Windows 8.1 will reportedly launch mid-October

According to the latest reports, Windows 8.1 will be available to all users in mid-October, roughly one year after Microsoft launched Windows 8 to the public. Microsoft is expected to deliver RTM Windows 8.1 code to OEMs by the end of August, although unlike previous years the RTM release won't be available on MSDN or TechNet at that time; instead Microsoft will be holding back the launch until October for all channels.

Microsoft tightens Windows 8 activation policy to curb piracy

Piracy is a fact of life for Microsoft. Case in point: just two days after the company began distributing the finalized version of Windows 8 to partners around the globe, the code became publicly available across various file sharing sites. Microsoft declined to comment on the leak but, presumably, someone working at an OEM was responsible.

Previous products have leaked online as well, and while its very unlikely they’ll get rid of the problem altogether anytime soon, Microsoft is looking to close down a few of the loop holes that made life easier for pirates and rogue OEMs. In particular Microsoft is looking to change the way they deal with OEM activations for Windows 8.

OEM Activation (OA) allows PC manufacturers to ship systems with Windows preinstalled and already activated, so that customers don't need to take any additional steps to activate the OS when they first use a new computer. In the past, a single activation key was used by most OEMs to activate all of their shipped machines. However, going forward, manufacturers will be required to write a unique Windows product key into the BIOS of each new PC, based on each particular system’s hardware.

This key isn’t automatically generated by OEMs either. They will need to obtain it directly from Microsoft via electronic delivery and factories will be required to file production reports to Microsoft detailing their license compliance, thus making it harder to avoid paying licensing fees to Microsoft.

The new activation scheme hasn’t been officially confirmed by Microsoft -- details are based off a series of leaked slides obtained by The Register. According to the site, OA 3.0 will only apply to new PCs running Windows 8. Other versions, including Windows Server 2012, Windows 7 and earlier are not affected.

At this point it’s unclear what the move will mean for individuals buying OEM versions of the OS, or if the hardware based activation will somehow affect users manually upgrading their laptops’ storage or memory.

Microsoft has set a release date of October 26 for Windows 8. Upgrade pricing is set at $39.99 for those running legit copies of Windows XP, Windows Vista and Windows 7. Those that purchased a Windows 7 machine in the months leading up to Windows 8’s release, are eligible to upgrade for just $14.99.

Microsoft intros new mice and keyboards tuned for Windows 8

Microsoft has announced multiple keyboards and mice tuned specifically for systems running Windows 8. The majority of new devices are Bluetooth-enabled and compact enough to fit in your pocket, making them an ideal solution for tablet use.

The Microsoft Wedge Mobile Keyboard is a full-size ultra-slim board that features a minimalist design. The $79.95 unit is designed for tablet use and includes Windows 8 Hot Keys for quick access to things like system settings, search and the Charms interface. The keyboard connects via Bluetooth and ships with a smart cover that not only protects the input device but also automatically kills power when used to conserve battery life.

Microsoft’s Sculpt Mobile Keyboard features a familiar Comfort Curve design like we have seen on past ergonomic boards. This typer also features Windows 8 Hot Keys, Bluetooth connectivity and enjoys 10 months of battery life which can be monitored and controlled via a two-color indicator and on/off switch, respectively. The Sculpt comes with an MSRP of $49.95.

The aptly-named Wedge Touch Mouse is small enough to fit in your pocket and provides four-way Touch scrolling and navigation. The pointer utilizes Microsoft BlueTrack Technology which allows it to work on nearly any surface, an added benefit for on-the-go use. The $69.95 Wedge mouse conserves battery power by automatically turning off alongside the system it is paired with.

The $49.95 ambidextrous Sculpt Touch Mouse is more of a traditional mouse that includes a four-way touch scroll strip, BlueTrack Technology and Bluetooth connectivity. Microsoft also points out that the Touch Mouse released last year will receive a software update for Windows 8 gesture use.

All of the devices are expected to be ready around the same time that Windows 8 launches inlate October.

Thunderbolt bandwidth to double in 2014 with Falcon Ridge

Microsoft has ended all speculation surrounding the launch date of its next-generation operating system after Steven Sinofsky announced during the company’s annual sales meeting yesterday that customers will be able to get a copy on Friday October 26, on a new computer or as an upgrade.

