Early Windows 8 adoption '5X slower' than Windows 7

Only 0.45 per cent of all Windows machines 

 

Microsoft's new Windows 8 operating systme is only running on 45 out of every 10,000 PCs, according to new figures, putting adoption far below the initial Windows 7 uptake.
Data from the Net Applications company showed that, at the end of October, 0.45 per cent of total PCs were running Microsoft's latest OS.
That's compared to previous figures from the same company that showed 2.33 per cent of users had taken on Windows 7 following its launch at the end of October 2009.
However, the comparison is tempered by slightly differing launch dates. Windows 7 arrived on the Oct. 22 that year, while Windows 8 only went public on last Friday, Oct. 26.

Adoption anomaly

The four-day launch discrepancy aside, a rocket science doctorate isn't really necessary to produce a thesis on the anomaly, which suggests an early adoption rate five times lower than W8's predecessor.
It's been well documented that, when Windows 7 arrived in 2009, PC users were anxious to make the jump from the largely-disastrous Windows Vista or the ancient Window XP software.
However, it turns out people actually quite like Windows 7, are still enjoying it and may not be experiencing the same sense of urgency to upgrade.
There's also the newness of the Windows 8 experience to consider. Microsoft has "re-imagined" its operating system with the new Windows UI and potential upgraders may be experiencing trepidation at the prospect of learning new software.
However, Microsoft knows this is a marathon and not a sprint and will thus be blitzing televisions and web browsers with commercials in the run up to Christmas.

Microsoft sued over Live Tiles in Windows 8

Surface brings out the patent trolls 

 

A US company is suing Microsoft is over its use of Live Tiles in Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8.

A company called SurfCast has filed the suit over its patent #6,724,403 which is all to do with how content is organised and displayed.
"The present invention comprises a graphical user interface which organizes content from a variety of information sources into a grid of tiles, each of which can refresh its content independently of the others.
"The grid functionality manages the refresh rates of the multiple information sources," the patent reads.

Familiar

It sure sounds a lot like Live Tiles – and Surfcast is after recompense for any Windows Phone 7, Windows Phone 8, Windows 8 and Windows RT device using them.
But Microsoft's been showing off bits and pieces on device homescreens using its dynamic tiles since Windows Phone 7 launched in October 2010; why is Surfcast suddenly all up in Microsoft's grill over it now?
It's all to do with the Microsoft Surface and the potential payout that Windows 8 will afford, given that Windows Phone hasn't exactly made anyone a bundle.
Surfcast also says Microsoft is encouraging other companies to infringe its patent by urging devs to build app tiles for the Windows Store and allowing manufacturers to sell Windows 8 and Windows Phone devices.
We don't expect to see this result in multiple years' worth of litigation between the two companies a la Samsung vs Apple – as The Verge suggests, Microsoft will likely settle with Surfcast out of court and we can all move on.

Microsoft showcases PayPal, Dropbox and other apps for Windows 8

Call it the week of Windows 8: Microsoft wasted no time luring developers to the new OS during its Build 2012 conference in Seattle Tuesday.
Among the showcasing going on, the Softies focused on W8 apps for the Windows Store, including ones for PayPal, ESPN and Dropbox.
Microsoft also revealed that 4 million people have made the switch to Windows 8 since the OS was made available Oct. 26, a number that's sure to peak developers' interest.
The company did not, however, make mention of Surface tablet sales.

What the W8 apps are all about

Dropbox's new app "offers cloud based storage and synchronization service for photos, documents and videos on Windows 8," Microsoft wrote in an official blog post.
Look for it in the Windows Store soon.
With the ESPN app, news, scores and videos are all aggregated, plus ESPN The Magazine, podcasts and photo galleries all make the cut.
For sports-specific fans, W8 lets users pin whatever sport they choose and their favorite teams to their Start screens, too.
With PayPal, the Windows 8 API lets devs use the service within any Windows Store app to actually get paid.
Microsoft also announced in its blog post that Twitter is also working on a Windows 8 app, a tidbit the social network later confirmed with a tweet. However, that app won't see the light of day for a few months.

Five reasons why Windows 8 has Apple and Google beaten

Microsoft is onto something. With Windows 8 it's better positioned than both Apple and Google to ride the coming laptop-tablet convergence wave.
It might even eventually give Microsoft a shot at the all-important smartphone market. To understand why, let's count the ways in which Windows 8 is best.

1. Tablet-laptop convergence

Laptops and tablets are converging. And only Microsoft has an OS that's fit for that coming unification of devices.
Apple has no convergence strategy at this time. That's because it fiercely guards product-specific profit streams and just doesn't go in for making things that cannibalise its own sales.
So, Mac Mini is hobbled to protect iMac. iMac is hobbled to protect Mac Pro. And iPad isn't allowed to wander into MacBook's territory.

Likewise, Chrome OS isn't a fully viable notebook OS. And nor is Android. Windows 8 is the only OS that's a genuine goer for both tablets and laptops.

