Leaked features for Windows 8

Quinton Healy 2 Jul, 2010 at 12:52pm ET Article published in Tech

Windows 7 is the fastest selling operating system ever, selling over 150 million copies in the nine months since being released. Work out the numbers and that’s about 5 copies of Windows 7 every second. Microsoft ain’t resting on their laurels, though—on the heels of Windows 7, they are working on Windows 8 for a projected first quarter 2012 release. What could Microsoft possibly improve or add on to Windows 8? Well, here are some of the rumors, leaks, and flat out conjecture.

Internet Explorer 9—We already know that IE 9 will be released sometime this August/September. That means Windows 8 will, no doubt, bundle IE 9. IE9, by itself, should provide a whole set of features and improvements to keep Microsoft as the dominant web browser. Years ago Microsoft realized its 5 year old browser was archaic and got off its ass and released IE7 in late 2006. IE 7 was only out for a few seconds (when compared to IE6) before they released IE 8 in early 2009 (18 months). IE8 was the first time in since IE6 that Microsoft had a relatively current web browser.

Windows Store (or Windows App Store)—When something works for everyone else why not follow suit? Apple (iTunes), Android (Marketplace), and even Blackberry all have an application repository. You can bet that MS will add some sort of “store” to Windows 8. This will allow Microsoft to leverage a unified location for all support applications and not just ones from Microsoft. Users can be comforted that applications in the “Store” are compatible with their version of operating system. This could be huge for Microsoft by leveraging this store in their public relations campaign just like Android and iPhone/iPad PR campaigns have done.

New Native Hardware Support—Windows 8 is reported to have native support for USB 3.0 and Bluetooth 3.0. USB 3.0 can support up to 5.0 Gbit/s transfers and will provide greater power for those power hungry USB devices like external hard drives and scanners. Current USB 2.0 can only handle 500 mA while USB 3.0 can handle 900 mA. Bluetooth 3.0 allows for faster connections and works in conjunction with wireless to provide up to 24 Mbit/s. Furthermore, Bluetooth 4.0 may be added to Windows 8 since Bluetooth 4.0 was approved this past April and provides control over “low-power” states such as proximity sensors found in shoes and even identification card devices such as smart cards.

Faster Boot—Microsoft knows that the BIOS is dead and the new EFI (Extensible Firmware Interface) will decrease the boot times and allow for some cool features that the BIOS could not handle. EFI was only supported in Windows since 2008 but it IS the future of computers. EFI should allow for the operating system to begin loading in a few seconds instead of tens of seconds.

New technologies—Facial recognition and motion detection will probably be found in Windows 8. With just about every netbook and laptop coming with web cameras and Cogent Systems entering the consumer market, this opens the door for Microsoft to incorporate features that use the web camera to enhance user experiences. Envision having your laptop or desktop starting and being ready for you to login because it detected that you were entering the room. Think that’s cool? Imagine your Windows 8 computer automatically logging you in because it recognized your face.

Improved Touch and Gesture Technology—Microsoft’s tablet version of Windows XP was not the best. It tried to be good but it was lacking something. I remember trying to re-install a fresh copy of Windows XP Tablet and it never worked right. The interface was not bad, but it still had bugs. I personally haven’t used Vista or Windows 7’s touch screen features so I cannot attest to how they function. For Windows 8, I think the gestures will be an awesome addition. I’ve seen what a proficient user of Firefox gestures can accomplish—they can do some rather complex functions very quickly.

Hard Drive Encryption—Windows Vista and 7 both have Bitlocker available to the top end consumer and business level versions. If Microsoft brings this to the general user it could be a nice feature except it might lend to users losing data when they lose their passwords. Yeah, I can only imagine the calls to tech support—“I lost my password to unlock Bitlocker, can you help? What, it’s encrypted and you cannot retrieve or reset it? You mean all my protected data is so protected that I cannot access it anymore?” Microsoft had better have some discussions on how to implement this. Have the password available online perhaps?

Increased Support for More Media Formats—Remember when Windows only supported a few media formats and you had to rely on third-party applications or codecs in order to watch or listen to media files? Each version of Windows has offered more formats natively. It always seem like they are years behind the curve, though Windows 7 can play almost all the formats that the average user needs. It looks like Windows 8 will have AVC HD, 3D, MPEG-4, and even some H.264 codecs.