The announcement by Sinofsky, president of Microsoft’s Windows division, follows an earlier promise at its Worldwide Partner Conference in Toronto earlier this month that Windows 8 would arrive sometime in October.  The date was later confirmed in a post by Brandon LeBlanc on the firm’s official Windows Blog. 

There was no word on the exact date we can expect Microsoft’s Surface tablets however, but given that consumers will be able to get the software individually or on a new PC the same day, it’s entirely possible the tablet will be available immediately on the launch date. More details will no doubt follow as the date nears.

Earlier this month the OS-maker said those using the release preview version of Windows 8 will be able to upgrade to the final release for $39.99 using the Windows.com upgrade tool. Those that purchase a new computer between June 2 2012 and January 31 2013 will also be eligible to upgrade to Windows 8 Professional for just $14.99.

While consumers have been treated to two previews of Windows 8 to date, it is likely Microsoft will leave some of the new features for the upcoming launch, and right now it’s hard to say whether further tweaks will be made to the highly controversial Metro UI before it reaches RTM.

Those yet to experience Windows 8 can do so by checking out the Release Preview version, and further details on setting it up using USB drives, and dual-booting options. For those wishing to advance their skills further with the new OS, our guide packed full of tricks, tips and shortcutsis worth checking out.

Windows 8: Why the Start Menu's Absence is Irrelevant

Editorial Although every product deserves healthy criticism, many opinions of Windows 8 seem to be based on misconceptions, especially when it comes to the viability of Metro as a Start menu replacement.

For the record, I don't care if you skip the update -- hell, I might pass on it too -- nor do I care if it's the most failtastic operating system in Windows' 26-year history. While certain anonymous posters might try to convince you otherwise, I have nothing to gain or lose from the launch of Windows 8.

However, I believe your opinion should be formed by facts, not irrational rhetoric parroted online by so-called power users and companies that want to sell you third-party programs. I can say without a doubt that many people who oppose the Start menu's removal haven't even used Windows 8, yet they don't hesitate to inform you about Metro's inadequacies by listing all the features it's supposedly missing. The truth is, functionally speaking, Metro is basically identical to the Start menu.

The Start menu serves as a means of quick navigation. With one mouse click or keystroke you can access a list of your most-used and pinned applications, common Windows destinations, as well as the ability to instantly search for other programs and files. All of the above remains true for Metro. By clicking the same spot or tapping the same key, you'll find a list of your most-used and pinned applications, common Windows destinations and the ability to perform a system-wide search.

The difference being Metro's fullscreen, tiled presentation, which is admittedly a little jarring until you get used to it. Aesthetics aside (I think it's ugly too), detractors insist Metro hinders multitasking because it blocks vision of the desktop -- a sound argument until it's confronted with reality. Again, we're speaking about Metro strictly as a Start menu successor and I don't know about you, but when I use the Start menu, it's a three-second affair: I open the menu and I click a program.

Metro is no different. Assuming it's used to launch programs, I don't see what you could possibly be doing in Metro for so long that it feels like an interruption. Likewise, I don't understand what you could be doing in the desktop mode that's so important it can't be covered for a few seconds. If your workload is that urgent, maybe it deserves a dedicated display so it's always visible. What's more, the very act of opening a new application suggests you're inviting a distraction or shifting tasks anyway.

In fact, one could argue that Metro improves multitasking and reduces interruptions. Live tiles show dynamically updated data, with early examples including weather, finance, and calendar apps. It also seems reasonable to expect popular utilities such as those that monitor hardware utilization and network traffic to be available. Metro can update you on a chunk of info at a glance while housing truly distracting things you might not want to see constantly refreshing in a desktop gadget or system tray icon.

Even if you don't use live tiles, the fact that Metro is fullscreen should also help, not hinder multitasking because it ought to be quicker and easier to find whatever you're looking for. The Start menu shows 10 applications by default with support for up to 30 and if your desired program isn't offered immediately, you have to dig deeper into the All Programs list. This is less likely to occur in Metro as it can hold over 100 tiles (I didn't bother counting further) with about 84 visible at once on my 1080p monitor.

