10 things to love about Windows 8

By Justin James

Link:

http://www.techrepublic.com/blog

Takeaway: After spending a couple of months kicking the tires on the Windows 8 Developer Preview, Justin James can cite a number of promising features and positive changes.

Now that the Windows 8 Developer Preview has been available for a while, it is easier to take a step back and evaluate it without the powerful emotions that strike most people the first time they deal with it. Looking at it from a long-distance perspective, there’s a lot to like about Windows 8, especially if you are ready to cut the cord from an installed desktop application base and transition to Web applications and Windows 8 native applications. Here are 10 things I think are great about Windows 8.

1: It’s designed for tablets and touch

Microsoft is working hard to make Windows 8 work well with tablets and the touch UI paradigm, to the point of alienating traditional desktop users. It remains to be seen how Microsoft will respond to criticism over the Metro UI. But I can tell you that after using a phone with the Metro UI for well over half a year now, I think it is extremely effective for touch, and I would love to have a tablet running Windows 8.

2: Apps “share” data

One of the big changes in the application development model is that native Windows 8 apps (those using the new Metro UI and WinRT API) really do not directly communicate with each other, even through the file system, except via carefully defined interfaces. While this handcuffs developers a bit, it means that when applications do share data, Windows is aware of how they do it and makes it easy. For example, you could have an application that handles images and use it to share the pictures with, say, an application to upload them to Facebook. That unleashes a lot more power for developers because it means that applications from different vendors will work together seamlessly, and the developers do not even have to write anything specific for the application theirs works with.

3: The apps can be integrated into the OS

Just as the applications can “share” with each other, they can do the same thing with Windows itself. Again, this allows some really neat integrations to be done without much work by application makers. You can see things like a new social networking application come out and within weeks, Windows will be able to use your friends who are on it in its contact list, or the pictures can go into your picture gallery. The possibilities are endless.

4: It offers ARM support

While the ARM CPUs may not be for everyone or every purpose, lots of mobile vendors have a deep commitment to that platform and understand it well. The ARM devices will not be able to run legacy Windows applications, but they will run the Windows 8 native apps without a hitch. That’s great news for hardware makers, software developers, and users.

5: It beefs up security

The new programming model for Windows 8 native applications is extraordinarily secure. While I am sure that exploits will be found, it will be difficult for the native applications to break free of their chains. Microsoft has really flipped it around. Instead of allowing everything and slowly adding restrictions over the years (and breaking applications in the process, like XP SP2 and Vista did), it’s starting from an “allow nothing” stance.

6: App markets will benefit developers and users

Application markets are nothing new. Even Vista had one (although no one seems to remember it). With Windows 8 native applications, Microsoft is making the application market the primary way of getting apps onto the computer, much like Windows Phone 7. That’s great news for developers who need to get some more visibility for their applications and who do not want to deal with payments processing and such, especially for low-priced apps. And the application market is great for users, too. As we’ve seen, app markets encourage lower prices, and Microsoft will surely apply the same strict quality control that it has to the Windows Phone 7 app market.

7: System restore is easier

Microsoft has built new utilities into Windows 8 that makes it much easier than ever to send the system back to “out of the box,” while preserving your data. Providing a more appliance-like experience is critical for the typical user, and the help desk will appreciate it too.

8: Cloud sync is everywhere

While not everyone is in love with the cloud as an idea, Windows 8 has great facilities for allowing applications and users to automatically sync data between devices using the cloud. That’s great for users who can seamlessly transition between their tablet and desktop PC (and perhaps their phone), as well as for tech support, who can just replace a broken device instead of worrying about data loss.

9: It offers simplified administration and configuration

The Control Panel has been stripped down to the bare essentials, and you can’t even think about tasks like registry editing, defragging, etc., from the Metro UI. (You can do these tasks through the legacy desktop, if needed, but that won’t work for ARM devices.) Throughout Windows 8, a primary theme has been giving the user a more appliance-like “It just works” experience. Power users might howl about it, but the truth is, the Windows experience is still far more complex than the average user wants to deal with. Windows 8 is a great move in the right direction for those users.

