Ms windows 8 wiki

As of , all certified devices must contain Trusted Platform Module 2. Main article: Windows 8 editions. Windows 8 is available in three different editions, of which the lowest version, branded simply as Windows 8 , and Windows 8 Pro , were sold at retail in most countries, and as pre-loaded software on new computers. Each edition of Windows 8 includes all of the capabilities and features of the edition below it, and add additional features oriented towards their market segments.

This license also includes Windows Media Center. Unlike previous versions of Windows, Windows 8 was distributed at retail in "Upgrade" licenses only, which require an existing version of Windows to install.

The "full version software" SKU, which was more expensive but could be installed on computers without an eligible OS or none at all, was discontinued. Retail distribution of Windows 8 has since been discontinued in favor of Windows 8.

Unlike 8, 8. Pricing for these new copies remain identical. The three desktop editions of Windows 8 support bit and bit architectures; retail copies of Windows 8 include install DVDs for both architectures, while the online installer automatically installs the version corresponding with the architecture of the system's existing Windows installation.

Microsoft started moving away from this architecture after Windows The bit version runs on CPUs compatible with x86 8th generation known as x , or x64 or newer, and can run bit and bit programs. Windows RT, the only edition of Windows 8 for systems with ARM processors, only supports applications included with the system such as a special version of Office , supplied through Windows Update, or Windows Store apps, to ensure that the system only runs applications that are optimized for the architecture.

Windows RT does not support running IA or x64 applications. Windows 8 ultrabooks device showcase in a Microsoft Store Toronto. Following the unveiling of Windows 8, Microsoft faced criticism particularly from free software supporters for mandating that devices receiving its optional certification for Windows 8 have secure boot enabled by default using a key provided by Microsoft.

Concerns were raised that secure boot could prevent or hinder the use of alternate operating systems such as Linux. In a post discussing secure boot on the Building Windows 8 blog, Microsoft developer Tony Mangefeste indicated that vendors would provide means to customize secure boot, stating that "At the end of the day, the customer is in control of their PC.

Microsoft's philosophy is to provide customers with the best experience first, and allow them to make decisions themselves.

It also revealed that ARM devices Windows RT would be required to have secure boot permanently enabled, with no way for users to disable it. However, Tom Warren of The Verge noted that other vendors have implemented similar hardware restrictions on their own ARM-based tablet and smartphone products including those running Microsoft's own Windows Phone platform , but still argued that Microsoft should "keep a consistent approach across ARM and x86, though, not least because of the number of users who'd love to run Android alongside Windows 8 on their future tablets.

Several notable video game developers criticized Microsoft for making its Windows Store a closed platform subject to its own regulations, as it conflicted with their view of the PC as an open platform. Markus "Notch" Persson creator of the indie game Minecraft , [ ] Gabe Newell co-founder of Valve Corporation and developer of software distribution platform Steam , [ ] and Rob Pardo from Activision Blizzard voiced concern about the closed nature of the Windows Store.

Reviews of the various editions of Windows 8 have been mixed to negative. Tom Warren of The Verge said that although Windows 8's emphasis on touch computing was significant and risked alienating desktop users, he felt that Windows 8 tablets "[make] an iPad feel immediately out of date" due to the capabilities of the operating system's hybrid model and increased focus on cloud services.

Pierce also considered the Start Screen to be a "brilliant innovation for desktop computers" when compared with "folder-littered desktops on every other OS" because it allows users to interact with dynamic information. Other improvements and features such as File History, Storage Spaces, and the updated Task Manager were also regarded as positive changes.

Bright also said that Windows 8's duality towards tablets and traditional PCs was an "extremely ambitious" aspect of the platform as well, but criticized Microsoft for emulating Apple 's model of a closed distribution platform when implementing the Windows Store. The interface of Windows 8 has been the subject of negative reaction. Bright wrote that its system of hot corners and edge swiping "wasn't very obvious" due to the lack of instructions provided by the operating system on the functions accessed through the user interface, even by the video tutorial added on the RTM release which only instructed users to point at corners of the screen or swipe from its sides.

Despite this " stumbling block ", Bright said that Windows 8's interface worked well in some places, but began to feel incoherent when switching between the "Metro" and desktop environments, sometimes through inconsistent means. He noted that while forcing all users to use the new touch-oriented interface was a risky move for Microsoft as a whole, it was necessary in order to push development of apps for the Windows Store.