It's also worth noting that you can run Windows 8 without ever opening Metro -- I haven't used it once outside testing. I also rarely used the Start menu. Both are inferior to third-party apps like Launchy. It's interesting to me that "power users" should be the most capable of adapting to life without the Start menu, yet they're taking the news harder than everyone else. Windows has never been, and likely never will be perfect out of the box. Windows 8 is no different: you'll have to tweak things to your liking.

While I'm tired of the senseless bashing, Microsoft isn't without fault. Being the biggest change in Windows 8 and part of its forward-looking strategy, the company has placed most of its marketing effort behind Metro and its mobile-oriented features, to the point where many people seem to think Metro is Windows 8. That simply isn't true. If you avoid Metro -- which, again, is very easy -- Windows 8 is essentially a refined version of Windows 7, in the same way 7 was a refined version of Vista.

For better or worse, Windows is on a majority of the world's PCs and that will include an increasing number of tablets in the coming years. Microsoft and its partners are pitching productivity-oriented slates, so it's logical to strive for a unified platform that lets mobile users tap into the full power of Windows. Metro is clearly a work in progress, but it's a substantial improvement over Windows 7's touch controls while being a sufficient application launcher for all but the squirreliest of desktop users.

Microsoft outlines File History feature in Windows 8

Microsoft has once again taken to their Building Windows 8 blog to detail another new feature in the upcoming operating system. Bohdan Raciborski from the storage team gives us the skinny on File History, a backup application designed to continuously protect files found in Libraries, Desktop, Favorites and Contacts folders.

By default, the service scans the file system every hour for changes. If something has changed, a copy of the file(s) in question will be backed up to an external storage device selected by the user. Over time, the service will build a complete history of changes to any and all personal files. File History supersedes the existing Windows Backup and Restore features currently found in Windows 7, a feature that is utilized by less than five percent of consumers, according to Microsoft’s data.

With File History, Microsoft wants users to feel confident that their files are protected when using the feature. It hopes to eliminate the complexity of setting up and restoring backups by automating the process as a silent service that does all of the work in the background without interrupting the user.

To enable File History, simply open the File History control panel applet, connect an external device like a USB flash drive or external hard drive and click or tap Turn on. The same can be done in AutoPlay by tapping or clicking the notification that shows up when a new drive is detected and opting to configure the drive for backup.

If something goes wrong and you need to recover data, Microsoft starts the search right in Windows Explorer, allowing you to browse to a specific folder or location and tap or click the History button to see all versions of the file, folder or library available.

Microsoft says the feature is optimized for performance by scanning NTFS journals for file changes and only protects the personal files that are most precious and hardest to recreate. Common operating system files and applications could easily be recovered using traditional means.

Be sure to check out the full posting at Building Window 8 for more details.

Microsoft officially sets Windows 8 general availability for October

Microsoft today officially revealed a more specific shipping schedule for its forthcoming Windows 8 operating system during its Worldwide Partner Conference in Toronto. Widely expected to arrive ahead of the Holiday shopping season, Windows CFO Tami Reller said Windows 8 will be in the hands of its OEMs during the first week of August, with PCs and tablets running the new operating system on sale at the end of October.

Microsoft will turn on the commerce platform for its Windows app store at the same time the "release to manufacturing," or RTM build of Windows 8 goes live in August. This will allow developers to start making money off their Metro applications. Up until now, apps at the Windows app store have been free.

The company also said that enterprise customers with Software Assurance benefits will have full access to Windows 8 as early as August, months before the general consumer public. It’s unclear if subscribers to Microsoft's for-a-fee developer services, including MSDN and TechNet, will get early access as well.

Windows 8 will be available in 109 languages across 231 markets worldwide. Launch hardware is expected to include desktops, laptops, tablets and so-called "convertible" machines that combine the latter two. Microsoft’s own Surface tablet falls into that category but the company hasn’t confirmed a launch date yet.

During the announcement Microsoft noted that Windows 7 has been a bestseller for the company, with 630 million copies sold and more than half of desktops in the enterprise using the OS. But they are certainly hoping to get a good chunk of those, as well as home users, to migrate to the latest release with a limited time offer to upgrade from XP, Vista, 7 or even the Windows 8 Release Preview for only $39.99.

Fujitsu announces Stylistic Q702 hybrid tablet and LifeBook T902 for Q3

Fujitsu has unveiled two Windows 8-ready portables geared for the business professional. Thesystems will ship with Windows 7 sometime in the third quarter but it’s clear that both were designed with Windows 8 in mind.

