Windows 8 fully tested and ready for download

Windows 8 fully tested and ready for download

Windows 8 was show cased today to developers at the Microsoft BUILD conference.

The operating system is anxiously awaited by consumers more than anything else and Microsoft seems to be excited about it, albeit with crossed fingers.

Microsoft has been overtaken by events in the fast moving technology industry and its chance to remain relevant might be depending on the success of Windows 8.

The major advantage of this operating system apart from its new Metro style user Interface is fact that it can run on a variety of devices including laptops, desktops, tablets and Ultrabooks.

The failure of Vista and the pace of other software giants are catching up with Microsoft makes this moment of Windows 8 one to be highly cautious from the Microsoft team.

 

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Does Windows 8 Pose a Threat to Linux?

"MS is now changing everything to chase a small but trendy part of the market, and they will be left with a ton of cruft and a bunch of pissed off Silverlight developers once the fad passes," said Slashdot blogger Gerhard Mack. "I actually own a tablet (work provided), and I'm still not quite sure what exactly it's for or why everyone goes nuts about them."

Well it was a difficult week for those of us here in the Linux blogosphere last week, what with all the din emanating from the Windows territories to the south.

Drums, cymbals and fanfare of every sort effectively drowned out every conversation we tried to have here in these parts, as did all the frantic chanting. It was a relief when the week finally wound down and we could all begin speaking at normal volumes again.
Woe betide those with noisy neighbors!

A Remarkable Resemblance 

Of course, the cause of all the partying and excitement in Windows-land was none other than Windows 8, the next generation of Microsoft's (Nasdaq: MSFT) widespread PC platform. In a very uncharacteristic and -- it must be noted -- Linuxy fashion, Microsoft actually debuted an early version of the software for all to see.
One would have to have been living under a proverbial rock to have missed the feverish press coverage that ensued; one would have to have had exceptionally sharp hearing, however, *not* to have missed what Linux bloggers were saying.
Will Windows 8 and its remarkably Unity-like "Metro" interface have any effect on Linux? That's what Linux Girl set out to learn.

'The Whole World Has Gone Mad' 

"I feel like the whole world has gone mad," consultant and Slashdot blogger Gerhard Mack told Linux Girl.

"MS is now changing everything to chase a small but trendy part of the market, and they will be left with a ton of cruft and a bunch of pissed off Silverlight developers once the fad passes," Mack explained.

"I actually own a tablet (work provided), and I'm still not quite sure what exactly it's for or why everyone goes nuts about them," he added.

"All I'm sure about is that Ubuntu will probably grow yet another new interface soon," chimed in Hyperlogos blogger Martin Espinoza. 

'It's Too Little, Too Late' 

"They better hope Nintendo doesn't sue them," warned Barbara Hudson, a blogger on Slashdot who goes by "Tom" on the site. "It's the same interface as the Wii, except with the Wii you don't get smudges on the screen."

As for whether it will affect Linux, "I don't know, but I think it's too little, too late for where it really counts: trying to give Microsoft a toe-hold on mobile devices," Hudson asserted. "Nobody's going to buy it based on, 'I want a seamless experience across all my devices' -- users have already been weaned from that.

"Windows lock-in, except on the desktop, is dead, and Windows 8 isn't going to change that," she concluded. "Linux+Android will continue to be No. 1 and Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) IOS No. 2 in mobile. The question is, can Microsoft even get enough sales to become a somewhat irrelevant No. 3?" 

'They Are Changing Too Much' 

Thoughts on Technology blogger and Bodhi Linux lead developer Jeff Hoogland said he hopes the user interface changes in Windows 8 "do to Windows what Unity/Gnome 3 did to their users -- send them searching for alternatives in droves," he told Linux Girl.

"Unity and Gnome 3 drove many Linux users to XFCE and Enlightenment (among other desktops); hopefully Windows 8 will drive some Windows user to finally give Linux a go," Hoogland added. "It can't hurt us, to say the least."