10: System stability is improved

Windows 7 has really set the standard for system reliability. Short of hardware or driver problems, the old blue screen of death is almost never seen anymore. Windows 8 takes this to the next level. The same changes to the application development model also improve system stability. Applications can’t run over each other’s data easily, and the new WinRT API just does not allow the kinds of shenanigans that have caused unstable systems over the years. If you stick with native Windows 8 applications, reboots (other than for patching) and crashes should be extraordinarily rare.

Five Microsoft apps that will change IT

Let me preface this article by saying that I don’t believe that these are the only five upcoming Microsoft releases that will have a major impact on IT in the coming years. I specifically chose these products because I have some strong opinions on how they will help shape Microsoft’s enterprise future.

1: System Center Configuration Manager 2012

In a former life, SCCM was known as Systems Management Server (SMS). With the upcoming release of SCCM 2012, Microsoft is introducing major changes to the product designed to enhance the end-user experience and streamline IT operations.

For example, in SCCM 2012, Microsoft is making the user the focus rather than computers. This really makes sense, particularly as users begin to rely on more and more devices. With SCCM 2012, as users roam between different computers, their applications can follow them.

To this end, Microsoft is also adding a better software portal to SCCM 2012. While SCCM has always had a concept of a portal, it wasn’t very intuitive. With SCCM 2012, the software portal is a Web-based service from which users can proactively choose to install new software.

The big deal: These features are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what’s new and good in SCCM 2012, but they demonstrate Microsoft’s focus on the end user, which, along with initiatives such as BYOD and even VDI, are the continuation of a trend in this direction.

2: System Center Operations Manager 2012

For quite a while, SCOM has had availability monitoring for network devices, and there have been third-party tools that could get more detailed information from network devices. However, SCOM 2012 provides support for much more in the way of native device monitoring. SCOM 2012 offers the ability to discover and monitor network devices, including the various interfaces and ports on those devices. With SCOM 2012, you can go far beyond simple up/down monitoring in SCOM.

The big deal: Microsoft offers various System Center bundles that make the products available in affordable ways. Now, SCOM can be used for much more than it could before. SCOM has always been an outstanding monitoring tool for Microsoft environments. SCOM 2007 added support for some third-party platforms, and SCOM 2012 extends the infrastructure monitoring capabilities of the product.

3: Windows 8 client

Much has been written about Windows 8, and Microsoft is certainly making the product an emphasis in the coming form factor war. If Windows 8 works the way that Microsoft seems to want it to work — and the market accepts it as a viable option outside the confines of the traditional computing space — the product could revolutionize computing by allowing the same operating system and applications to run seamlessly across a wide variety of devices, including PCs, laptops, tablets, phones, and even gaming consoles. Obviously, Microsoft has Windows Phone 7 as another mobile option for mobile devices, but the interface similarities may help when it comes to widespread adoption.

The big deal: It’s clear that Microsoft has an uphill battle ahead of it when it comes to the mobile space. If the company can get Windows 8 right, it could create massive opportunities for developers to get their applications in front of audiences on any device form factor they use.

4: Lync

I like Lync. The product has the potential to seriously disrupt the telephony space, and it adds serious unified communications capabilities to organizations that deploy it. Lync 2010 added a number of user-centric features, including the “me” area, which allows users to set their own status and track their own visibility. Lync also enables users to share individual desktops and to collaborate with other users. In addition, Lync includes audio and video conferencing capabilities and much more.

The big deal: Between Lync and Microsoft’s Skype acquisition, the company is well positioned to own the voice and video space if it can execute well. Lync can be a full-fledged replacement for an existing PBX and makes person-to-person communication very easy via a number of different channels.

5: Hyper-V 3.0

Microsoft has gone on record to say that Hyper-V 3.0 will catapult the company’s virtualization efforts and move it, in some ways, beyond what even VMware is offering. Hyper-V 3.0 will add the ability to perform multiple concurrent live migrations and introduces the new VHDX virtual disk format, a virtual fibre channel adapter and boot from SAN capabilities.

