Windows Archive

We've already talked about Windows 8 so often you'd almost forget it had not yet been officially confirmed by Microsoft. Well, Steve Ballmer has announced that yes, it's going to be called Windows 8, and yes, it's going to arrive in 2012. "We're obviously hard at work on the next version of Windows," Ballmer said, "Windows 7 PCs will sell over 350 million units this year. We've done a lot in Windows 7 to improve customer satisfaction. We have a brand new user interface. We've added touch, and ink, and speech. And yet, as we look forward to the next generation of Windows systems, which will come out next year, there's a whole lot more coming. As we progress through the year, you ought to expect to hear a lot about Windows 8. Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors." Right-o. Update: A company spokesperson has retracted the statement, but whatever, we're not stupid.

The ARM version of Windows 8 might have just become the most desired version of Windows in our hearts and minds. After us talking about legacy code and backwards compatibility in Windows for years now, an Intel senior vice president, Renee James, has just stated that Windows 8 on ARM will not have any form of compatibility for legacy applications whatsoever. Update: Microsoft has responded to Intel's claims. "Intel's statements during yesterday's Intel Investor Meeting about Microsoft's plans for the next version of Windows were factually inaccurate and unfortunately misleading," the company said, "From the first demonstrations of Windows on SoC, we have been clear about our goals and have emphasized that we are at the technology demonstration stage. As such, we have no further details or information at this time."

"Windows 8 build 7850.0.winmain_win8m1.100922-1508 contains a number of references to a brand new feature in Windows: Portable Workspaces. Microsoft will allow Enterprise customers to create USB storage driven copies of Windows. 'Portable Workspace is a Windows feature that allows you to run Windows from a USB storage device', notes Microsoft in its description of the feature inside Windows 8." So, yeah, something we've been waiting for in Windows since, well, forever. Also, push notifications, a screenshot tool and a new webcam application have been discovered as well.

And yes, the stream of controlled Windows 8 leaks continues. This time around, Thurrot and Rivera have published a number of screenshots from Windows 8's brand-new tablet user interface, and surprise surprise, its built on Metro, the same design language that underpins Windows Phone 7. Windows 8 will also include its own PDF reader, Modern Reader, which also happens to be the first application packaged in Microsoft's new AppX format. Update: Long Zheng has some technical details on AppX, including this little tidbit: "The extensive list of properties signifies the comprehensive scope of this system to be the ideal deployment strategy for 'applications', in all essence of the word. In fact, the AppX format is universal enough so it appears to work for everything from native Win32 applications to framework-based applications and even *gasp* web applications. Games are also supported."

Microsoft's first big update for Windows Phone 7, which brings, among other things, copy/paste and performance improvements, is finally being rolled out to users. Unbranded devices are the first to get the update. Sadly, my own unlocked HTC HD7 has not yet received the update, so there's little else I can tell you.

The new Windows Embedded website just announced the official release of Windows Embedded Compact 7, featuring SMP support for multicore CPUs, Flash 10.1, updated Silverlight for Windows Embedded technology based on Silverlight 3, and more. Update: And here's a demo, for those interested.