2. Superior user interface

The interface formerly known as Metro and now labelled 'Modern' is quite literally the most modern of touchscreen UIs. It's not perfect. But it's fresh. It's contemporary. And it's polished.
It combines the responsiveness of Apple's iOS with the power and configurability of Google Android. And it looks better than both.

3. ARM and x86 CPU support

You can argue the toss over the advantages of ARM vs x86 processors. Will ARM continue to have a power efficiency edge? Will the raw power of Intel's x86 chip eventually win the day?
It doesn't matter because with Windows 8, Microsoft now supports both.
OK, there's an x86 compatible version on Android out there, too. But for now it's more of an experiment than a serious play in the market. Meanwhile, when it comes to ultramobile operating systems, Apple's iOS is ARM-only..

4. Multi-tasking

Multi-tasking is something that Windows has always nailed, from thread management at the kernel level to the way the UI presents presents multiple apps.
Now it's even better than ever thanks to a choice between old-school task bar application management on the desktop and app "snapping" in the Modern UI.

Microsoft has also added some gesture-driven app switching to the Modern UI. Put simply, Windows 8 is miles ahead of iOS and Android for multi-tasking and app switching.

5. Backwards compatibility

OK, this bit only applies to the regular x86 version of Windows 8 and not the ARM-compatible Windows RT, flavour. But only Windows 8 offers you a fully contemporary, touch-enabled ultramobile OS that also supports the huge ecosystem of legacy PC applications and delivers powerful multi-tasking.
It really is one OS to rule them all.

 

It's not all good news

Windows 8 isn't perfect. Limitations abound, including the peculiarly neutered desktop mode in Windows RT. Then there's the pitiful number of touch-enabled apps compared with Android and iOS.
But there's plenty of time to get forensic with Windows 8's shortcomings. For now, let's focus on the fact that it's a huge step forward for MS.
For you, it means the prospect of genuine device consolidation. Tablet and laptop combined in one device that's more than the sum of its parts.
If merit counts for anything, here's hoping Windows 8 will make a tangible dent in both Android and iOS.

Windows 8 versions: which is right for you?

Explained The difference between Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro and Windows RT

With only two versions of Windows 8 to be available to consumers, plus one for ARM devices (pre-installed only), what you get ought to be straightforward.
But, as is usual with a new version of Windows, there's still room for confusion because what you get with each version overlaps slightly.

The three Windows 8 versions
Windows 8 (for x86, Intel/AMD)
Windows 8 Pro (for x86, Intel/AMD)
Windows RT (for ARM)

Windows 8

Windows 8 (yes, just Windows 8) is the home version for x86 Intel and AMD PCs. The features you do and don't get mostly make sense; joining a domain, encrypting your disk with BitLocker and being able to log into your PC remotely are business features.
You can connect to a PC at work from a Windows 8 system, with Remote Desktop or a VPN, you can combine multiple hard drives into one storage 'pool' that has multiple copies of your files and you can mount VHD and ISO images as if they were hard drives – but you can't boot from a VHD file.
And anyone who speaks more than one language or travels between countries will be delighted that you can switch not just the keyboard but the Windows interface from one language to another without paying extra.

Windows 8 Pro

What doesn't immediately make as much sense is that Media Center not included with Windows 8; it's "an economical media pack add-on" that's only available for Windows 8 Pro, which is otherwise for business users (or enthusiast users). Again, Windows 8 Pro is for for x86 Intel and AMD PCs.
Although Media Center has dedicated fans (around 50 of whom wrote to Windows head Steven Sinofsky to ask about the feature), only 6% of Windows 7 users ever launch it and only 25% of those use it for more than ten minutes at a time.
Microsoft has to pay licences for the codecs used in Media Centre, including Dolby technology. When the Developer Preview came out last September, Sinofsky commented that "the feedback about Media Center was predominantly "we will pay extra, just include it" based on the input directly to me," so it looks like Microsoft is taking users at their word.

Windows RT explained

All three versions of Windows 8 run Metro-style (also now known as Microsoft design style) applications written in WinRT, the new Windows RunTime programming framework, which is also what Windows RT is named for. Windows RT will come pre-installed on ARM devices like Microsoft Surface, you won't be able to install it yourself.
This is what was previously called Windows on ARM. It has both the Microsoft design style Start screen and the Windows desktop, with Task Manager and Explorer and support for multiple monitors (remember Windows RT devices won't be just tablets and they'll have connectors like HDMI).

But even though you get the desktop on Windows RT, you can't install desktop applications. It comes with ARM-specific versions of Office apps – but just Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote, so if you want Outlook you need a PC with an Intel or AMD processor.

SmartGlass to share Windows 8 release date

Xbox 360 about to go multiscreen

October 26 will be a busy day for tech fans as Microsoft's SmartGlass app hits as the Windows 8 hardware goes on sale.
The free app transforms your tablet or phone into a second screen for the Xbox 360, and will be available on Windows 8 and Windows RT from October 26.
It'll be coming to Windows 8 PCs, Windows RT tablets, Windows Phone 8 handsets and iOS and Android devices eventually, but iOS and Android users may face a wait of several months.