Indeed, "Lose '8' looks to me to be another Vista," opined blogger Robert Pogson. "They are changing too much to keep it all straight." 

'Increased Complexity Always Loses' 

Without compatibility with all legacy apps, "it's Phoney '7' all over again," Pogson asserted. "OEMs may be fooled, but consumers will not be. Every app on the planet for that other OS is not about to be rewritten for '8' on ARM."

Meanwhile, "Android/Linux will likely be available on x86 a year or more before '8' is released on ARM," he added. "With netbooks, M$ was able to overcome a few tens of millions of GNU/Linux installed base, but they will have no chance against hundreds of millions of Android/Linux smart thingies and x86."

All in all, then, Windows 8 "is M$ blinking, unable to decide whether 'Classic' or 'New' is the way to go," Pogson said.

"Increased complexity always loses against a lean, mean operating system," he concluded. "Folks who want to get away from XP before it crashes and burns and folks who want ARMed hardware or low-powered x86 or thin clients have no better option than GNU/Linux or Android/Linux." 

 'The Highest Form of Flattery'

Slashdot blogger and Windows fan hairyfeet didn't see any impact on Linux at all.

"It isn't Windows that hinders Linux adoption; it is the fact that too many in the community are in love with the CLI and refuse to wake up and smell the iPhone," hairyfeet told Linux Girl.

Chris Travers, a Slashdot blogger who works on the LedgerSMB project, saw it differently.

"Imitation is the highest form of flattery," Travers pointed out. "It means Microsoft is taking Linux seriously on the desktop. This is very, very good news -- for all Microsoft saying we are copying proprietary software, it is rewarding to see them copy us." 

'This Will Only Help Linux'

Of course, "people don't use Linux because it has a better desktop; we use it because of the open development environment and the amazing community, and because as consultants we own our own means of production," Travers added. "We have the right to create new things using the software and thus add value without paying upstream royalties or agreeing to restrictive contracts."

So, "in the end this will only help Linux," Travers concluded, "by making it easier for us to create systems which are more familiar to Windows users."

Source

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Windows 8: Ballmer's Vindication or Damnation

One of the biggest things that separates losers from winners is the tendency to spend what they think the effort is worth and not first find out what it would cost to ensure success. A lot of large companies fail not because they don't have the potential for success, but because they are doing too many things and can't afford to properly fund all of them. The result is they don't properly fund any.

Carol Bartz recently showcased what happens to CEOs who don't meet expectations -- and, given Yahoo's (Nasdaq: YHOO) board may be fired as well, what can happen if a board acts too slowly. Steve Ballmer has been under fire for some time for underperforming as CEO, but one hit could change him from bozo to star if it is big enough, and Windows 8 is big enough. I'll share my thoughts on Windows 8 and the Intel (Nasdaq: INTC) Ultrabook hardware that could make it into a market star, and what Steve Ballmer could do to either ensure it wins or ensure it loses this week.

I'll close with my product of the week: a little known non-Apple tablet that the vendor that makes it isn't talking about but has actually become better alternative for many than the iPad. It may also be the ideal platform for the Windows 9 alpha build. 

Windows 8 

I got to play with this product last week on a Samsung tablet and to say that I was impressed would be a massive understatement. While it crashed on the stage in demoes, it didn't crash on me once -- and the boot time and performance on an ultra-light product were just amazing. The Metro interface, which I'd grown used to on my Windows Phone 7, felt better than either Android or iOS devices (it should, as it is much newer) and it really felt like a good blend of the Windows stuff I still had to live with and the tablet stuff I wanted to move to.

I covered the Windows 95 launch back in 1995 while working for Dun & Bradstreet's research division, and this product, for its time in the development cycle, is far more capable and complete than Windows 95 was, suggesting it will hit its launch dates.

Coupled with new hardware from a wider selection of vendors, including Nvidia (Nasdaq: NVDA), Intel, Qualcomm (Nasdaq: QCOM), and AMD (NYSE: AMD), Windows 8 has far greater potential to excite more people who prefer choice than Windows 95 did.

