Windows 8 will make its public debut on October 26
and has been controversial ever since Microsoft first released
information about the operating system to the public. What most can
agree on is that Windows 8 is a shift away from the traditional
desktop-orientated operating system towards a system that can be
deployed on a wider variety of devices.
The 10 features listed here are but some of the benefits coming with Windows 8.
1. Support for x86 PCs and ARM devices. Windows 8 is the first edition to operate on both ARM-based devices and traditional x86 PC based systems. A specialized version of Windows 8, called Windows RT, runs on ARM-based hardware. Regular versions of Windows 8 can't be deployed on ARM-based devices.
Windows RT is limited from a consumer perspective. While you get Office and Internet Explorer by default, you can't install legacy software on the system, so you are left with the Windows Store and its apps when it comes to applications. It is comparable in this regard to Android tablets or Apple's iPad.
2. The new dynamic Start screen. All Windows 8 systems boot into the Start screen, which is a collection of tiles that link to apps, programs or settings among other things. Apps can be designed to display live information like the current weather report, your monitored eBay items or new photos that you have uploaded from your mobile phone right on the Start screen.
This page has been optimized for touch-enabled devices, but can also be controlled with the mouse and keyboard. Microsoft has been heavily criticized for making the start page mandatory for all systems.
3. Windows Store. From here, using a Microsoft Account, users can purchase, download and install apps. The store will offer free and paid applications, and its revenue potential is without doubt one of the reasons why Microsoft pushes the Start screen that much despite the criticism it received for it.
Apps are limited to the Start screen environment. While it is possible to use shortcuts to load apps from the desktop, Windows 8 will automatically switch to the modern user interface to load and display those apps on the system.
Windows 8 users benefit from a centralized location where they can download tested and validated applications that reduce the chance of installing malware on the system. Non-Windows RT users can still install desktop applications as usual.
4. Native USB 3.0 support. No Windows operating system but Windows 8 supports USB 3.0 right now natively, and while we may see support for USB 3.0 added to older versions of Windows 7 at some point in time, it is not clear yet when and how this is going to happen.
That does not mean that current Windows users can't benefit from the significant faster transfer speeds of USB 3.0, only that it is necessary to install third-party drivers to add support for that to their operating system.
Windows 8 users can connect their USB 3.0 supporting devices directly to the PC to benefit from all related features without having to do that.
5. Multiple monitor support. If your PC connects to multiple screens you will benefit from better support for multi-monitor systems in Windows 8. This includes options to extend the taskbar and wallpapers across several monitors, or to display the start page on one screen and the desktop on another at the same time.
6. Improved search. Microsoft has improved search significantly in Windows 8. When you search now, you are taken to the modern UI interface where you search in a full screen environment. Results are displayed once you enter the first search term based on previous use and a number of additional factors.
Filters on the right let you switch between apps, settings, or file related search results. What makes search superior to previous versions is that it is near instant, and that it is also powering in-app searches. If you run the eBay app for instance, you can open the search menu there to search on eBay directly from your desktop without web browser.
7. Built-in synchronization, cloud storage. If you log into Windows 8 with a Microsoft Account, your preferences are automatically loaded from the cloud. This includes personalizations, app settings, passwords and language preferences. You get the same experience whether you sign-in in New York, Tokyo or Paris, provided that the computer runs a version of the Windows 8 operating system and that logging in with a Microsoft Account is enabled.
Microsoft's cloud storage service SkyDrive is integrated into the operating system, allowing Windows 8 users to access data hosted on SkyDrive from their Windows 8 system. You can save documents to the cloud to access them from any device either through a web browser or automatically when logged into a Windows 8 system.
8. Speed and performance. Windows 8 boots faster than Windows 7 thanks to additional improvements made to the boot process. Hybrid boot for instance saves some of the data that is required to boot to the disk to speed up the system start significantly. The same is true for the shut down of the system and wake up from sleep.
Windows 8 is also faster when it comes to multimedia performance. Recent benchmarks by Techspot show an increase of about 10 percent over Windows 7 in benchmarks such as PC Mark 7, Mozilla Kraken or Google V8.
9. Refresh and reset. Refresh and reset are two new features of the operating system that may help when things are not running as smooth as before. Refresh basically reinstalls Windows without affecting your personal files. This can be helpful if you are running into an error or issue that you can't seem to resolve.
Reset on the other hand restores the operating system to its factory settings. Both options are considerably faster, thanks to less user interaction and other annoyances, than manually installing the operating system anew on the computer.