In , Frank X. Shaw, a Microsoft corporate vice president, said that while many of the negative reviews were extreme, it was a "good thing" that Microsoft was "listening to feedback and improving a product". Microsoft says that 4 million users upgraded to Windows 8 over the weekend after its release, [ ] [ ] which CNET says was well below Microsoft's internal projections and was described inside the company as disappointing. On November 27, , Microsoft announced that it has sold 40 million licenses of Windows 8 in the first month, surpassing the pace of Windows 7.

However, according to research firm NPD, sales of devices running Windows in the United States have declined 21 percent compared to the same time period in Windows 8 surpassed Windows Vista in market share with a 5.

Windows 8's tablet market share has also been growing steadily, with 7. However, this is still well below Android and iOS , which posted This matched sales of Windows 7 over a similar period. In January , Hewlett-Packard began a promotion for desktops running Windows 7, saying that it was "back by popular demand".

Outside sources have suggested that this might be because HP or its customers thought the Windows 8 platform would be more appropriate for mobile computing than desktop computing, or that they were looking to attract customers forced to switch from XP who wanted a more familiar interface.

Microsoft had similarly cut the price of Windows XP licenses to compete against the early waves of Linux-based netbooks. Some media outlets falsely reported that the SKU associated with this plan, "Windows 8.

On the information gathered by Net Applications, adoption rate in March for Windows 8. In May , the Government of China banned the internal purchase of Windows 8-based products under government contracts requiring "energy-efficient" devices.

The story featured an interview with Ni Guangnan, who stated that operating systems could aggregate "sensitive user information" that could be used to "understand the conditions and activities of our national economy and society", and alleged that per documents leaked by Edward Snowden , the U.

Yang Min, a computer scientist at Fudan University , also stated that "the security features of Windows 8 are basically to the benefit of Microsoft, allowing them control of the users' data, and that poses a big challenge to the national strategy for information security.

Main article: Windows 8. A feature update to Windows 8 known as Windows 8. Windows 8's stock apps were also updated, a new Bing -based unified search system was added, SkyDrive was given deeper integration with the operating system, and a number of new stock apps, along with a tutorial, were added. Microsoft marketed Windows 8. This requires an 8. Windows 1. Microsoft Wiki Explore.

Wiki Content. The Developer Preview comes with two new recovery functions, namely Refresh and Reset , both of which make a complete restore easier than a re-installation. The latter deletes all files and effectively re-installs Windows, but without any additional user input such as agreeing to license agreements or selecting a hard disk required.

After a reset completes, the user will be asked for the product key and will then proceed to account creation. One big change is that user accounts do not have to be local-only anymore, but can be linked up to one's Windows Live ID. This has the advantage that users will not lose their settings and files, as they move from their home computer to their work laptop or to any other computer also using Windows 8, and signing in via Windows Live ID.

A storage space will behave like a physical disk to the user, with thin provisioning of available disk space. The spaces are organized within a storage pool, i. The process of adding new disks or replacing failed or older disks is fully automatic, but can be controlled with PowerShell commands.

The same storage pool can host multiple storage spaces. Storage Spaces have built-in resiliency from disk failures, which is achieved by either mirroring or striping with parity across the physical disks. Each storage pool on the ReFS filesystem is limited to 4 PB TB , but there are no limits on total number of storage pools or the number of storage spaces within a pool.

Windows 8 will have built-in support of USB 3. Windows 8 will also include Microsoft's Hyper-V virtualization software. Previously only offered in Windows Server, Hyper-V will now be available in client versions of Windows for the first time. On September 8, , Microsoft announced that Windows 8 has short boot times, because it saves the kernel 's memory to the hard disk on shutdown similar to the existing hibernate option and reloads it on start up.

Windows 8 will support the UEFI secure boot feature. It is based on a public key infrastructure PKI process to validate firmware images before they are allowed to execute.

A secure boot helps reduce the risk of boot loader attacks. Windows 8 includes WDDM 1. New features were first previewed at the Windows BUILD conference and include performance improvements as well as support for stereoscopic 3D rendering and video playback. Other major features include preemptive multitasking with finer granularity DMA buffer, primitive, triangle, pixel, or instruction-level , reduced memory footprint, improved resource sharing, and faster timeout detection and recovery.

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