The Stylistic Q702 is an 11.6-inch hybrid tablet that supports stylus input and can be paired with an optional keyboard dock much like the Asus Transformer Prime. Inside we find third generation Ivy Bridge processor support (Core i3 or Core i5), 4GB of system memory and up to 128GB of internal flash storage. The display is coated with Corning Gorilla Glass and operates at 1,366 x 768. We are told the tablet weights 1.88-pounds and can run for 4.5 hours on a single charge.

Fujitsu’s LifeBook T902 features a 13-inch Gorilla Glass display that runs at 1,600 x 900, i5 and i7 Ivy Bridge processor options, up to 16GB of RAM and up to 11 hours of battery life (with the add-on battery). Customers can configure the T902 with optional WWAN or LTE radios and there’s even a modular bay that can house an optical drive, an extra hard drive or a spare battery. Additionally, the slot can be left unoccupied to reduce overall weight (4.1-pounds without optical drive).

These business-minded systems include a bevy of professional security features including HDD and BIOS password protection and Trusted Platform Module on the Q702 and Intel Anti-Theft Technology and a biometric fingerprint sensor on the T902, just to name a few.

Pricing starts at $1,099 for the Q702 and $1,899 on the T902. Both systems will be available starting in the third quarter of this year through Fujitsu or one of their many retail partners.

Samsung readying Windows RT tablet for October launch

Samsung is reportedly working on a tablet running Microsoft's next generation operating system ahead of its worldwide release in October. According to sources familiar with the matter cited in a report byBloomberg, the South Korean firm plans to release the ARM-based tablet running Windows RT at the same time as Microsoft releases its new OS to the public.

Both of the sources asked not to be named as the plans weren't public. One of them claimed Samsung's Windows RT tablet would be released in October.

Windows RT is a fine-tuned version of Windows 8 for touchscreen devices that will be powered by ARM-based processors. Samsung’s Windows RT tablet in particular will feature a Qualcomm Snapdragon SoC. ARM-based chips have risen massively in popularity in recent years and are now used to power a whole host of smartphones and tablets, including Apple's industry leading iPad tablet and iPhone smartphone.

Samsung's entry will provide a welcome boost to the Windows 8 tablets available at launch. Two weeks ago rumors emerged suggesting one of Microsoft's biggest OEMs, Hewlett Packard, was towithdraw from making ARM-based Windows RT tablets after the software giant unveiled its own Microsoft Surface tablet.

HP has since confirmed in a statement to Forbes it plans to focus on x86 Windows 8 tablets with business users in mind for the foreseeable future. That said, they didn't completely rule out ARM-based Windows RT tablets, saying it "continues to look at using ARM processors in business and consumer products".

If the latest rumors are true, Samsung would join Asus, Dell and Microsoft in building ARM-based tablets running Windows RT for launch in October. The launch will mark the first time ever that the Redmond software firm has released a cross platform operating system working on traditional x86 computers and notebooks as well as ARM-based tablets at the same time.

Microsoft to acquire multi-touch company Perceptive Pixel

Microsoft has announced that they will beacquiring Perceptive Pixel Inc., a large-scale multi-touch hardware and software developer. PPI will no doubt help to bolster Microsoft’s touch ambitions in Windows 8 and beyond as the company has received several accolades since its inception in 2006.

PPI was founded by renowned multi-touch pioneer Jeff Han. The company shipped their first products in early 2007 and garnered industry recognition by supplying CNN and other broadcasters with large-screen multi-touch monitors to assist in covering the 2008 US presidential election. PPI was awarded the National Design Award by the Smithsonian in 2009.

The company’s patents are used across multiple fields including government, defense, broadcast, energy exploration, engineering and higher education.

Steve Ballmer announced the acquisition at Microsoft’s Worldwide Partner Conference in Los Angeles earlier today. PPI’s founder joined Ballmer on stage to demonstrate how their technology can work with Windows 8 on a large-screen display. Han showed those in attendance basic multi-touch gestures in addition to demoing how a stylus is used to mark a document while content can be manipulated with the free hand.