10. Price. As it stands right now, Windows 8 will cost significantly less than previous copies of the Microsoft Windows operating system -- $39.99 upgrade to Windows 8 Pro that includes a free Media Center upgrade. And while that's a promotional offer that expires January 31, it is likely that Microsoft will not increase the price afterwards to Windows 7 levels where a retail upgrade copy of Windows 7 Pro costs $199.
Advantages:
1. Boot up speed. One problem that’s always dogged Windows is how long it takes to go from a cold boot to a usable state. I stripped down Windows 7, removed everything I could from the boot process, and upgraded to a SSD just to get it loading in what I consider an acceptable time-frame. If you can’t be bothered to do all that, the good news is Windows 8 loads much, much faster, even when dual booting.
2. Refresh/Reset. This great feature lets you reset Windows to the factory settings, useful in case of a malware infection, or if you just want a clean start. Refresh keeps all of your user profiles, data and apps in place, while wiping programs you’ve installed. Reset is much more extreme and clears out all of your personal files and apps, and changes the PC’s settings to the defaults.
3. File History. I’m a big fan of this new inclusion, which is a combination of Previous Versions and Windows Backup, and protects your files against corruption or unwanted changes. It monitors common locations, like Libraries and the Desktop, and when it detects a change to a file, automatically makes a backup to your choice of location (which includes SkyDrive and networked drives). You can set how long File History should keep versions of all the changed files.
4. Windows Defender. The new Defender is really a tweaked version of Microsoft Security Essentials, the company’s standalone antivirus tool. It’s fairly basic, especially when compared to other free alternatives, but really is about time Microsoft had proper built-in antivirus protection.
5. Windows account synchronization. Linking your Microsoft account to the OS means all your apps and preferences can be saved to the cloud, allowing them to be synchronized across any other devices you have running Windows 8. If you don’t have a Microsoft account you can quickly set one up.
6. Improved file management. When you copy or move a file in Windows 8, you are presented with a graph showing the transfer speed and a regularly updated completion estimate. Copy or move multiple files and they’ll be stacked up in the same window. A big improvement over the previous system.
7. Hyper-V. The new OS comes with Hyper-V, a powerful replacement for Windows Virtual PC that you can use to run multiple guest operating systems simultaneously. Great for developers and IT professionals.
8. Storage Spaces. Windows 8 lets you use multiple connected disks (of any size) to create a pool of storage, which is treated as a single location with its own drive letter. If you start to run out of space you can simply connect another drive to the pool.
DisAdvantage:
1. Faster, but negligibly so. With all the added benefits one has to wonder: "just how fast is it?" Well, according to the benchmarks the difference isn't substantial in day-to-day use, the performance assessments focusing on differences that will hardly ever be noticed by Windows 8 users that do not use benchmarks.
An extra few points in Google V8 will go unnoticed in terms of browsing experience when modern browsers in Windows 7 are already fast to start with. Boot-up times are indeed much improved, but shaving a few seconds when booting is like starting a car faster; not going to make any real difference unless the user constantly restarts the computer, which commonsense dictates is an unlikely scenario. The same can be said about gaming or multimedia performance, which improves to a point where only benchmarks and timers can pinpoint the difference.
Basically unless you want to squeeze that last tiny drop of performance, you're better off sticking to the version already installed.
2. Windows 8 Store lacks relevance and is immature. The first issue with the store is that it's mainly designed for Windows UI apps, leaving the aquisition of Desktop apps to the developer which makes it look like an afterthought. The second and most important is the insignificant number of applications available through Windows 8 store compared to the plethora of apps designed for the "Desktop Windows" making it just a gimmick until the platform matures; it can take some time to take off which is why a rushed upgrade is a bad idea. Facebook, Google+, Instagram are all missing right now, and these are just three examples off the top of my head.
3. Microsoft account is required. Windows 8 provides two methods of authentication, one using a local account and the second relying on a Microsoft account. The only way to get access to complete Windows 8 functionality is to use the latter, basically forcing you to apply for a Microsoft account in order to benefit from all features. Want to use a Google account? Tough luck. Features like Windows Store only work with Microsoft account. If you do not have one or do not want to create one just for Windows 8 you're out of luck.
4. SkyDrive integration only. Microsoft places its own services in the first lines of "assault", which can be viewed as a good thing in terms of added functionality, but at the same time doesn't offer an alternative to the people out there using Google Drive or Dropbox that have already paid for extra storage space on the popular cloud storage providers. Then there is the issue of all cloud data being stored on Microsoft's own servers, which might not sit well with some users as far as privacy concerns go.