Backup/Restore Improvements—Microsoft has been steadily improving the backup and recovery functions built in to Windows. Windows XP had a weird but effective Backup tool—I’m not sure how many users actually used it but it did work. Windows Vista and 7 were far better, however. The recovery aspect has improved also. Going back to a previous recovery point in Windows XP was your last option before a wipe and re-install. Vista and 7 are much better and I’ve restored from a previous point without bricking the computer. Microsoft claims to have even more up its sleeve like the ability to save a snapshot of a stable working state and allow users to revert to that point WITHOUT losing data. Couple this with the Windows Store and users can easily re-install applications they’ve already purchased. This would allow the fresh install of Windows 8 to compete with OEMs (Original Equipment Manufacturers) with recovery options. I’d like to see Microsoft offer some sort of online recovery to allow for dead hardware. You lose your hard drive, install a new drive and boot from the Windows install CD and connect to the Microsoft to recover your system. It wouldn’t help with lost data but it would save time and aggravation. No more looking around for a ton of CD/DVDs. Just keep that Windows 8 install DVD safe and everything except data can be back in an hour or two.

Less Complex User Experience—How many of you sat down at a Windows ME computer and wondered how Microsoft could have screwed up things from Windows 98? I also remember how Vista was so totally foreign to XP. What Microsoft has been doing, albeit too slowly, is improving the interface to make things less complex for the normal user. What do Mac owners say all the time? “Macs just work and everything makes sense.” Microsoft has been trying to move towards a simpler basic interface while keeping more advanced features available to power users. I expect Windows 8 to continue the trend by making even more features more intuitive and functional.

My thoughts

I have some things that have been on my mind since I heard about Windows Vista (Longhorn). We know that Windows Vista and then 7 was suppose to use a new filesystem called WinFS (Windows Future Storage) that sits on top of the NTFS file system, and that it was supposed to improve performance. Will WinFS be in Windows 8? As hard drives increase to a point that a user might very well have 10 terabytes of storage in their house by the time Windows 8 is released, how are users going to find things in that expanse of bits and bytes? Something has to be done to help users pluck data from anywhere quickly and not worry about where it is physically located.

Ok, what do you want to see in Windows 8? Are there some cool features or tweaks you’d like to see?

More info about Windows 8 can be found here:

Image Credits: www.geardiary.com

Comments

2 Jul 2010 ~ 1:25pm Cliff_Forster Lets just hope that we can finally install the darn thing by going to a website, downloading the .iso to a usb key and installing it and paying for a license each time we do. Ordering a DVD is so 2000.
2 Jul 2010 ~ 1:31pm Bandrik While I'm unsure if I like the idea of Microsoft making huge bank on this, I would be delighted to see a unified Windows app store, where things could be listed, hosted, and updated in one convenient location. No more broken links to files you'd like, since theoretically they'd all be hosted by Microsoft.

Add to that, if they would adjust licensing to be like Steam or (perhaps to a lesser degree) iTunes app store, lifetime ability to re-download as long as you keep your name and password... that would be nice.

And if updates were handled seamlessly as well, that would be amazing. No more hunting around to make sure all my programs are up to date.

..unless, such a thing already exists on Windows. I know Google tried something like that with Google Updater or whatever they called it.
2 Jul 2010 ~ 1:39pm _k Huh?! You have to pay for your copies? People don't just give them to you????!? The last time I actually got a disc with a key was in 2005. MSDN and DreamSpark silly.
2 Jul 2010 ~ 1:46pm MAGIC I would love to be able to do a clean install but maintain my media data. I don't know how it could be done but that would be sweet.

Nice write-up Q.
2 Jul 2010 ~ 1:52pm _k Well when you do a clean install they could effectively mark everything that is not within the core folders for windows and then break the partition table to generate two, push the user data to one and start the install after the install is done migrate the data back into place or put the partitions back together and clean up(In a very simple nut shell).
2 Jul 2010 ~ 2:41pm QCH As a tech guy, I've used OEM recovery to factory state several times. It's a quick and dirty way to get a system back with all the crap you need. Data is often lost. Windows recovery saves data but it's not really back to that fresh new OS smell. If Windows 8 can figure out how to take the Windows 7 backup of whatever was on the disk before and put it in a separate directory and add in the ability to roll back to "Factory Image"... that would be awesome.

I think Windows 8 will be another incremental update and not a massive shift like Vista was. They will add stuff they could not get into Win7, drop some really old backward compatibility features, and tweak some things that didn't work out the way they dreamed.
2 Jul 2010 ~ 3:31pm AlexDeGruven UAC was a good push to all of that functionality already. As more applications become more UAC aware/compatible, less important data is getting stored in C:\Program Files and associated directories.

