Review: Windows 8 Developer Preview
Windows 8 introduces a new touch-screen interface and App Store software delivery model
Microsoft's Windows 8 Developer Preview (W8 DP), which is now available for download, got its first major push at the recent Build developer conference, where every attendee was loaned a custom-built Samsung tablet PC loaded with the OS, Visual Studio 11 Express for Windows Developer Preview (WDP) and the Developer Preview of Microsoft Expression Blend 5 (see picture below).
This largesse is rumoured to have cost Microsoft £5m, which points to its determination to make sure Windows 8 launches with a large number of applications.
Microsoft is also setting up an app store for Windows 8 from which these applications will be available for download when the OS launches in 2012.
Test systems
Back at our labs we downloaded W8 DP and installed it on our Dell OptiPlex 980, and on the latest version of VMware's desktop virtualisation package, Workstation 8, running on one of our test laptops.
The Samsung system was running a 64-bit version of W8 DP. It included Microsoft Visual Studio 11 Express for Windows Developer Preview (WDP), the Developer Preview of Microsoft Expression Blend 5, Office Viewer 2007 and used mobile broadband from US mobile operator AT&T.
In use
Booting up the Samsung tablet took us through an initial configuration phase similar to a Windows 7 install.
After we accepted licences for the application development software, we were given the option to presonalise features such as wireless connections and the display.
Next, Windows prompted us to download the latest hardware device drivers and any other updates from Windows Update, and then configure settings for Internet Explorer (IE), such as IE's SmartScreen filter, checking if we wanted to join SpyNet, and whether we wanted our location data to be used by Microsoft.
After this we got to see the start screen, and it's unlike anything that has appeared in a Windows desktop OS before. The user interface is a direct steal from Microsoft's consumer Windows Phone 7 OS [see picture].
Users are presented with a selection of touch-enabled tiles that activate so-called Metro-style apps. The ones on our Samsung tablet at Build gave a good demonstration of what is possible with Windows 8's touch capabilities but were essentially consumer-oriented. That said, the application roster is likely to undergo considerable expansion when Windows 8 finally ships.
For users who are more comfortable using a mouse and keyboard, a tile marked "desktop" brings up a more traditional interface. On our test tablet, this interface was essentially Windows 7, but with a few tweaks to the Task Manager and an update to Windows Defender, as well as a preview of IE 10.
We found that the tile-based interface works much better with a touch screen-enabled device like a tablet, than with a standard mouse and keyboard.
Review: Windows 8 Developer Preview
Windows 8 introduces a new touch-screen interface and App Store software delivery model
That said, mouse and keyboard work well when users drop into the legacy Windows 7-type interface, since these applications normally don't have any support for touch-screen devices.
USB 3.0 support
Microsoft says it has provided a new driver stack in Windows 8 to support USB 3.0, but when we checked USB 3.0 data transfer rates with the Samsun tablet using the ATTO benchmark, all we got were standard USB 2.0 transfer rates.
We expected a USB 3.0 transfer rate of about 80MB/s for sequentially reading data, and about 70MB/s for sequentially writing data.
Instead we got standard USB 2.0 data transfer rates with our USB 3.0 device (a Kingston DataTraveler Ultimate 64GB flash memory stick), of 16.4MB/s for sequential read, and 7.9MB/s for the sequential write, 5x and 9x slower respectively than what we expected.
Security improvements
Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI)
Microsoft has replaced the older BIOS-type boot-up environment with UEFI for enterprise devices running Windows 8.
The thinking is that UEFI will help defend hardware against rootkit malware attempting to seize control of user systems before the device actually boots up, so this change should make Windows 8 systems inherently more secure than their predecessors.
The procedure is that Windows 8 will authenticate boot components, like for example the boot OS loader which allows other operating systems to install.
If such components do not have the correct signature, meaning one signed by Microsoft or a trusted certification vendor, then UEFI through Windows won't allow that component to boot.
Another benefit of UEFI is that disks larger than 2TB can be used, which is not the case with BIOS.
While the extra level of security that UEFI brings will be welcomed by many enterprises, some worry that the feature could be used to stop users installing other operating systems on systems that have Windows 8 already installed.
By not allowing certification of Linux boot OS loaders on Windows 8 systems, installing Linux as a dual-boot system alongside Windows 8 might not be possible, without expert skills.
Refresh/Reset
In Windows 8 there are two new ways to clean up your Windows installation and remove unwanted data and applications [see picture].
The Refresh option re-installs all your settings, data and applications downloaded from the Windows App Store, but junks any applications not downloaded from the Windows App Store.
This took 19 minutes and required three reboots. Application we had installed were removed as expected, but there were some settings, such as our Control Panel view, that it did not save.
Admins will also have to repatch the system as well, since Refresh removes all Windows Update downloads, and also device drivers.
With Reset, you get a fresh Windows 8 install, which means all applications - even those downloaded from the Windows App Store - will disappear. Again Windows Update and device drivers disappear. Using Reset took 19 minutes and four reboots.
Task Manager
There's an enhanced Task Manager in Windows 8, and Microsoft has reorganised the tabs and added some new ones [see picture].