Windows 8 Features

Windows 8 which was released as Consumer Preview has defeated its former version 

Windows 7 with new features which are even new to the modern generation 

Listed Below are some of the features of Preview Version of Windows 8



=>. Support for both x86 PCs and ARM tablets

Windows 8 is the first edition of Windows to operate on both ARM-based tablets and 

traditional x86 PCs based on ARM processors from Intel and AMD.

“Support for ARM-based chipsets, touch, and sensors makes Windows 8 work 

beautifully on 

your choice of a full spectrum of devices, such as 10-inch slates with all-day battery 

life, ultra- lightweight laptops, and powerful all-in-ones with 27-inch high-definition 

screens,”Microsoft contends, in a Windows 8 Guide distributed with Windows 

Developer Preview In addition, the ARM edition of Windows 8 includes a new mode 

dubbed “always on, always connected,” designed to let tablets act like smart phones. 

Tablets can remain in standby mode without disconnecting from the Internet, and 

then wake up instantly.Windows 8 is designed to work seamlessly across both PCs 

and ARM tablets. Yet until developers get a real start on apps for Microsoft’s still 


empty Windows Store, it’s tough to tell whether that will be universally true.



=> Touch-centric, Tiles-based User Interface (UI)

Although Windows 8 might look and feel like an entirely new “user experiemce,”, 

Microsoft is actually layering a new animation-enabled user interface (UI) on top of an

 only somewhat upgraded Windows 7.

The Windows 8 Start Menu is customizable through a mosaic of tiles, which differ 

from traditional desktop icons by letting you view live information from Windows 8 

Metro style apps without actually accessing the apps.In demoing the tile-based UI at

 last week’s Build conference , Microsoft showed how the tile for a Windows 8 

weather app is able to display the current temperature in a city – along with projected

 temperatures for the next two days – without requiring you to open up the app. A tile 

for Windows Live Mail will show you your latest message, while a tile for a social 

networking app will show you notifications.

 “The [Metro] apps are full-screen. They’re beautiful.They’re designed for touch, but of 


course,they work great with a mouse and keyboard as well if that’s what you have. We 


wanted to make it really fast and fluid for you to switch between them,” according to 

Jensen Harris, lead program manager on the Microsoft Office User Experience..

Windows 8 users are also able to access Windows 7 apps. “Everything that runs on 

Windows 7 will run on Windows 8,” maintained Steven Sinofsky, president of 

Microsoft’s Windows and Windows Live division, during a keynote at the Build 

conference. However, in order to access Windows 7 apps, you need to switch to a 

different built-in UI.



=>  Charms

In large part, ‘charms’ is a new implementation of the traditional Windows start bar. 

Charms can also be used to quickly configure settings for individual apps. On an 

ordinary non-touch PC, charms are accessed by dragging the mouse to the bottom-

left corner of the screen, to the same spot as the old Windows start button. On a 

tablet, you swipe from the right side of the screen to bring up charms.Microsoft 

recently applied for a trademark on charms. The charms sidebar offers five sets of

 options, supporting both app-specific settings and system settings such as volume 

and brightness. The options include Start, Search, Share, Devices, and Settings. The 

Start option returns the user to the home screen. The Devices option presents a list of

 connected devices. Under the Share option, users can see social network sharing 

apps.




=> Snap Multi-tasking

‘Snap multitasking” is designed to make it easy to run two apps in Windows 8 side-

by-side, to re size them, and to switch between them. On the right-hand side of the 

screen, you can snap an app into place.You can make an app smaller or larger by 

dragging the bar for the app. To switch between apps in Windows 8, you swipe from 

the left-hand part of the screen.However, Windows 8 does not allow you to view all of

your running apps on a single screen. 



=> Windows 8 Control Panel

Beyond revamping the Windows task manager, Microsoft has also redesigned the 

control panel for Windows 8.  New options include Personalize, Users, Wireless,

Notifications, General, Privacy, Search, and Share.As Metro style apps become 

available, you'll be able to use the Personalize menu to customize

 the Start menu with tiles for calendar, music, e-mail, Netflix, and much more.In a demo 

Build, Julie Larson-Green, Microsoft's corporate VP of program management for 

Windows, showed how you’ll be able to position these Metro apps on the screen, and 

also to combine them into groups such as friends and games.




You can Download Windows 8 Consumer Preview Version From the Official site

Download Link - Click Here

For Microsoft Surface review click here

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