Windows 8 features unveiled at the 2011 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.Microsoft announced that Windows 8 would be including support for system-on-a-chip (SoC) and mobile ARM processors in Windows 8.
Windows 8 includes a new "Hybrid Boot" option that uses "advanced hibernation functionality" on shutdown to allow faster startup times. Another new feature is the ability to create a Portable Workspace, an installation of Windows 8 on a USB storage device.
Milestone 1 (build 7850, with a build date of September 22, 2010) was leaked to Beta Archive, an online beta community, which was soon leaked to P2P/torrent sharing networks on April 12, 2011. Milestone 1 includes a ribbon interface for Windows Explorer, a PDF reader called Modern Reader, an updated task manager called Modern Task Manager, and native ISO mounting.
A Milestone 3 build, build 7971, was released to close partners of Microsoft on March 29, 2011 but was kept under heavy security. However, a few screenshots were leaked. The Windows 7 Basic theme has been replaced with a new theme, where the boxes that encase the "close, maximize, and minimize" buttons have been removed, leaving just the signs.
Milestone 3 includes a new Welcome screen, a new packaged application model called AppX that is based on Silverlight, Windows Store to review and buy applications online, and a setting to automatically adjust window color to fit the wallpaper. It also includes a stripped down "Immersive" version of Internet Explorer, similar to the mobile version of Internet Explorer, but using the desktop Trident rendering engine.
At the Microsoft Developer Forum in Tokyo on May 23, 2011, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced that the next version of Windows will be released the following year (in 2012).
"And yet, as we look forward to the next generation of Windows systems, which will come out next year, there's a whole lot more coming. As we progress through the year, you ought to expect to hear a lot about Windows 8. Windows 8 slates, tablets, PCs, a variety of different form factors.
However, the company quickly corrected Ballmer's words in a company statement issued that afternoon.
"It appears there was a misstatement. We are eagerly waiting the next generation of Windows 7 hardware that will be available in the coming fiscal year. To date, we have yet to formally announce any timing or naming for the next version of Windows.
On June 1, 2011, at the Computer Electronics Show (Computex 2011) Microsoft previewed Windows 8, officially unveiling some of its new features. The main features that were shown are the improved touch features and a totally revamped user interface. Microsoft also announced that Windows 8 will use the processor and the physical memory more efficiently, to make Windows 8 run more smoothly. It was also revealed that Windows 8 will support a wide range of different 16:9 screen resolutions.
The Start menu can be replaced by the new start screen which includes live application tiles. The user can return to the regular desktop by choosing the 'Desktop' application. Examples of applications on the Start Screen include a weather application, Windows Store, Investments, User Personal Page and User's MSN Account. It was unveiled at the D9 conference.
Microsoft will cover more of the new features, and improvements in Windows 8 at the new BUILD developer conference, September 13-16, 2011
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