“By joining Microsoft, we will be able to take advantage of the tremendous momentum of the Microsoft Office Division, tightly interoperate with its products, and deliver this technology to a very broad set of customers,” Han said.

“The acquisition of PPI allows us to draw on our complementary strengths, and we’re excited to accelerate this market evolution,” said Kurt DelBene, president of the Office Division at Microsoft. “PPI’s large touch displays, when combined with hardware from our OEMs, will become powerful Windows 8-based PCs and open new possibilities for productivity and collaboration.”

Terms of the deal were not disclosed and the acquisition is pending customary regulatory approval, although the size and scope of the purchase isn’t expected to throw up any red flags.

Acer founder: Microsoft's move into tablet hardware is just temporary

Reports indicate Microsoft didn’t give its long list of OEM partners much of a heads up before announcing its foray into full hardware production with theSurface tablet earlier this week. But even though this means the likes of Dell, Acer, Asus, HP and others will have to go into direct competition with Microsoft, perhaps they shouldn’t be too worried. At least according Acer co-founder Stan Shih, who claims the move is temporary, with Microsoft using a branded product to lead the way for other manufacturers before stepping back.

Speaking to Taipei-based Digitimes, the executive assured that Microsoft "has no real intention to sell own-brand tablet PCs" because it wouldn’t bring as much profit as simply licensing its software products. Shih claims the software giant is just looking to boost adoption of Windows 8 tablets and help expand market demand for the product line, but “once the purpose is realized Microsoft will not offer more models.”

We’re not sure if he has actual knowledge of Microsoft’s plans or if that’s just wishful thinking. Microsoft seems to have put a lot of effort into designing the Surface and went out of its way to keep it secret until the last minute to avoid upsetting their partners — why would this be an issue if they are pulling out eventually?

That said, it wouldn’t be a completely unheard of move in the industry. Google, for example, has done the same in the past with their Nexus family of smartphones and is expected to release a tablet soon. In their case however, they always partner with an OEM to design and produce the hardware.

Windows 8 adds RAID-like storage pooling and fault tolerance

An interesting article has been posted to the MSDN blog, thoroughly outlining a new Windows 8 feature called "Storage Spaces". The technology will allow users to create a single storage volume from multiple storage devices. The feature also allows users to dynamically expand a Storage Space volume by adding more devices on the fly. Storage Spaces affords users this freedom by cleverly organizing used and free space across NTFS volumes. 

For example, Windows 8 users will be able to lump together any mixture of storage devices into a single volume that appears as D:\. If a user gets low on space, they can simply pop in another hard drive or plug in another external drive and Storage Spaces will expand D:\ to include the new device. More importantly, it does this without losing data.

Storage Spaces allows NTFS-formatted devices to be combined into "pools" and broken apart into "spaces". Pools are collections of storage devices that work similarly to JBOD RAID arrays (just a bunch of disks) while spaces are more analogous to partitions. Unlike JBOD arrays though, the feature also protects your data from drive failure. Similar to RAID 5, Storage Spaces utilizes parity data to provide a fault tolerance strategy.

Although they share a lot of common ground though, Storage Spaces is not a RAID solution. TheFAQ states:

Fundamentally, Storage Spaces virtualizes storage in order to be able to deliver a multitude of capabilities in a cost-effective and easy-to-use manner. Storage Spaces delivers resiliency to physical disk (and other similar) failures by maintaining multiple copies of data. To maximize performance, Storage Spaces always stripes data across multiple physical disks. While the RAID concepts of mirroring and striping are used within Storage Spaces, the implementation is optimized for minimized user complexity, maximized flexibility in physical disk utilization and allocation, and fast recovery from physical disk failures. Given these significant differences in objectives and implementation between Storage Spaces and traditional inflexible RAID implementations, the RAID nomenclature is not used by Storage Spaces.

Currently, hardware and software technologies which offer similar benefits do exist, such as LVM, ZFS, Drobo, higher-end RAID controllers and so on. However, Storage Spaces appears to offer a great deal of flexbility and simplicity, simultaneously. The feature is, at the very least, a huge improvement over the current implementation of "Dynamic Disks" found in Windows.

Storage Spaces will effectively be the "consumer" version of Drive Extender, a deprecated feature of Windows Home Server. However, the blog points out it is not intended to be a feature-by-feature replacement and is incompatible with existing Drive Extender volumes.