Dashboard

SmartGlass will work with the new Xbox 360 dashboard (which is currently rolling out to all Xbox Live users) and offer web browsing as well as a place to track your gaming facts and figures
As well as the stat attack, SmartGlass actually allows you to use your tablet or phone as part of certain games – titles like Forza Horizon and Ascend have already integrated the external devices.
SmartGlass can also act as a remote for when you're watching films through your console, streaming other content from the internet or using the newly-launched Xbox Music service. 

Streaming media in Windows 8: what you need to know

How to stream music and video on Windows 8

Apple has AirPlay and Apple TV, which is fine if you're tied to the Apple ecosystem. Microsoft has Xbox 360, the best-selling console on the market month after month and Windows 8 ought to be able to build on that to make streaming music and video around your house simple.

Except, with all the choices on a PC, things are rarely simple.
In Windows 7, Windows Media Player has the Play To feature; this lets you stream music or video to a DLNA-certified device like a Sonos music player or a Western Digital TV adapter, or to another PC in your homegroup with Media Player on.
If it works, it works well. If it doesn't it's hard to troubleshoot. Windows 8 makes this both better and worse. Play To isn't limited to Windows Media Player any more - it's in Explorer and desktop Internet Explorer, it works with HTML5 video in web pages (including in the Metro IE browser) and it can be built right into applications.
It's in the Xbox music and Xbox video Windows Store apps, for example. And with the Charm bar, it can always be in the same place - open the Devices charm from an app to see what you can send your media to.
But Play To is also much more picky and what it really wants is a certified Play To receiver rather than just any DLNA device. Certified receivers support H.264 video with AAC, they have low latency so your video doesn't stutter, they can cope with complicated libraries of media rather than just flat folder structures, they have a standby mode to save power but can wake up remotely when you start playing and they use peer-to-peer Wi-Fi Direct to avoid complicated network issues.
And there's only a handful of them on the market so far. As of Windows 8 RTM the list was some 2011 Samsung SMART TVs, a couple of 2011 Sony DLNA TVs, three specific Altec Lansing LIVE speakers, the newer but not the older Western Digital TV Live media players, Windows Media Player on a Windows 7 or 8 PC, Windows Store apps that use the Windows 8 Digital Media Receiver API - and now the latest Xbox 360 update.

Older DLNA devices like the Sonos players show up as 'uncertified' in the Windows 8 Devices list and they might or might not work with Play To. This varied even on the same system in our tests. Some days we could see a Sonos ZonePlayer and send music to it, some days Windows thought we didn't have any Play To devices at all and the buttons in Media Player and Explorer were greyed out, even though the Sonos devices were still listed in Devices.

At the moment, the new dashboard for Xbox 360 is the best and most reliable device to stream media to, and again there are lots of options.
Streaming media works differently depending on where the music or video comes from, as well as what application you start from.
The simplest experience is when you want to use the Xbox Music app on Windows 8 to play a track from the Xbox music service - or the Xbox video app on Windows 8 to play a video from the Xbox video service - on your Xbox.
Pick the Play button for the album or track in Xbox music and the app bar shows both 'Add to now playing' and 'Play' on Xbox 360 - the Xbox video app puts both options in the main menu on screen. Once you're listening to one track or album, anything else you select in Xbox music on your PC just offers you the 'Play on Xbox 360' button - simple.
While you're at it, you can use your PC to control the Xbox: tap on icons for the A, B, X and Y buttons and they do the same as the physical buttons on an Xbox controller (the more familiar you are with controlling the Xbox dashboard with a physical controller, the less confusing this is).
Playing video on Xbox from the Windows 8 Xbox video app takes you into the SmartGlass app where you can browse the Xbox dashboard.

If you want to play music or video you have stored on your own system, not from the Xbox music or video services, you have to start playing the video, album or track as normal - and then open the Charm bar, choose 'Devices' and pick Xbox 360 - or any other devices you can send media to, if you're lucky enough to see them show up here.

That's the same from the Metro IE browser; start playing HTML5 video, whether it's in a window on the web page or full screen, and you can use Devices to send it to your Xbox. Of course you may not know whether the video you're watching is HTML5 or not until you try to send it to another device…

 

If certified Play To devices become common, or DLNA devices start working more reliably with Windows 8, this will all be a fantastic way of streaming content around the house - especially if you buy into the new Xbox music service, which will include free streaming music on Windows 8 when it launches.
Today, it's great if you have an updated Xbox; the screen and speakers that it's connected to are likely to be much better for enjoying music and video on than your laptop or tablet, and your laptop or tablet is a much better way for most people to control an Xbox than a controller designed for gaming.
For older DLNA devices, unless it just works first time, it ends up being a frustrating experience.