Now, folks who don't like change will find it less attractive, but that has been true of any major change made by Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT), Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL) or, most recently, Facebook, so this should be no surprise. Things I'm particularly excited about are: the sub 4-second cold boot time, instant suspend/resume, and massive improvements in power efficiency (providing for lighter weight and longer battery life).

Migration improvements, tighter ties to cloud services (Windows Live), vastly stronger security, and the ability to store and restore settings from the cloud should also appeal to many who use Windows. With the right backing, this product could easily outperform any other product that Microsoft has ever built, and the team behind it is known for high quality and hitting release dates. 

 Hardware Products

Intel's IDF was also this week, and there they showcased Ultrabooks -- a platform that will start showing up in a few weeks but will likely be tied to what we will remember about Windows 8. However, even with Windows 7, these products are showing sub 10-second cold boot times, near-instant suspend and resume, and sub 3-lb. carry weights.

Coupled with new screen technology that caches static images from companies like LG, this will eventually lead to significant improvements in battery life and all-day power usage models in ultra-light products.

If you haven't seen one, these are stunning products, often made of brushed aluminum (Alcoa evidently wants thousands of them for employees), and they could forever kill our memory of what a laptop computer is.

And that is only Intel. AMD, NVIDIA and Qualcomm all have products they are positioning against the Windows 8 opportunity for a massed resource that is unmatched in Microsoft's history, providing an unprecedented opportunity for Microsoft to hit this one out of the park. However, there is a good chance it won't. 

Ballmer's Conundrum 

The greatest losers in military history are often connected to underfunding. Vietnam was underfunded. When a general suggested that the post portion of the Iraq War was underfunded, he was fired. However, the most memorable case was the British war against the Zulu nation. In the definitive battle, the bean counters nearly killed off their own military by putting cost controls on ammunition.

It is a quick story that I was taught as a child. You see, the military at that time was largely static. There were concerns about cost, so ammunition had to be requisitioned in small quantities, and it was locked in containers like sardines. Only the pursers (and there weren't many of them) had keys.

When the Zulu nation revolted, its warriors only had spears, but they outnumbered the British army by 10 to one. Against modern weapons, that wouldn't have been near enough; however, against soldiers who had no more than bullets each and had to requisition ammunition, it ended badly. Many of the pursers were shot before the army was overrun and virtually killed to the man in one of the biggest massacres in history.

This lesson has always represented to me what can happen when you put people in charge who are excessively focused on cost containment. They can turn certain victory into certain defeat, and Steve Ballmer, in my opinion, has been excessively focused on cost containment for the last five years.

The inflation-adjusted budget for Windows 95 was around US$300 million, and it didn't face anything like the iPad or Google (Nasdaq: GOOG). It also ran out about halfway through the launch, suggesting that for Windows 8 -- since that product faces more of an uphill competitive battle -- the budget should be close to a $1 billion to ensure success (a fraction of what Yahoo would have cost to buy and fix, or what Microsoft spends on its less-strategic search offering). I'll bet it's less than a third of that. 

 Wrapping Up: Winners and Losers

Over the years, I've seen a lot of things separate losers from winners. One of the biggest is the tendency to spend what they think the effort is worth and not first find out what it would cost to ensure success, and thus waste what they do spend.

A lot of large companies fail not because they don't have the potential for success, but because they are doing too many things and can't afford to properly fund all of them. The result is they don't properly fund any. This is true in personal life as well; if you calculate what it costs to do things well and prioritize those things you really want to do, you'll likely have more successes and waste far less time and money. I can think of at least one government that needs to learn this lesson as well.

For Steve, this will mean the difference between having a meeting like Paul Ottellini had recently with Andy Grove, where Grove announce Paul had out executed anything he had done, to one far less enjoyable with his friend Bill Gates. I still believe Steve could be remembered as a great CEO, but I increasingly doubt that outcome. This may be his last real chance to step up.

