Win8 PC Market Transition

"The launch of Windows 8 is the beginning of a new era at Microsoft," CEO Steve Ballmer said in a prepared statement. "Investments we've made over a number of years are now coming together to create a future of exceptional devices and services, with tremendous opportunity for our customers, developers, and partners."

While investors will scour the earnings statement for clues to the future -- as well as the investor conference call scheduled for later -- this was one of those rare moments in Microsoft's history where the important news accompanying its quarterly earnings statements was not so much the quarterly earnings statement itself. The reason: next week Microsoft will officially release the Windows 8 operating system as well as its Surface as the company takes its next big steps toward a post-PC world that it has dominated for much of the last three decades. That's a market that continues to slow down, a trend underscored by recent warnings from both Intel and Hewlett-Packard of sluggish demand ahead.

But with PC sales slowing, Wall Street is hoping that the Surface tablet will help secure Microsoft s future. Indeed, Credit Suisse forecast PC shipments to grow by just 5.6 percent year-over-year in calendar 2013. The opposite side of that coin: the firm says that Windows 8 "will have a more meaningful position in tablets than the market appreciates, which we believe will serve as a catalyst for the stock."

Netflix Win8App

Windows 8 is an operating system produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablets, and home theater PCs.

Development of this operating system started before the release of its predecessor in 2009. Its existence was first announced in January 2011 at Consumer Electronics Show. During its development and test phases, Microsoft released three pre-release versions: Developer Preview (September 13, 2011), Consumer Preview (February 29, 2012), and Release Preview (May 31, 2012). On August 1, 2012, Windows 8 graduated from the development stage and was released to manufacturing. Windows 8 is scheduled for general availability on October 26, 2012.

Microsoft confirmed that a Netflix app would be available for Windows 8, and it turns out it's available well before the big October 26th launch date. Netflix announced today that the app is now available for download from the Windows Store for those who've already upgraded to an early version of the OS. Expectedly, the app matches the overall style of Windows 8, and Netflix says that it's also made the app more efficient to cut down on both CPU and battery usage. It's quick to point out that this is only the first version of the app, though, noting that it has "more updates and ideas in the pipeline for later this fall."

Win8 Copy NewLook

After conducting research with users of Microsoft 7 and older operating systems, Microsoft has discovered that when it comes to using Windows Explorer, 50% of us use it for copying files, moving files, renaming files and deleting files.

They also found that whilst for most of us, these tasks complete within seconds, for some people, especially those who are copying or deleting huge amounts of data, these tasks can take over two minutes to complete.  So, they've re-designed the whole thing. Now when you copy files, you get one user interface, (UI) open to show all copying jobs.

To help you to decide which job to pause, if you click on the 'More Details' button you can see a graphical representation of how much data is being transferred.  As mentioned in the screen shot, you can pause each job from this screen to speed up the data transfer of one particular job.

If the rest of the improvements to Windows 8 are as impressive as these improvements to Windows Explorer, this should be a very interesting new operating system indeed.

Flash Vulnerability in IE10 on Windows 8

Today, Microsoft is announcing the availability of an update for Adobe Flash Player in Internet Explorer 10 on all supported editions of Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012. The update addresses the vulnerability in Adobe
Flash Player by updating the affected Adobe Flash libraries contained within Internet Explorer 10.  Technology mitigation is listed as:

• In a web-based attack scenario where the user is using Internet Explorer 10 for the desktop, an attacker could host a website that contains a web page that is used to exploit any of these vulnerabilities.
• Internet Explorer 10 in the Windows 8-style UI will only play Flash content from sites listed on the Compatibility View (CV) list. This restriction requires an attacker to first compromise a website already listed in the CV list. An attacker could then host specially crafted Flash content designed to exploit any of these vulnerabilities through Internet Explorer and then convince a user to view the website.
• By default, all supported versions of Microsoft Outlook and Windows Live Mail open HTML email messages in the Restricted sites zone.
• By default, Internet Explorer on Windows Server 2012 runs in a restricted mode that is known as Enhanced Security Configuration.  This mode can help reduce the likelihood of exploitation by these vulnerabilities in Adobe Flash Player in Internet Explorer 10

More info at:http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/advisory/2755801

Win8 App in 30 days

Windows 8 seeks to re-imagine the Microsoft OS experience with a focus on connectivity, users, mobile PCs, and the cloud. "Fast and fluid" is the soul of Windows 8. No more prompts or questions, simply tap a tile - the Windows UI showcases only what you need.

For developers, Windows 8 brings new opportunities... and new techniques to learn and use in your apps, from Windows-style design to coding apps with web technologies to the marketplace.

I came across an interesting site, which helps the developer to build a Windows 8 App in 30 days.  The developement portal contains:

• Insider tips and tricks on Windows 8 application development.
• Personal on-the-phone access to a Windows 8 architect.
• An exclusive one-on-one Windows Store design consultation.
• An opportunity to get expert help from a Microsoft Services Engineer at an App Excellence Lab.

You can visit at http://www.generationapp.com/W8appsin30.aspx

Microsoft New Logo

It’s been 25 years since Microsoft updated its logo and now is the perfect time for a change. This is an incredibly exciting year for Microsoft as we prepare to release new versions of nearly all of our products. From Windows 8 to Windows Phone 8 to Xbox services to the next version of Office, you will see a common look and feel across these products providing a familiar and seamless experience on PCs, phones, tablets and TVs. 

The logo has two components: the logotype and the symbol. For the logotype, Microsoft uses the Segoe font which is the same font for their marketing communications. The symbol’s squares of color are intended to express the company’s diverse portfolio of products. The symbol is important in a world of digital motion.  In that dimension, the symbol represents Windows8 new Tile based User Interface (UI).

It reflects Microsoft's branding milestone towards Windows8 product suit releases.

Windows8 Updates

It's happened to all of us at one time or another; you're halfway through some work when Windows Update informs you that it's about to restart your computer to install an update. Sure, you can delay it for fifteen minutes, but at the back of your mind you know you're going to have to stop what you're doing, close down your programs and restart. It's a pain.

But now Microsoft has made it easier to update without interrupting your work. In Windows 8 Windows Update or WU will happen once a month.

If you haven't restarted your machine within these three days, your computer will give you a standard 15 minute warning that it is about to restart. 

When it comes to restarting, you will notice that you now have new options: 'Update and restart' is shown 'immediately after the update occurs.  Isn't it cool?  I'm sure we can all cope with that.