As the amount of data at the root levels of C:\ decreases, the more likely we will be to have a UNIX-like experience of "Blow away everything but /home and let-er rip".
2 Jul 2010 ~ 4:03pm QCH Alex, you are spot on. Many companies use Group Policies to prohibit users from saving any data in any directories other than their "My Documents" or even a network share. If Microsoft did this by default it would be SO much easier to backup/recover.
2 Jul 2010 ~ 5:50pm fatcat so...no new file system? NTFS is getting old
3 Jul 2010 ~ 10:18am QCH NTFS is getting old but still has legs left. WinFS could make NTFS seem new to users. But Microsoft has been publicly working on it for over a 1/2 decade and probably much longer (10+ years?) and been rumored for Vista and then Windows 7??? No idea yet.
3 Jul 2010 ~ 11:30am Shorty Nice write Q!

Fatcat, I have to ask for the desire for a new file system technology. Why? NTFS may be old but it's hardly end of life like FAT32. The steering wheel in your car has fundamentally not changed in decades but we don't feel the need to ask for something new either because well, it works just fine
3 Jul 2010 ~ 11:42am QCH Thanks for the supporting comments, Shorty & Magic.
5 Jul 2010 ~ 12:24am ardichoke Pssh... forget NTFS, Microsoft should just adopt ZFS so their filesystem can finally play nice with the *nix world. They never will though. Proprietary jerks.

As for storing bitlocker passwords online... please no. That seriously undermines file encryption. What Microsoft should do is keep it as it is now, an option that the user has to turn on.... one that warns you of the repercussions of turning it on and forgetting your password. I don't trust Microsoft to store my encryption password. I don't trust them not to get hacked or to not turn it over to a 3rd party (RIAA, law enforcement, etc.). It's not that I actually have anything to hide, it's just the principle of the thing.
5 Jul 2010 ~ 12:47am Shorty Ardichoke,

Interesting viewpoint. But I am going to ask for reasoning.

File system: why should Microsoft adopt ZFS? Why shouldn't the 'nix world adopt NTFS (under license). What does ZFS bring to the table that makes it so much more compelling to the 95% of Windows end users who don't care? Neither are worthy endeavours and kind of pointless. Can google share their android file system with RIM or Apple devices? No and who is it hurting in the world by not doing so?

Secure password storage: do you have a password online for icrontic and send PMs? Do you have online webmail? Sadly, anyone is susceptible. However, your bit locker password has to be 1) hacked from Microsoft and 2) someone targets you, steals your hard drive AND unencrypts it. That is a lot unless you have something really sensitive on your PC...
5 Jul 2010 ~ 5:27am ardichoke I was just using ZFS as an example, though it is an excellent filesystem. Very efficient, supports extremely large file and volume sizes (16 exbibytes, or 2^64 bytes, each), can handle 2^48 total files. Supported by Mac and Linux. Sure, 95% of the Windows end users don't care, but then again, 95% of Windows end users don't care about disk encryption, does that mean that they should ditch BitLocker? Most end users don't care about SMB, does that mean that Windows shouldn't have it? Most people also don't care about UAC.... does that make it a bad idea? Just because the end user doesn't care about it doesn't mean it's not a good idea. If development only went by "what 95% of end users care about", computers would not have come nearly as far as they have. It's the other 5% that push the industry and result in most of the progress that is made.

Yep... I sure do have a password for Icrontic. That password is stored via a one-way hash in a database and if someone compromised my account, big deal. In order for a bitlocker password to be stored online, the plaintext would need to be recoverable (unlike passwords used for sites, webmail, etc.). I also don't store sensitive data in my Icrontic account. I do have work-related data on my laptop sometimes. If my work involved sensitive data, having my bitlocker password in the hands of a 3rd party (even if it is Microsoft) would be a massive security risk. They would intentionally be making bitlocker pointless for the very people who needed it most.
5 Jul 2010 ~ 8:54am ascon Windows recovery saves data but it's not really back to that fresh new OS smell. If Windows 8 can figure out how to take the Windows 7 backup of whatever was on the disk before and put it in a separate directory and add in the ability to roll back to "Factory Image"... that would be great.
5 Jul 2010 ~ 9:52am QCH Welcome ascon and we can only hope Microsoft can pull this off.

Ardichoke, the idea for the online storage of the password can be encrypted and only available after several security questions are answered then the password is emailed to you or whatever. I would never allow MS to keep my password in plain text or have access.