Source

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Important Features of the Windows 8 Operating System Unveiled

The Windows 8 features were finally unveiled today at Anaheim Convention Center – Build Online Event. We are going to give you a quick overview of the same on discussing about the few important features.

First of all everything that currently runs on Windows 7 would work for sure on the Windows 8 based computers which means that you don’t have to worry about the compatibility of different programs and hardware. Windows 8 uses less Memory Processes when compared to the Windows 7 based computers and this was demonstrated during the Live Event. A Netbook which was using 404Mb with 32 processes on Win 7 was using 281Mb with 29 processes in the background on the Win 8 which clearly shows the efficiency and the use of hardware, making the other memory available for you.

Customized Login System : A New way to login to the computer which is based on picture touch at specific points you select. This means that you need to specify the points on a picture and then when you would like to resume to your PC, you need to press on those points in the very same way you have had assigned them.

Start Home Screen : The following is the Home Start screen which has all the tiles listen updated in real-time when you are connected to the Internet and when you move towards the right you get different panes with all the applications and programs which you use. The start screen is one place to display and place all the favorite applications and use the drag & drop feature to move the tiles from one pane to another or to another location.

 

You can Zoom Out on the screen and sort all the apps on your Home Screen something like how you would do this on your Tablets like iPad or Tab. Customizing and rearranging is very easy along with making changes to your Icons. The Touch based Control Panel is also meant for easy understanding and the Interface allows you to easily make changes for all the system based settings.

 There is a social application which comes pre-installed on the name on ‘Socialite’ which gives access to the News Feed listing all the latest updates from your contacts and also get connected with them.

 

Sharing & Search : The new OS would support not just multiple apps running in the background but also offer you with the FriendSend or share option to share any information quickly through your contacts. This also comes with Auto Compete & Spell Check feature which makes sure you send perfect mails to others. Along with the now if you would search for something on your computer it would not just search on the local HDD but also the whole web through the Bing search, which is something every user would like. Below is a demo of the same.

The Tablet Demo was actually more like showing the Windows 7 Phone Interface demo on the portable tablet and there seemed to be nothing really having a WoW factor but the team tried to discuss about how good the experience is along with ‘Fast and Fluid user experience with animations and Metro style’. All the Applications are available in full screen with support for full keyboard and mouse. All the Apps are connected through the cloud connectivity.

There is a new Store which offers you all the apps organized in sections and rated by users. Even though the whole interface can confuse you but you can easily get familiar to everything within a few minutes. The apps are readily available which would be downloaded and installed onto your computer once they are purchased from the Store. The desktop apps and Metro style apps are all available at the same Store and this clearly hints that Microsoft would soon integrate their current useful software’s into this store.

Note : Along with this the best part was that the Microsoft Corporation gave away a new tablet computer with the Windows 8 on it to get a real experience of the same to the attendees of the event.

Source

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How to Use Windows 7 Themes on XP or Vista

Microsoft paid close attention to personalization in Windows 7, and shipped it with a gorgeous collection of desktop backgrounds and themes. Windows 7 also makes it easy for users to create their own personalized themes and then share it with other Windows 7 users.

If you are still using an older version of Windows (like Windows XP or Vista), you don't have to feel left behind because, with some simple tricks, you can enjoy all or part of what these Windows 7 themes have to offer.

Use Windows 7 Themes with XP and Vista

First, launch the official Windows 7 themes directory and download some of the themes you like to your Windows XP or Vista desktop.

These files have a unique .themepack extension which is just another zip format containing all of the elements of a theme including the background images, Aero glass colors, sounds, cursors, icons, screen savers, etc.

To use these files on an older version of Windows, you first need to extract them as only Windows 7 can natively understand the themepack format. You can either change the file extension of the Windows 7 theme file from .themepack to .cab and then extract the files with a right-click, or install the free 7-Zip utility as 7-Zip can automatically hand the themepack file format.

Once extracted, your theme files will now be in a new folder that has the same name as your original themepack.