5. Windows Defender can't replace a dedicated security software suite. While it provides a certain basic degree of security, Windows Defender is still pretty far away in terms of overall functionality compared to dedicated security software suites and it still doesn't integrate with Windows Firewall to provide a unified interface for the integrated security software. It's addressed only for basic security needs which basically means that it can't offer the same degree of protection as a fully fledged security suite.
6. Multiple monitor support is only useful to some. Because let's face it, this does not target every Windows user like some of the features do. It has a limited applicability because of the obvious hardware requirements and having the ability to separate the new Windows 8 UI from the Desktop on two separate monitors is not necessarily important when the old Desktop did just fine before. A similar functionality exists already that allows to separate working spaces on multiple monitors; this is just as good when there are not two different interfaces to play with, but just the older Desktop.
7. The new ribbon desktop interface is different, but not necessarily improved. A few months ago Microsoft decided that an Aero-like look a la Windows 7 is not worthy of Windows 8 and accordingly has removed all transparency effects from the desktop interface. The change was made for the sake of using less resources, directly benefiting tablets not desktops. It's not necessarily better looking and it certainly doesn't provide extra functionality over the older Windows Explorer which is important when defining the term "upgrade." Same functionality, just the look is different.
8. Windows 8 UI has a higher learning curve and makes simple operations more complicated. A good example of how the new UI makes Windows 8 seem unintuitive is power options, as performing simple operations like shutting down the computer is for some reason more complicated to do than it was with Windows XP or Windows 7. This is just an example of how the learning curve in Windows 8 is higher than with any other desktop operating system to come from Microsoft. Then there is the confusion added by a separate interface. Pressing a button switches from Desktop to Windows 8 UI and vice-versa, which will only encumber inexperienced users that were used to a single place to conduct all operations.
Conclusion
Depending on your personal needs, other features such as Storage Spaces, Secure Boot, Windows to Go, the SmartScreen filter, specific store apps or the file history feature may as important, or more so.
Some of the features can be integrated into other versions of Windows through third-party programs, customizations and tweaks, while others, like the Windows Store, can't.
Article : http://betanews.com/2012/08/20/10-windows-8-features-you-should-know-about/
The 10 features listed here are but some of the benefits coming with Windows 8.
1. Support for x86 PCs and ARM devices. Windows 8 is the first edition to operate on both ARM-based devices and traditional x86 PC based systems. A specialized version of Windows 8, called Windows RT, runs on ARM-based hardware. Regular versions of Windows 8 can't be deployed on ARM-based devices.
Windows RT is limited from a consumer perspective. While you get Office and Internet Explorer by default, you can't install legacy software on the system, so you are left with the Windows Store and its apps when it comes to applications. It is comparable in this regard to Android tablets or Apple's iPad.
2. The new dynamic Start screen. All Windows 8 systems boot into the Start screen, which is a collection of tiles that link to apps, programs or settings among other things. Apps can be designed to display live information like the current weather report, your monitored eBay items or new photos that you have uploaded from your mobile phone right on the Start screen.
This page has been optimized for touch-enabled devices, but can also be controlled with the mouse and keyboard. Microsoft has been heavily criticized for making the start page mandatory for all systems.
3. Windows Store. From here, using a Microsoft Account, users can purchase, download and install apps. The store will offer free and paid applications, and its revenue potential is without doubt one of the reasons why Microsoft pushes the Start screen that much despite the criticism it received for it.
Apps are limited to the Start screen environment. While it is possible to use shortcuts to load apps from the desktop, Windows 8 will automatically switch to the modern user interface to load and display those apps on the system.
Windows 8 users benefit from a centralized location where they can download tested and validated applications that reduce the chance of installing malware on the system. Non-Windows RT users can still install desktop applications as usual.
4. Native USB 3.0 support. No Windows operating system but Windows 8 supports USB 3.0 right now natively, and while we may see support for USB 3.0 added to older versions of Windows 7 at some point in time, it is not clear yet when and how this is going to happen.
That does not mean that current Windows users can't benefit from the significant faster transfer speeds of USB 3.0, only that it is necessary to install third-party drivers to add support for that to their operating system.
Windows 8 users can connect their USB 3.0 supporting devices directly to the PC to benefit from all related features without having to do that.
