Thursday, November 24, 2011
Ten most important features of Windows 8
3:47 AM | 
Posted by
tohariburi
We all know that Windows 8 Developer Preview was released in September,2011 during the BUILD conference. There was an overwhelming response to the next generation Windows 8 operating system from Microsoft. Nearly 300 new features were added to the new operating system. Microsoft is planning to add more nee feature before actual final product is released. Here are the ten most important features of Windows 8.
- Supports both x86 PCs and ARM tablets : Windows 8 is the only operating system which operates on both ARM based tablets and traditional x86 based PCs from Intel and AMD.
A new mode called "always on, always connected" allows you to let tablets act like smart phones. The tablets can be in standby mode without disconnecting from Internet. Windows 8 is designed to work on both PCs and ARM tablets. - Tile based user interface : The Windows 8 start menu is customizable through tiles, which is different from traditional desktop icons which allows you to view live information from the Windows 8 Metro style apps.
While demonstrating about the tile based user interface during BUILD conference, Microsoft showed how the tile for Windows 8 weather app can display current temperature in a city without requiring you to open the app. - Charms:A new concept called 'charms' is introduced in Windows 8. Charms is a new implementation of the traditional Windows Start bar. Charms can also be used to configure settings for individual apps quickly. Charms are basically a set of features which are handled by OS but is used/implemented by the installed apps. When you expand the tool bar on the right hand side ( swiping from the right edge of the screen towards the center) you can see a couple of buttons like Start button, share, settings, search etc. These are the 'charms'. A charm is a feature that called through the OS by using that tool bar but implemented by individual apps. So whenever a user wants to change settings for an app, that setting is available under the settings charm in the tool bar.
- Snap Multi-Tasking: The Snap Multi tasking is another new feature introduced in Windows 8. The Snap feature allows the user to run multiple apps side by side on single screen. This feature is available only on high resolution monitors only.
Snap multi tasking is one of the new feature introduced in Windows 8. The Snap feature allows the user to run multiple apps side by side on single screen. You can make the app smaller or bigger by dragging the bar for the app. But Windows 8 does not allow you run all the applications on a single screen. But this feature is available only on high resolution monitors only. It is possible to enable the Snap feature in low resolution monitors too. - Windows 8 Control Panel: Microsoft has redesigned the control panel for Windows 8. New options are included in the Windows 8 Control Panel. The new options included are Personalize, Users, Wireless, Notifications, General, Privacy, Search and Share. The new Windows 8 Control Panel has been widely appreciated by the users. The new Metro Control Panel of Windows 8 does not replace the old Category View included in earlier versions of Windows. You will still be able to switch to old category view of Control Panel in Windows 8.
- Web Navigation by Touch: The new browser - Internet Explorer 10 built into Windows 8 offers faster browsing along with rapid gesture based zoom, pan and website navigation.
- Touch Key boards: Windows 8 contains two soft keyboards : one is an enhanced traditional keyboard and a new thumbs keyboard. In order to make your typing faster on the virtual keyboard, the new keyboard suggests words as your type on the screen. You can then tap to select a suggested word. There is a spell check like feature designed to automatically correct spelling mistakes.
- Enhanced copy feature: This is another feature introduced in Windows 8. All copy operations are performed in a single dialog box, instead of requiring you to perform file copying in separate dialog boxes for each app.
The new dialog box for file copying allows you to pause, resume and stop the copy operation. You will also get a warning message if you try to copy one version of file over another. Now you will be able to see the speed of data transfer, the transfer rate trend and how much data is left to be transferred. - Native support for USB 3.0: USB 3.0 ports operates at speeds of upto 10 times more faster than USb 2.0 ports. Windows 8 now supports USB 3.0 natively. Native drivers for USB 3.0 are provided in Windows 8.
- Support multiple montirs: Windows 8 now supports multiple monitors. The Windows 8 Developer Preview include capability for extending the task bar across two PCs, without need for any third-party apps. It is possible to stretch wall paper across two monitors or display the Start Screen on one PC and the desktop on another PC. It is now easy to switch between multiple monitors. The primary monitor has a Start button and the secondary monitor has a switcher button. Clicking or tapping on the switcher button will allow you to turn secondary monitor into primary one.
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