Windows 8. It sounds so innocent. The name of Microsoft's coming operating system, updated today to Windows 8 Release Preview, implies just another version of an OS once much loved and now much maligned. But Windows 8 means much more to Microsoft: It's a bold attempt to build an Apple-proof operating system with modern visual elements via the risky Metro design language. It's a salvo in the war for tablet relevance. It insists that touchscreens matter, and it sets the stage for upcoming versions of Windows Mobile.
For Microsoft to succeed with Windows on all platforms, Windows 8 has to work. The changes in today's Release Preview take a step in the right direction, tightening up the operating system and introducing new apps to showcase just what Windows 8 can do. But Microsoft isn't there yet. This is more "beta two" than "release candidate".
This review is based on tests done by our sister site CNET.com. As such, please note that there may be slight differences in the testing procedure and ratings system. For more information on the actual tests conducted on the product, please inquire directly at the site where the article was originally published. References made to some of the other products in this review may not be available or applicable in Asia.
It's true that the Windows 8 Release Preview has a lot going for it, and people are curious. Microsoft says the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, which debuted at Mobile World Congress in February, is "the most tested Microsoft operating system of all time", with more than 1 million downloads during its first 24 hours of public availability. It's tricked out with social networking and synchronization, it's robust enough to handle monster suites like Adobe's, it gracefully moves from touch to keyboard and mouse, and it's got some top-notch security. What you'll find in the Release Preview is a stable, fast operating system that's ready to compete, but a selection of default apps that are far from complete.
You can get the Windows 8 Release Preview from Microsoft's site, or CNET Download.com. Microsoft has revealed the Windows 8 upgrade plan for Windows 7 computers purchased after June 2.
What's new: Multitouch touchpad One of the big new features is that Windows 8 will allow multitouch gestures on touchpads. Macs have had multitouch touchpad drivers for a few years, while Windows touchpads haven't progressed much since Windows XP. The blame for that can sit at the feet of Microsoft just as easily as you can point a finger at the hardware manufacturers. The point is now, with Windows 8 forcing dramatic hardware upgrades to accompany it, Windows touchpads are finally moving forward.
Three default gestures will come with all laptops that have touchpads: Pinch-to-zoom, two-finger scroll along the X and Y axes, and edge swiping. That last one is important because it will give you an easier way to activate the edges on non-touchscreen Windows 8 computers besides using the mouse.
Jensen Harris, Director of Program Management for the User Experience team at Microsoft, told CNET that Microsoft is working with hardware manufacturers to build specialized mice that also support the features, most likely for desktop Windows 8 computers that don't come with touchscreens or for people doing at-home upgrades on non-touchscreens.
When Windows 8 is finalized, Harris said that you'll be able set swiping in from the left edge to bring up the last viewed app, as it is on a touchscreen, or for the Start screen button with thumbnails of the last viewed app, which on the touchscreen is swiping in then back out from the left edge.
In two days' worth of use, the touchpad never failed when using its new features on the Start screen or Desktop mode. However, it was far less stable in apps, and often ignored pinch-to-zoom and two-finger scroll. Since it worked well on the Start screen and in other Windows 8 screens like the settings window, it looks like the apps are still quite rough.
Harris also said that he expects the development of the default apps to be an ongoing process. Like mobile apps on iOS and Android, they will see continuous revision, up to and beyond the release of Windows 8
Windows 8 Release Preview comes with protoype touchpad drivers to allow people
to use multitouch gestures on their touchpads. It's a big, long-overdue step forward for Windows.Let's hope so, because the versions we tested--labeled App Preview as in the Consumer Preview, but without the beta's yellow caution-tape-style banner at the top--were not usable on a daily basis because of crashes and incomplete features. They're a good start, but they're not ready yet.
Of the new Microsoft-built News, Sports, and Travel apps, only the Sports app worked consistently. The other two worked on the first day, and then would crash immediately after opening on the second.
What's new: Default apps Despite the problems with the default apps, we can accept that they're in development but expect bugs to be sorted out by the time that Windows 8 is released to the public. The Sports app offers some very cool customizations for following your favorite teams, including pulling in box scores, statistics, rosters, and related news stories. The Travel app will let you not only buy plane tickets and book hotels, but it will grab travel-guide information. Likewise, the News app serves as a robust aggregator.