5. Multiple monitor support. If your PC connects to multiple screens you will benefit from better support for multi-monitor systems in Windows 8. This includes options to extend the taskbar and wallpapers across several monitors, or to display the start page on one screen and the desktop on another at the same time.
6. Improved search. Microsoft has improved search significantly in Windows 8. When you search now, you are taken to the modern UI interface where you search in a full screen environment. Results are displayed once you enter the first search term based on previous use and a number of additional factors.
Filters on the right let you switch between apps, settings, or file related search results. What makes search superior to previous versions is that it is near instant, and that it is also powering in-app searches. If you run the eBay app for instance, you can open the search menu there to search on eBay directly from your desktop without web browser.
7. Built-in synchronization, cloud storage. If you log into Windows 8 with a Microsoft Account, your preferences are automatically loaded from the cloud. This includes personalizations, app settings, passwords and language preferences. You get the same experience whether you sign-in in New York, Tokyo or Paris, provided that the computer runs a version of the Windows 8 operating system and that logging in with a Microsoft Account is enabled.
Microsoft's cloud storage service SkyDrive is integrated into the operating system, allowing Windows 8 users to access data hosted on SkyDrive from their Windows 8 system. You can save documents to the cloud to access them from any device either through a web browser or automatically when logged into a Windows 8 system.
8. Speed and performance. Windows 8 boots faster than Windows 7 thanks to additional improvements made to the boot process. Hybrid boot for instance saves some of the data that is required to boot to the disk to speed up the system start significantly. The same is true for the shut down of the system and wake up from sleep.
Windows 8 is also faster when it comes to multimedia performance. Recent benchmarks by Techspot show an increase of about 10 percent over Windows 7 in benchmarks such as PC Mark 7, Mozilla Kraken or Google V8.
9. Refresh and reset. Refresh and reset are two new features of the operating system that may help when things are not running as smooth as before. Refresh basically reinstalls Windows without affecting your personal files. This can be helpful if you are running into an error or issue that you can't seem to resolve.
Reset on the other hand restores the operating system to its factory settings. Both options are considerably faster, thanks to less user interaction and other annoyances, than manually installing the operating system anew on the computer.
10. Price. As it stands right now, Windows 8 will cost significantly less than previous copies of the Microsoft Windows operating system -- $39.99 upgrade to Windows 8 Pro that includes a free Media Center upgrade. And while that's a promotional offer that expires January 31, it is likely that Microsoft will not increase the price afterwards to Windows 7 levels where a retail upgrade copy of Windows 7 Pro costs $199.
Advantages:
1. Boot up speed. One problem that’s always dogged Windows is how long it takes to go from a cold boot to a usable state. I stripped down Windows 7, removed everything I could from the boot process, and upgraded to a SSD just to get it loading in what I consider an acceptable time-frame. If you can’t be bothered to do all that, the good news is Windows 8 loads much, much faster, even when dual booting.
2. Refresh/Reset. This great feature lets you reset Windows to the factory settings, useful in case of a malware infection, or if you just want a clean start. Refresh keeps all of your user profiles, data and apps in place, while wiping programs you’ve installed. Reset is much more extreme and clears out all of your personal files and apps, and changes the PC’s settings to the defaults.
3. File History. I’m a big fan of this new inclusion, which is a combination of Previous Versions and Windows Backup, and protects your files against corruption or unwanted changes. It monitors common locations, like Libraries and the Desktop, and when it detects a change to a file, automatically makes a backup to your choice of location (which includes SkyDrive and networked drives). You can set how long File History should keep versions of all the changed files.
4. Windows Defender. The new Defender is really a tweaked version of Microsoft Security Essentials, the company’s standalone antivirus tool. It’s fairly basic, especially when compared to other free alternatives, but really is about time Microsoft had proper built-in antivirus protection.
5. Windows account synchronization. Linking your Microsoft account to the OS means all your apps and preferences can be saved to the cloud, allowing them to be synchronized across any other devices you have running Windows 8. If you don’t have a Microsoft account you can quickly set one up.
6. Improved file management. When you copy or move a file in Windows 8, you are presented with a graph showing the transfer speed and a regularly updated completion estimate. Copy or move multiple files and they’ll be stacked up in the same window. A big improvement over the previous system.
7. Hyper-V. The new OS comes with Hyper-V, a powerful replacement for Windows Virtual PC that you can use to run multiple guest operating systems simultaneously. Great for developers and IT professionals.
