Must Read
Microsoft has made some small attempts to bridge the differences between the interfaces. Metro and the participation of some basic navigation Desktop - for example, in both, when you move the mouse pointer to the bottom left of the screen with the Start button, the menu options described above will appear, along with the date and time, and notifications for example, if you are connected to a network and power status of your computer.
This is a good way of trying to establish common ground between two different interfaces, but not always successful. At the interface of Metro, the options are context sensitive, so when you're in an application and click Settings, for example, adjustments relating to the application. However, if you click Settings on the desktop of the results always refer to the desktop, if you are currently using an application.
When you mouse to the bottom left of the screen, new options appear, along with the time and notifications.
Windows 8 and the cloudWindows 8 is clearly being designed with the cloud on the mind as well. After installation, you are prompted to enter a Windows Live ID, or to register for one if not already have one. Your Windows machine 8 is linked to Live cloud-based services from Microsoft, including Windows Live SkyDrive, which is expected to be the central place for your records.
This Developer Preview is running on a PC, however, only a few services were available in the cloud, which will probably change in the future. At the interface of Metro, when I click Control Panel, I found the PC sync settings, which are designed for cloud-based world in which people use multiple devices, including Windows-based computers , tablets and smartphones.
By default, Sync is enabled, which means that the global settings - such as application configuration, lock screen image and themes, browser settings, taskbar and Windows Explorer settings and Some passwords - are automatically synchronized between all devices. You may choose whether to synchronize devices using measured data plan.
Surprisingly, nowhere I could find settings for automatic synchronization and real data files using Microsoft's cloud storage service Windows Live SkyDrive. You may appear in a future version of Windows 8.
Two ways to use Internet ExplorerWindows Developer Preview 8 comes with not one but two versions of Internet Explorer 10, an interface for Metro and one for the desktop. The underlying engine that supports CSS3, HTML5 and Flash, it is the same for both, but the interface is totally different surroundings.
In the version of Metro, full screen browse, not immediately visible to controls by typing a URL, add bookmarks, update a Web page or lashes. Right click anywhere on the page, however, and the controls appear at the top and bottom of the screen. The top of the screen displays thumbnails to click on all open tabs. Click the X to close the tab and click + to open a new tab, at which time a screen appears showing the pages you visit frequently and sites you've set so they are always visible when opens a new tab. These sites are also covered in the main interface of a meter.
Windows 8 has two versions of Internet Explorer 10. The version shown here is the Metro version, designed for tablets.
The address bar appears at the bottom of the screen when you press the right button, but we will see its URL and typing in a different, go forward or backward, refresh the current page, the pin of the current page , FindText on the current page and change the desktop version of Internet Explorer.
The desktop version of IE is 10 and works as Internet Explorer 9, with the usual menu least tabbed interface.
Because the underlying engine is the same, if you change to Metro desktop version, desktop version will have all the tabs that are open, current address, and so on.
The bottom line8 on a Windows desktop is very similar to operating system transition, trying to bridge traditional PC-based computing and mobile computing done in tablets and smartphones. Even after several days of use, the experience was a bit awkward, and I never had the feeling that I was using two operating systems - Metro and the desktop - joined by a thin thread.
I hope that users of tablets and smart phones rarely make their way into the desktop, especially with the recent announcement that Microsoft will develop a version of Metro's Office.
In fact, based on the Developer Preview principles can not be much for business in Windows 8. Updating Windows Vista to Windows 7 or 8 would probably be a problem for businesses because the interface is so different Metro earlier versions of Windows.
Given the amount of resources that Microsoft has invested in the subway, and the few who seems to have spent on the desk, do not be surprised if eventually the desktop will vanish in future versions of Windows. The boot screen in Windows 8, Metro, calls out a touch interface - and Microsoft is clearly betting that the touch screen PCs will eventually become standard.
If that happens, and when there are versions of Office applications such as Metro, the desktop will become even less important than it is now on Windows 8. Windows 7 could be the last for a long time the main interface of Windows, the desktop, has a central place.
computerworld.com
EmoticonEmoticon