The key is that enterprises can recover the passwords via active directory. The average customer should have the same protection. No matter how much you layer on the legal text, customers will still complain if they lose data because they forget their bitlocker passwords.
5 Jul 2010 ~ 3:16pm ardichoke Just cuz customers will complain, doesn't mean they're right and doesn't mean they should compromise security to pander to them. Customers complained about UAC too, but it was something that needed to be done (and should have been done sooner)
5 Jul 2010 ~ 4:06pm Shorty

ardichoke wrote:

Just cuz customers will complain, doesn't mean they're right and doesn't mean they should compromise security to pander to them. Customers complained about UAC too, but it was something that needed to be done (and should have been done sooner)

The customer is after a service not an unworkable dream. Once you realise that, you can sell something.

Knowing MS, they know to secure their online services. Their OS have been insecure for a long time but they have the message me suspects (as you deduce, UAC is one example). 'nix has it's place but don't be too much of a fanboy to not see the big picture in the world of the desktop
6 Jul 2010 ~ 9:48am AlexDeGruven

QCH wrote:

Ardichoke, the idea for the online storage of the password can be encrypted and only available after several security questions are answered then the password is emailed to you or whatever. I would never allow MS to keep my password in plain text or have access.

The key is that enterprises can recover the passwords via active directory. The average customer should have the same protection. No matter how much you layer on the legal text, customers will still complain if they lose data because they forget their bitlocker passwords.

Security questions are the worst thing to come out of online accounts, ever. The problem is, you can't ask questions for which the answer won't possibly change without resorting to information that is either publicly available, or easily obtainable through legal means (or a few minutes of social engineering).

The only way to make password recovery feasible AND secure would be to use biometrics. Even then, biometrics are beatable, but they're at least better than "What's your favorite flavor of ice cream?".
6 Jul 2010 ~ 12:24pm mime92 hmm..Windows 8 seems pretty cool..but im just confused, with users still trying to get their hands on windows 7, ofcourse 150 mill copies sold, its just gona 'break' their hearts i mean, win7 is fairly easy to use people still trying to uncover all the features of it, (referring noobs) and win8 with so many additional features added, its just too easy to make a naive mad with all those 'easy' to use stuff..oh God
6 Jul 2010 ~ 1:14pm QCH As with any OS release, the previous will stop being sold. But worry not, it's years away. Windows 8 will just be an newer version of Windows 7.
8 Jul 2010 ~ 12:36pm mirage I think Windows as a desktop OS will disappear with the increasing capabilities and popularity of mobile devices. I don't see myself still building PCs and installing Windows 3-4 years from now.
8 Jul 2010 ~ 9:38pm ardichoke

mirage wrote:

I think Windows as a desktop OS will disappear with the increasing capabilities and popularity of mobile devices. I don't see myself still building PCs and installing Windows 3-4 years from now.

Famous last words. I hate to say it (being an OSS/FOSS fan) but Windows isn't going anywhere anytime soon. It's too ingrained into the corporate world and has far too much of a stranglehold on the gaming world to lose any significant market share anytime soon.
8 Jul 2010 ~ 11:55pm Bandrik

mirage wrote:

I think Windows as a desktop OS will disappear with the increasing capabilities and popularity of mobile devices.

That's perfectly fine if you prefer to use mobile devices over locked-down, chained-to-a-desk devices.

But for the other 90%+ of people (I'd almost wager it's more like 99%+), a reliable place to sit down to work and play will not be out of the picture for probably decades.

Even the base psychology of it, there's something satisfying and reassuring to know that your device is always there in the same spot when you need it. You can't lose it, you can't have it stolen from you as you walk through town, and you don't drop it or scrape it up from daily use like a PDA or other device is susceptible to.
10 Jul 2010 ~ 10:58am mirage There was an article I saw: The Desktop is Dead! Long Live the Desktop!

I am not saying Windows will be dead (maybe I should not have said disappear). But there are many people using only a browser and a media player on their dekstop PCs. Such things very well can be done with a portable device. Prime's OnLive article also shows that people will be able to play 3D-intensive games with those devices where broadband is available. However, big boxes will still be necessary, especially for professional applications, content creation, scientific computing, visualization, post processing, etc. I am now putting 32 cores in a single box at work for workstations or connecting them to build HPC clusters. Anyone who likes the big boxes will have it since the parts will still be available. But for the rest, there will be economical and practical options increasingly provided by portable devices which will decrease the market share of desktop versions of Windows.