8. Storage Spaces. Windows 8 lets you use multiple connected disks (of any size) to create a pool of storage, which is treated as a single location with its own drive letter. If you start to run out of space you can simply connect another drive to the pool.
DisAdvantage:
1. Faster, but negligibly so. With all the added benefits one has to wonder: "just how fast is it?" Well, according to the benchmarks the difference isn't substantial in day-to-day use, the performance assessments focusing on differences that will hardly ever be noticed by Windows 8 users that do not use benchmarks.
An extra few points in Google V8 will go unnoticed in terms of browsing experience when modern browsers in Windows 7 are already fast to start with. Boot-up times are indeed much improved, but shaving a few seconds when booting is like starting a car faster; not going to make any real difference unless the user constantly restarts the computer, which commonsense dictates is an unlikely scenario. The same can be said about gaming or multimedia performance, which improves to a point where only benchmarks and timers can pinpoint the difference.
Basically unless you want to squeeze that last tiny drop of performance, you're better off sticking to the version already installed.
2. Windows 8 Store lacks relevance and is immature. The first issue with the store is that it's mainly designed for Windows UI apps, leaving the aquisition of Desktop apps to the developer which makes it look like an afterthought. The second and most important is the insignificant number of applications available through Windows 8 store compared to the plethora of apps designed for the "Desktop Windows" making it just a gimmick until the platform matures; it can take some time to take off which is why a rushed upgrade is a bad idea. Facebook, Google+, Instagram are all missing right now, and these are just three examples off the top of my head.
3. Microsoft account is required. Windows 8 provides two methods of authentication, one using a local account and the second relying on a Microsoft account. The only way to get access to complete Windows 8 functionality is to use the latter, basically forcing you to apply for a Microsoft account in order to benefit from all features. Want to use a Google account? Tough luck. Features like Windows Store only work with Microsoft account. If you do not have one or do not want to create one just for Windows 8 you're out of luck.
4. SkyDrive integration only. Microsoft places its own services in the first lines of "assault", which can be viewed as a good thing in terms of added functionality, but at the same time doesn't offer an alternative to the people out there using Google Drive or Dropbox that have already paid for extra storage space on the popular cloud storage providers. Then there is the issue of all cloud data being stored on Microsoft's own servers, which might not sit well with some users as far as privacy concerns go.
5. Windows Defender can't replace a dedicated security software suite. While it provides a certain basic degree of security, Windows Defender is still pretty far away in terms of overall functionality compared to dedicated security software suites and it still doesn't integrate with Windows Firewall to provide a unified interface for the integrated security software. It's addressed only for basic security needs which basically means that it can't offer the same degree of protection as a fully fledged security suite.
6. Multiple monitor support is only useful to some. Because let's face it, this does not target every Windows user like some of the features do. It has a limited applicability because of the obvious hardware requirements and having the ability to separate the new Windows 8 UI from the Desktop on two separate monitors is not necessarily important when the old Desktop did just fine before. A similar functionality exists already that allows to separate working spaces on multiple monitors; this is just as good when there are not two different interfaces to play with, but just the older Desktop.
7. The new ribbon desktop interface is different, but not necessarily improved. A few months ago Microsoft decided that an Aero-like look a la Windows 7 is not worthy of Windows 8 and accordingly has removed all transparency effects from the desktop interface. The change was made for the sake of using less resources, directly benefiting tablets not desktops. It's not necessarily better looking and it certainly doesn't provide extra functionality over the older Windows Explorer which is important when defining the term "upgrade." Same functionality, just the look is different.
8. Windows 8 UI has a higher learning curve and makes simple operations more complicated. A good example of how the new UI makes Windows 8 seem unintuitive is power options, as performing simple operations like shutting down the computer is for some reason more complicated to do than it was with Windows XP or Windows 7. This is just an example of how the learning curve in Windows 8 is higher than with any other desktop operating system to come from Microsoft. Then there is the confusion added by a separate interface. Pressing a button switches from Desktop to Windows 8 UI and vice-versa, which will only encumber inexperienced users that were used to a single place to conduct all operations.
Conclusion
Depending on your personal needs, other features such as Storage Spaces, Secure Boot, Windows to Go, the SmartScreen filter, specific store apps or the file history feature may as important, or more so.
Some of the features can be integrated into other versions of Windows through third-party programs, customizations and tweaks, while others, like the Windows Store, can't.
Article : http://betanews.com/2012/08/20/10-windows-8-features-you-should-know-about/
Post a Comment