From a scalability perspective, Hyper-V 3.0 supports up to 160 logical processors on a host, as well as up to 2 TB of RAM. Guests will be able to support 32 vCPUs and up to 512 GB of RAM.

The big deal: Again, this is not intended to be a complete Hyper-V 3.0 primer. However, this is another instance where a combination of circumstance and feature gap closing may help Microsoft. VMware has, in the opinion of many, made some serious errors in its new licensing schemes. This may provide an outstanding opportunity for Hyper-V 3.0 to begin to supplant VMware in some environments. Hyper-V 3.0 will begin to erase some of VMware’s feature lead, which may help this process along.

What do you think? Will Microsoft supplant VMware in any significant way?

Samsung Windows 8 Tablets Surface on eBay

If you're dying to get your hands on a Windows 8 tablet, right now for $2,000 or more on eBay you can pick up several Samsung Series 7 700T tablets running Windows 8. The one-panel slate was handed out for free to all 5,000 developers who attended Microsoft's recent BUILD conference.

Now, at least four enterprising conference attendees are looking to profit off Microsoft's largesse. With all the excitement around Windows 8 right now, these tablets are likely to be popular items. In fact, one was sold while this article was being written.

Nevertheless, you still have time to check these tablets out if you're interested. At the time of this writing, only one of the four Windows 8 tablets included a "Buy It Now" option (for the ridiculous price of $3,500). The others were all being auctioned to the highest bidder, with minimum bids ranging from $2,000 to $2,300 depending on the seller.

The Samsung tablets were first discovered on eBay by WinRumors.

So what do you get for a minimum of $2,000? Well, for starters you'll get a piece of hardware that is similar to what is scheduled to hit store shelves October 2 -- albeit running Windows 7. On top of that, the base 700T running Windows 7 will retail for a suggested $1,100, nearly half what you'd pay on eBay.

So why not just wait a few weeks, buy the Windows 7 tablet and download and install the Windows 8 developer preview for free directly from Microsoft?

Well, it's not clear how much tweaking Samsung and Microsoft did to get Windows 8 running on Samsung's reference model, so perhaps it's worth it to overpay for this version of Samsung's Windows tablet.

But trying to find a bargain on this device is hardly the point. It's the first tablet you'll find that comes preloaded with Windows 8. And, as any technology geek knows, it's always fun to be the first on your block with a flashy new toy.

Image courtesy of eBay

The device

The Samsung Windows 8 tablets for sale on eBay feature an 11.6-inch display with 1366-by-768 resolution, 1.6 GHz Intel Core i5-2467M Sandy Bridge processor, 4GB RAM, 64GB hard drive, USB port, microSD, and HDMI port. The Windows 8 tablets on eBay also come with a Bluetooth keyboard, a dock that includes USB, HDMI and Ethernet ports, and a touch pen. Most sellers, but not all, are offering the free 12 month, 2GB-per-month AT&T data plan that came with the device.

What to expect

Assuming you're lucky enough to get your hands on Samsung's Windows 8 tablet, you'll have a lot to look forward to, but there are also some serious downsides, according to PCWorld's hands-on look at the Windows 8 700T.

You can expect image and text rendering to be better than the iPad and Android tablets such as the Galaxy Tab 10.1. You also get to use Microsoft's intuitive and responsive Metro-style interface, inspired by Windows Phone 7.

But the 700T is much heavier than other tablets, weighing in at about 2 pounds, compared to the 1.35-pound 3G iPad. You can also expect a lot of noise from the device's fan as it tries to cool down what is essentially a PC slapped into a one-panel slate form factor. And you need to keep the charger nearby as current battery life for the device is around 2.5 to 3 hours.

The good news, however, is that Microsoft plans to continually update Windows 8 during the developer preview phase, so battery life and other performance issues may change in the coming weeks.

Samsung's 700T running Windows 8 sounds like an interesting device to own, but is it worth the $2,000 right now? