/tablet user might want to check it out ...

[PERFORMANCE] improvements

] startup and shutdown times are faster than the previous versions of the windows os. ] the cnet review (link in the reviews section) has a table with some comparisions tests between earlier versions of windows on the same hardware ] acheived by using a different and optimized loading routines
] Battery life on laptops is improved
] memory usage is also reduced (allowing you to run more apps).
] hardware requirements - for the first time in like (ever) a new windows os version does NOT require more hardware capabilites (processor, ram) than its predecessor. This also means that windows 8 may perform much better on older hardware than those previous windows versions did.

[VIRTUALIZATION] hyper v ] NEW FEATURE - create and run a virtual machine on a client os. You love windows XP or OMGG some flavor of linux, you can now create and run a virtual [insert favorite operating system] version of another computer/os on your windows 8 machine.
[FILESYSTEM] storage spaces ] NEW FEATURE - that allows you to combine multiple physical hard drives into one logical volume (multiple disks that appear as 1 drive on your pc) thus giving you redundant backup array (RAID 0) where if 1 of your hards drives fails, your data should still be intact and recoverable on the 2nd drive.
[FILESYSTEM] file explorer ] IMPROVED - adds a new ribbon style menu interface (ala ms office 2007), adds native support for mounting ISO files, adds support for vhd files
[SECURITY] UEFI-secure boot ] NEW FEATURE - protects against security breaches by making it harder for malicous software(malware) to load at boot time.
[MANAGEMENT ] remote desktop ] IMPROVED - giving you a menu of all your last visited desktops, complete with an actual mini-snapshot of the desktop. No more having to set up a bunch of little profiles, storing them in a folder and hoping you remember what is what.
[MANAGEMENT] task manager - ] IMPROVED - groups items by apps, service, ..., adds options to "search" for names of running processes directly from task manager, introduces better naming convention for processes, integrates the startup options menu from msconfig to enable you to view & control startup options, as well as see their impact on system performance, also integrates the services list and enables option to start/stop services.
[MANAGEMENT] control panel - IMPROVED -
] what do you think are the best NEW or IMPROVED geek-ish features in windows-8?

] pitch in with your 2 cents ...

] more new (geek-ish) features

[WHY NOT - CONS] top 10 reasons why people won't want windows-8

] learning curve

CONS - YES there is definetly a learning curve. How long it is and how steep it is, well thats largely dependant upon the learner. If your the type of person that really dislikes changes, then you may want to avoid this os.
PROS -

] the start button/menu is gone

CONS - YES we have confirmed, the start menu/button is NOT in windows 8.
PROS - some people are saying you dont need the start button/menu

] interoperability(interop) between PROGRAMS and APPS

CONS - YES there are some issues here. Lets make a list of what they are and discuss them.
PROS -

] microsofts immature ecosystem,

] CONS - windows store does not have a lot of APPS like the competition has, windows store does not have the quality of apps the the competition has.
] PROS -

] microsoft will try to lock me into their walled garden?

CONS - NO heres why-i-dont-want-to-be-tied-to-one-mfgs-ecosystem
PROS - YES you will be tied in to microsofts ecosystem. To what extent that YOU are tied into it, is somewhat your choice, msft is offering many new services that are integrated into the os, Can you use them YES, do you have to use them? NO, are there alternative services available? YES,

] i have no need for touch features -

CONS -
PROS - OK then.

] i love windows <insert YOUR favorite windows version here> and will never switch

CONS -
PROS - YES indeed you do! and thats your right.

] ms REMOVED these FEATURES

CONS - YES these features are gone, some of them can be returned,

] windows media center, including DVD playback features (reportedly b/c of cost of licencing codecs)
] ms games solitaire, - freecell, ....

PROS - YES its gone but its available in the STORE, for FREE

] ms games solitaire,
]

] .... we are waiting for you contributions ...

] ...

[WHERE] will you see windows-8

] most NEW desktop and laptop pcs -

will ship with this OS installed after 2012-10-25

] all windows based tablet computers

will have either [windows-8] or the [windows-RT] (these are different OS versions)
VERY IMPORTANT NOTE!!! - windows RT tablets WILL NOT RUN traditional windows application software. They will only run the windows apps that are available in the windows store. You will need the yet to be released windows 8 tablet( expected to arrive in 2013 - quarter 1) to run tradittional windows apps.
IMPORTANT NOTE! - see Reason 3.1

] older desktop and laptop computers with hardware capable of running windows 7

you can breathe new life into older PC hardware by installing this OS. These are the HARDWARE REQUIREMENTS ( ] 1 ghz processor (16 or 32 bit), ] 1 or 2 gb ram(32/64 bit), ] 16 or 20 gb (32 /64 bit) hard drive space, ] direct x 9+ graphics) to run this os software.

] on your work computer -

] NOT likely any time soon - there is gartner survey that indicated that only approx 23 % of enterprises were considering the os. My personal guess would be that the first foray into the enterprise will be intel based tablets

[WHEN]

x] 2012-08-01 - release to mfg(RTM) version released to hardware manufacturers, developers
x] 2012-10-25 - public windows-8 version released
x] 2012-12-20 - added FEATURE PAGE for microsoft account,
] ms announces pricing on new windows 8 surface PRO tablet
]

[EXAMPLE]

] Click on the photo tab(above) for a screenshot of the new windows 8 Start screen or you can check out the video below. This gives you a quick look at what the new OS looks like and some quick tips on finding your way around.

[ REVIEWS ]

] contents-reviews

] we have summarized several reviews of windows 8 from several major tech publications, here are there conclusions

] index-reviews

] A listing of all of the individual review articles that we have summarized

[ANALYSIS]

contents

] categorized listing of all analysis articles for the windows 8 operating system, links to each individual article .. including

[coming soon] windows-8 versus windows-7

] performance benchmarks - includes bootime, app loading

] gaming performance

] http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/windows-8-gaming-performance,3331.html

windows-8-ui design

] what-were-they-thinking VIDEO[60:00] in this VIDEO presentation, Jensen Harrison (program manager) for windows 8 discusses what the UI team was 'thinking' literally, for the design of the new win 8 ui. ] includes VIDEO SUMMARY NOTES(mine) of the video.

windows-8-sales

] overview - sales and usage - trends for the windows 8 operating system. An article taking a look at the current sales status and internet usage/adoption of the new operating system.

index

] complete list of all articles in our windows-8 analysis section
a few good articles re: performance benchmarking tests for the new os and windows 8 vs 7 gaming performance comparison. CHECK BACK working on a summary of conclusions article.

[OPINIONS and other stories ]

] contents

] our collection of OPINIONS that we have gathered on windows 8, categorized, and including ...

] i-love-windows-8-because

] our unofficial survey tallies up how many people are loving the new os and

] i-hate-windows-8-because

] taking a look a the haters too, and what they have to say

] how-will-windows-8-impact-microsoft-the-company(msft)

] windows-8-could-be-a-gamechanger-for-msft

] index

] listing of all how-to articles in our library

[ HUMOUR ]

] contents-windows-8-funnies

] A collection of the best windows 8 jokes we could find, so far

[HOW-TO]

] contents

] our collection of the most popular HOW-TO and TUTORIAL articles for windows 8, categorized by task, including GETTING STARTED with windows 8 tutorial videos and much more

] index

] listing of all how-to articles in our library

[REFERENCE]

] references-overview

] a page with a complete listing of the resources referenced for the creation of this material. Listed below are a sampling of some of the sites that we used in the creation/prepartion of this document.

] microsoft dell windows 8 for dummies guide

free ebook pdf - covering windows basics

] Microsoft Surface RT tablet

a look at this new tablet from microsoft.

] Microsoft Surface PRO

a look at this new tablet from microsoft.

]

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windows-8-overview

[WHAT]

[for returning visitors - WHATS-new on this page]

top 10 reasons [WHY] you (the non-geek) PC/tablet user might want to check it out ...

or top 10 reason [WHY] you the (geek-ish) PC/tablet user might want to check it out ...

[WHY NOT - CONS] top 10 reasons why people won't want windows-8

[WHERE] will you see windows-8

[WHEN]

[EXAMPLE]

[ REVIEWS ]

[ANALYSIS]

[OPINIONS and other stories ]

[ HUMOUR ]

[HOW-TO]

[REFERENCE]

Details

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