Aero Glass Border and Desktop Backgrounds

Now that you have all the required files, its time to activate the Windows 7 theme on your non-Windows 7 computer.

If your computer is running Windows Vista that supports Aero, simply double-click the .theme file that is present in the them folder you just extracted.  This will set your windows border glass to the color of the Windows 7 theme and your wallpaper to the default background of the theme. However, this background picture will disappear when you reboot your computer, so you need to set that as a permanent background.

Windows XP does not support Aero glass, but you can still use the background images from downloaded Windows 7 theme on your XP desktop. You can find the backgrounds inside the themepack folder itself or in a sub-folder named DesktopBackground. Pick any image, right click on it, and select “Set as Desktop Background.”

Windows 7 like Desktop Slideshows for XP and Vista

Most Windows 7 themes consist of multiple background images and Windows 7 will automatically change your desktop background at periodic intervals using one of the images from the themepack. Windows Vista and XP do not support desktop slideshows, but you can easily bring that feature use the excellent and free John’s Background Switcher program.

To create a desktop slideshow, click the add button and choose “A folder on your computer.” Now select the Windows 7 theme folder that contains all the background images. The program allows lot of tweaking but you can skip that because the default settings are very similar to what you need for simulating Windows 7 behavior on your XP or Vista computer.

However, John’s Background Switcher by default shows the name of the image in the top right hand corner of the picture.  To remove this, click the "More…" button that has a gear icon on it. Uncheck the box beside the 3rd entry which says "Show picture info on the top-right corner of the screen." Now click Ok, and then click Ok in the main window, and your desktop slideshow is all ready.

For RSS-enabled Windows 7 Themes

Some Windows 7 themes download images from the internet (via RSS feeds) when switching desktop backgrounds.

To know if the theme you are looking to port on your Vista or XP computer uses RSS or not, open the .theme file in a text editor like Notepad. Then search for the string “RssFeed” without the quotes. If you find that string, copy the link address of the RSS feed and, you can then use the “RSS photo feed” option in John’s Background Switcher program to create an RSS powered desktop slideshow on your XP or Vista machines.

Windows 7 Sounds, Cursor, Screensavers, etc.

Most Windows 7 themes only contain a glass color and desktop backgrounds.  However, some may contain screensavers, sounds, cursors, and icons as well. The good part is that you can use the elements on your Vista / XP theme as well.

Sounds - You can copy the sound files (.wav) to the default media folder (C:\Windows\Media), and if you have set the Windows 7 theme in Windows Vista as described above, it will automatically these sounds. Else, you will have to manually change your sounds from the Control Panel.

Icons - If the Windows 7 theme that you plan to use with XP or Vista contains a different set of desktop and system icons (.ico files), you may follow the directions below to apply them on your version of Windows:

A. For Windows Vista - Right-click on the desktop, select Personalize and choose “Change Desktop Icons.” Select the items you which to change, click “Change Icons,” and browse to the location of new icons that are part of the Windows 7 theme.

B. For Windows XP - Right-click on the desktop, select Properties and choose "Customize Desktop" under the Desktop tab. Select the items you wish to change, click “Change Icon,” and browse to the location of the icons from your theme.

To change icons of individual programs, simply right-click on the program shortcut on your desktop, select Properties, and click the button that says "Change Icon" in the Shortcut tab. Browse to the location of the icon extract from the Windows 7 theme and select the one you want to apply.

Screensavers - For using a Windows 7 screensaver inside XP or Vista, just copy the relevant screensaver files (.scr) into your Windows system folder usually located at C:\Windows\System32.  Now, change your system screensaver using the usual method. Please remember that not all Windows 7 screensavers will work correctly on previous versions of Windows.

Cursors - You can copy the Windows 7 cursor files (.cur or .ani) to C:\Windows\Cursors on XP or Vista, and then apply the new set using the mouse settings under Control Panel. Use the [Control Panel\Cursors] of the .theme file (see example) to understand the default cursor mappings.

 

Source : labnol.org

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