Windows 8 Countdown
Log in using face recognition, download apps from the Windows App Store and keep personal data safe…
Less than a year after the Windows 7 operating system’s release the countdown to Windows 8 has begun, leaked planning documents reveal.
More than 15 confidential slides show details of a number of Windows 8 features. Although Microsoft’s plans may yet change significantly, here are eight new things likely to feature in the software giant’s next desktop operating system (OS).
Log into your PC with your face
Temperature and magnetic sensors, microphones, cameras, GPS and accelerometers will be common in many PCs by 2012, allowing Windows 8 to interact with your environment in new ways. One new feature is the use of face-recognition software to verify your identity. In one of many fictional scenarios outlined in the slide, Microsoft gave this example: “Amish walks into his home office. A proximity sensor detects motion and wakes the PC. By the time Amish sits down,his PC is powered up. It scans his face and logs him in. When Amish gets up and leaves, his PC powers down.”
A secure password store could also eliminate the need for remembering login details across multiple websites.
Share Windows between devices
Microsoft wants to make your Windows identity user- rather than machine-centric, meaning your settings and preferences are taken with you as you move from PC to PC or to smaller devices such as tablets.
You may have a laptop for productivity applications, writing email and organizing photos, and a tablet optimized for web and media consumption, casual gaming, instant messaging, social networking and reading email. With the same login across devices, you could potentially start a game on one machine and finish it on another.
Importantly, the software licence willroam with you, Microsoft said.
Use iPad-like Touchscreens
Microsoft plans to outdo Apple by building a better touchscreen for tablet PCs.Windows 8 will also support accelerometers and location awareness for gaming and other functions, while adjusting the screen brightness according to changes in light.
“You never have to think to interact using touch on your tablet PC. The soft keyboard is easily launched, text prediction is more accurate, the interface is more usable and through put is increased for every one. We can adapt to changes in ambient light, so that the display is
always easy to see,” said Microsoft.
Watch HD films wirelessly
Windows 8 will integrate with a variety of technologies.You’ll be able to choose TV shows and films and stream them to any screen. Turn on your laptop, select a movie online or stored on your hard drive and, with a click of a button, you’ll be able to watch it on whichever TV screen you choose “Developers can build modern experiences around display devices by leveraging Windows 8 support for premium media technologies, such as stereoscopic 3D and wireless TVs,” said Microsoft.
Windows App Store
A new application store similar to Apple’s App Store is also planned. Microsoft insists that you’ll still need an OS in the age of the internet, but the App Store is one way it’s adapting Windows to the online world.
Little information is available about what apps the store will contain, but Microsoft will reportedly appeal to developers by letting them create apps in any language.
Kill a virus, but keep your data
Viruses often force victims to restore their machines to the factory settings – a painful process that involves loss of applications and personal data. Microsoft is working on a ‘reset’ option that will retain files and personalisation settings, while providing an easy way to reinstall programs.
In another of Microsoft’s fictional scenarios, ‘Jon’ notices that his PC is starting to perform poorly and presses there set button. Windows 8 retains his files and personalisation settings and migrates the user accounts. Windows is restored to the factory image and restarts. Jon then launches the App Store to reinstall the applications he purchased there and see a list of other programs he had installed.
Boot up your machine instantly
Microsoft is focusing heavily on improving Windows 8′s startup times. In March a Windows Planning Survey polled 545
Log in using face recognition, download apps from the Windows App Store and keep personal data safe…
Less than a year after the Windows 7 operating system’s release the countdown to Windows 8 has begun, leaked planning documents reveal.
More than 15 confidential slides show details of a number of Windows 8 features. Although Microsoft’s plans may yet change significantly, here are eight new things likely to feature in the software giant’s next desktop operating system (OS).
Log into your PC with your face
Temperature and magnetic sensors, microphones, cameras, GPS and accelerometers will be common in many PCs by 2012, allowing Windows 8 to interact with your environment in new ways. One new feature is the use of face-recognition software to verify your identity. In one of many fictional scenarios outlined in the slide, Microsoft gave this example: “Amish walks into his home office. A proximity sensor detects motion and wakes the PC. By the time Amish sits down,his PC is powered up. It scans his face and logs him in. When Amish gets up and leaves, his PC powers down.”
A secure password store could also eliminate the need for remembering login details across multiple websites.
Share Windows between devices
Microsoft wants to make your Windows identity user- rather than machine-centric, meaning your settings and preferences are taken with you as you move from PC to PC or to smaller devices such as tablets.
You may have a laptop for productivity applications, writing email and organizing photos, and a tablet optimized for web and media consumption, casual gaming, instant messaging, social networking and reading email. With the same login across devices, you could potentially start a game on one machine and finish it on another.
Importantly, the software licence willroam with you, Microsoft said.
Use iPad-like Touchscreens
Microsoft plans to outdo Apple by building a better touchscreen for tablet PCs.Windows 8 will also support accelerometers and location awareness for gaming and other functions, while adjusting the screen brightness according to changes in light.
“You never have to think to interact using touch on your tablet PC. The soft keyboard is easily launched, text prediction is more accurate, the interface is more usable and through put is increased for every one. We can adapt to changes in ambient light, so that the display is
always easy to see,” said Microsoft.
Watch HD films wirelessly
Windows 8 will integrate with a variety of technologies.You’ll be able to choose TV shows and films and stream them to any screen. Turn on your laptop, select a movie online or stored on your hard drive and, with a click of a button, you’ll be able to watch it on whichever TV screen you choose “Developers can build modern experiences around display devices by leveraging Windows 8 support for premium media technologies, such as stereoscopic 3D and wireless TVs,” said Microsoft.
Windows App Store
A new application store similar to Apple’s App Store is also planned. Microsoft insists that you’ll still need an OS in the age of the internet, but the App Store is one way it’s adapting Windows to the online world.
Little information is available about what apps the store will contain, but Microsoft will reportedly appeal to developers by letting them create apps in any language.
Kill a virus, but keep your data
Viruses often force victims to restore their machines to the factory settings – a painful process that involves loss of applications and personal data. Microsoft is working on a ‘reset’ option that will retain files and personalisation settings, while providing an easy way to reinstall programs.
In another of Microsoft’s fictional scenarios, ‘Jon’ notices that his PC is starting to perform poorly and presses there set button. Windows 8 retains his files and personalisation settings and migrates the user accounts. Windows is restored to the factory image and restarts. Jon then launches the App Store to reinstall the applications he purchased there and see a list of other programs he had installed.
Boot up your machine instantly
Microsoft is focusing heavily on improving Windows 8′s startup times. In March a Windows Planning Survey polled 545