Improvements to the semantic zoom let developers layer content, and make it pinch-to-zoom accessible. All the new apps use it, and it's been brought to other apps such as People. Zoom out, and you can browse your contacts by alphabetic category. Place the cursor over a letter and zoom in to jump to that letter's list of contacts. This may not sound big, but it will allow app developers to create richly layered apps with content that's easy to dive deep into.
Many small changes that are nevertheless worth noting have landed in the older apps.
Microsoft has recently promised that Adobe's Flash plug-in will work in
Internet Explorer 10 Metro by the time Windows 8 is finished, but it wasn't ready when we used it.In the Metro version of Internet Explorer 10, there will be built-in support for Flash--not unlike how Google Chrome comes with Flash built-in. While Windows 8 defaults to HTML5 playback when available, it means that people with Windows 8 computers will still be able to run the majority of Flash content on the Web in Metro IE10. IE10 in Desktop mode already supported plug-ins like Flash.
Also in IE10 Metro, the Do Not Track header that tells sites to not issue you tracking cookies will be set to On by default. You can use swipe to move back and forth through your history from the edges on touchscreens. Non-touchscreens will have forward and back arrows appear as you mouse along the left and right sides of the Web site. These are small changes, to be sure, but they indicate how far Microsoft is willing to go to make Windows 8 ready for new and older computers.
The lock screen has been enhanced so that the Video and Music apps can be controlled from it. The volume controls on tablets and traditional keyboards will pop open a small control window. Meanwhile, the Music app has inherited ZunePass, and gained DLNA support. This brings the app better streaming support than before.
The SkyDrive app will feature a new "fetch" option for grabbing photos from other computers that have SkyDrive installed, regardless of how large the pile of pictures is. It's implied that this will depend on the size of your local drive on the recipient computer, and that "fetch" will work like a data transfer service.
Meanwhile, the Mail app offers better multiple account support and a more logical organization of folders. You can also now pin specific email accounts to your Start screen, so it's easier to get right to the email you want.
One major concern we have with the Mail app is that, combined with the Calendar app, it appears to be far easier to use than Outlook. Is it possible that Microsoft will be killing off Outlook? Not likely, and certainly not yet. Outlook will ship in the upcoming Office 15, said Harris, although he did say that, "We're not talking about the Outlook brand at this time."
For what it's worth, the Mail app in the version of the Release Preview we used was marked as version 16.4.3364.511--but so was the SkyDrive app. Microsoft may not want to talk about what's up with Outlook, but it's hard to imagine they're not discussing it internally.
We know that Microsoft plans on ditching the translucent Aero borders for Windows 8 Desktop mode,
but that hasn't happened yet.Sync hasn't been fully implemented yet, although Harris promised that it will be by the time of the general release. Apps will sync and have a certain amount of memory to "roam" on, which means that each app will get an allocation of megabytes in the cloud to allow data syncing. He noted that the final amount of memory has yet to be decided. For now, though, sync remains incomplete.
What's new: Interface and performance There's no dramatic changes to the look of Windows 8 in the Release Preview. The feel, though, ought to be noticeable to people who have been toying with it since the Developer's Preview last September. Navigating around is even smoother than before, and fast. Booting up the demo laptop that Microsoft loaned, a Samsung 900x loaded with the prototype touchpad drivers, booted in about 15 seconds over three cold boots. That's about the same as the Consumer Preview.
Resuming from sleep took under 2 seconds, about half of what it was in the previous version. However, despite changing the settings, Windows 8 would lock the screen after only one minute of idling. On its own, it's not critical, but it's certainly annoying and is indicative of the enormous bug-hunt that Microsoft will have to do to get this ready for the public.
Snapping apps to one side so you can view two apps simultaneously--such as Mail and Calendar--is much smoother, too. You can also grab an app from the top and drag it to the bottom to close it. Do that with the Desktop view, though, and you free up the resources of the Desktop without losing any data. Reopen Desktop, and if, for example, you had desktop Internet Explorer open, it will return to the site you were viewing.
The Desktop has had its betta fish background removed, which encourages you to choose your own Desktop mode background. The lower left-corner Start button has also been shrunk, so it interferes with traditional mouse pointers less often, and you can now toggle a tile's "live" status so that it doesn't display updates.
We know that the Aero translucent glass theme that debuted in Windows Vista is going away in the final version of the Desktop mode for Windows 8. However, that's not happening yet. Harris explained that they're saving the new look for Desktop mode app borders for the final version of Windows 8.
source:asia.cnet