Microsoft is in better shape than most people think, says Bernstein report

Microsoft is in far better shape as a whole than most people perceive. A 44-page report from Bernstein Research takes an in-depth look at the company’s financial situation and outlines a few possible scenarios regarding potential threats from tablets, alternative operating systems and cloud computing.

As it turns out, the company is in a good position and should be able to avoid any dire situations.

According to the report, today’s share price is reflective of a scenario in which the company’s core Windows / Server / MBD division never grows, the online division continues to drain money indefinitely and management ruins value with poorly-decided acquisitions and investments.

As Bernstein senior analyst Mark Moerdler put it, he doesn’t believe such a scenario will ultimately play out and feels that any potential threats are manageable.

With regards to tablets, Bernstein estimates that over 200 million units will ship by 2014. Tablet success will cannibalize PC sales to some degree but the report concludes that users will ultimately be buying tablets in addition to PCs, not replacing them. Furthermore, the company expects a large segment of PC sales to come from emerging markets that might not have the extra cash to spend on “luxury” tablets.

But then again, we must not forget that Microsoft is bringing Windows 8 to tablets as well. This will likely be an attractive option for enterprise users in part based on compatibility with existing applications. Microsoft is planning a public beta release of Windows 8 for February; no final release date has been announced as of yet.

Windows 8 to feature built-in password manager, synchronize between computers

Microsoft hopes to simplify the task of managing multiple passwords with the next major release of its popular operating system. According to a post on the company's Building Windows 8 blog, a new feature will allow users to put an unlimited number of individual passwords behind one master password, and have them synchronize across all other Windows 8 machines they use.

Since the Live ID is the only password you'll need to know, you can set complex and unique passwords for multiple websites -- so if one site gets hacked and your credentials are stolen from their servers, you entire digital lives won't be at risk. Windows 8 will automatically enter your login information when visiting a saved website. This is similar to what services like 1Password and LastPass currently offer.

If your Windows Live ID password is somehow lost or stolen, there will be a number of safety features in Windows 8 designed to detect compromise and limit account usage until you can successfully recover access to it. For instance, users can request a confirmation code be sent to a mobile phone number or email address registered with Windows Live. Also, even if your credentials are compromised, you will still have full access to your PC since Windows 8 will accept the last password successfully used to log onto the system.

Microsoft says it will also offer a a number of "convenience" sign-in methods such as Picture Password and biometrics -- they didn't go into details but promised to do so in a future update. You can read more about Windows 8's security features in the characteristically long post at Building Windows 8.

Windows Phone leadership changed, Windows 8 integration hinted

On Monday, Steve Ballmer issued a memo informing Microsoft employees that leadership of the Windows Phone 7 team would be handed over to vice president and lead engineer, Terry Myerson. The former division president, Andy Lees, will be working on a special project that aims to yield the "maximum impact" of Windows Phone 7 and Windows 8 in 2012. Lees had been the president of the WP7 team for three years.

While "driving maximum impact" is not clearly defined, Microsoft may be planning some substantial tie-in between Windows Phone 7 and Windows 8. Perhaps this will translate into tight integration between the two platforms, mutual promotions, common design elements, ideas for tablet PCs or even some sort of platform unification. Regardless, the implications could be profound. We'll just have to rely on our imaginations for now.

Ballmer admitted Windows Phone 7 has not seen the kind of traction Microsoft would like, with a mere 1.5 percentmarket share among smart phones world-wide. Analysts have also shown that WP7 has all but stopped in growth while Android gobbles up most new smartphone owners across the globe.

Despite the company's difficulties, Microsoft's CEO points out that smart phones with WP7 continue to receive favorable reviews and people generally seem to like the platform. Early this year, we reported that 93 percent of WP7 owners were either satisfied or very satisfied with their phones and 90 percent were willing to recommend the platform to their friends.

Ballmer also suggested Microsoft's recent deal with Nokia will help forge a healthy future for Microsoft's mobile endeavor. As part of the deal, the handset maker will been manufacturing WP7 phones for global distribution. The Lumia is the only Nokia phone currently available with WP7.

As part of a holiday promotion, Microsoft is still offering their $25 prepaid app store card for the purchase of any WP7 phone until December 31.

Microsoft details Windows 8 app store, confirms February beta

Microsoft hosted a special event in San Francisco yesterday to discuss details about its upcoming application store for Windows. The company shared details on everything from registration fees to the approval process, revenue model, as well as advertisements and in-app purchases. It also confirmed that a beta of its app store, named the Windows Store, will launch as part of the Windows 8 beta in late February.

Built using HTML5 and JavaScript, the Windows Store will feature the same touch-friendly UI that’s familiar to Windows Phone 7 users, except it will be full screen and available on your computer. As Microsoft indicated earlier, it's intended to be the single source of Metro-style apps to allow better discoverability and facilitate in-app purchases. The store will offer support for both x86 and ARM-based hardware.

During the initial trial period, the Windows Store will feature free apps only and app submissions will be by invitation. However, once Microsoft opens submissions to the wider developer community, they will be able to price their creations from  between $1.49 to $999.99 or offer them for free. Microsoft will take a 30% cut on sales, but that will drop to 20% as soon an app makes $25,000 from sales and in-app purchases.

That's a better deal than what Apple or Google offer with their respective app stores, which charge a 30% commission indefinitely. Also unlike its rivals, Microsoft will allow time-based and feature-based trial versions of apps in its store, which can be upgraded later to the full version if the developer supports it.

In order to submit apps individual users will need to pay a one-time registration fee of $49 while companies are charged $99. Windows 8 will be a curated platform, at least as far as Metro apps are concerned, so developers will need to go through the approval process. Microsoft has already laid out its criteria for app approval here. There will be status updates throughout the entire process, and developers whose apps are rejected will be given feedback on what changes they'll need to make to get approved.

During the presentation, Microsoft’s VP of Windows Web Services Antoine Leblond emphasized the potential reach of the Windows Store, pointing out that some 400 million x86-based PCs are expected to ship over the next 12 months. That's on top of the 1.25 billion Windows PCs already on the planet.

The software giant will make the Windows Store and the apps in it available in more than 100 languages with availability in 231 markets around the world. To encourage developers to get working, Microsoft will be running a competition for eight winning apps to be featured on the Windows Store when it opens.

It should be noted that traditional desktop applications on Windows 8 will continue to be available through the usual channels, such as the developer's website, a downloads portal, physical media and so on.

Microsoft to deliver a smoother setup experience in Windows 8

A new post on Microsoft’s Building Windows 8 blog outlines several steps the company has taken to improve the setup experience in Windows 8. The team learned a great deal about the setup process in Windows 7 and is using that knowledge to continue to improve reliability and decrease the amount of time it takes to install the new OS.

The Windows 8 development team focused on two distinct customer groups in the setup user experience: those who wanted a quick and easy way to upgrade to the new release and users who wanted to do a clean install with more control over setup options, disk layout and partition configuration. 

As such, there will continue to be two different setup experiences. The first will be the streamlined setup for upgrade users that can be run from the .exe on an installation disc or via web delivery. That’s right, upgrade users will have the option to start the setup process online and have one integrated experience from start to finish. Microsoft is also pre-keying these installations so you won’t have to manually enter in the 25-digit product key during install.

The second method will allow you to boot off the DVD or a USB thumb drive – not much different than the current method. Advanced users will feel right at home with many familiar options for installation.

For Windows 7 upgraders, the typical process looks something like this: download and install Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor, run Upgrade Advisor, run Windows Easy Transfer to save files and settings, run Windows 7 setup and finally run Easy Transfer again to restore files and settings. The whole process consists of four different web and client applications and 60 screens to navigate through.

Windows 8 will integrate Upgrade Advisor, Setup and Easy Transfer into one application. This results in an improvement of 82 percent fewer clicks – only 11 clicks to complete the entire process.

In addition to reducing the number of clicks needed, the whole process of backing up and restoring files is much faster as well. In Windows 7, the upgrade process moved each file to a transport location one by one then restores it after installation. Users with several thousand photos or MP3s found that this could take a very long time to complete.

In Windows 8, the backup and restore process now moves entire folders at a time, drastically reducing the number of file operations required. The team also simplified the transport process by consolidating the storage location of old and new files into one folder which speeds up the whole process by eliminating the need to transfer files between two different folders.

Security update restarts to be less frequent and intrusive in Windows 8

Microsoft is working to minimize the number of system restarts required after automatic updating in Windows 8 and to make reboot notifications less intrusive. A new post on the company’s Building Windows 8 blog by group program manager of Windows Updates Farzana Rahman outlines the new procedures and what you can expect.

In Windows 7, users are bombarded with pop-up notifications saying they need to restart their system to complete installation of new updates. Selecting the “remind me in 4 hours” option often goes ignored and you get another pop-up shortly after. Even worse, should you leave the system unattended while an update notification is received, the system will automatically do the deed without consent, regardless if you were in the middle of something important.

It’s a necessary evil as some files can’t be updated if they are in use, thus requiring a restart to end their active state. Windows 8 aims to minimize the annoyance of frequent update restarts by consolidating all security updates into a single release on the second Tuesday of each month. This simplification keeps the system secure in a timely manner and results in only a single required restart each month.

In the event that there is a critical security update released to fix a worm-like vulnerability like a Blaster worm, Windows Update will download, install and restart automatically as it does now.

Once it’s time for a monthly restart, Windows 8 will notify you at the login screen rather than invade your space with bothersome pop-up notifications inside of Windows. Users will have up to three days to restart at their convenience. If after three days, the restart still has not been initiated, Windows Update will take it upon itself to complete the task automatically. If Windows detects that data could be lost by shutting down and you are away from the machine, the system will prompt you to save all of your work when you return to the lock screen and give you 15 minutes to do so.

Systems running in an enterprise setting can delay the automatic restart process using policies set in place by the IT administrator just as in Windows 7. Instead of the three day countdown, users will simply see a message at the login screen indicating the system needs to be rebooted to finish installing security updates.

More than half of IT professionals eyeing Windows 8 for deployment

IT professionals are already eyeing Windows 8 to replace existing operating systems in the corporate world when it becomes available. 52 percent of those polled said they plan to upgrade to Microsoft’s latest operating system, according to a survey of 973 tech professionals conducted by InformationWeek.

Of those 52 percent that said they would upgrade their business computers, 5 percent claimed they would deploy as soon as Windows 8 becomes available. 13 percent decided to play it safe and said they would make the switch within a year’s time while 19 percent would do the deed within two years of the OS launching.

Digging deeper into the report, 10 percent of planned upgraders said they would do so on an as-needed basis. 24 percent said that all of their PCs would eventually get the upgrade while 34 percent said that at least three quarters of their machines would see Windows 8 at some point.

IT professionals typically aren’t as gung-ho to deploy an untested operating system, so why are more than half of those questioned willing to do so? The main reason is because Microsoft will stop supporting Windows XP in April 2014.

Although XP was initially released way back in 2001, it continues to hold a strong market share among Windows-based machines. The operating system only fell below 50 percent market share in July. Windows 7 is quickly gaining ground on the aging OS, however. As of July, Windows 7 held 27.87 percent of the worldwide OS market share compared to XP's 49.94 percent.

Microsoft outlines Windows 8 search improvements

Microsoft has detailed some of the improvements they have made to search functions in Windows 8. Program manager for the search, view and command user experience team Brian Uphoff authored the post on Microsoft’sBuilding Windows 8 blog which focuses on built-in search capabilities for files, settings and apps that complement existing Windows 7 search features.

The first step in updating search in Windows 8 was to uncover what Windows 7 users searched for the most. Telemetry data showed that 67 percent of all queries in Windows 7 were used to find and launch programs. Locating files accounted for 22 percent of searches and control panel features were the target 9 percent of the time.

As such, search results in Windows 8 will be primarily grouped into three system categories – Apps, Settings and Files. Separating results into these groups allows Windows 8 to tailor the experience for each data type. For example, the File search offers search suggestions and filters while typing to complete your query.

With Windows 8, Microsoft expects users to install more apps than ever before. The goal is to make the app search process as easy and seamless as possible.

“In Windows 7, the total number of results that could be shown in the Start menu was limited,” says Uphoff. “With Windows 8, on the other hand, we’re following an app-first model, where each app developer understands their data and users best, and knows the best way to present the information to them.”

Other key changes include removing email messages and contact information from search results. Research showed that less than 0.05 percent of users would query these types of data. Other changes include a set of keyboard shortcuts to help users get to specific search categories quickly.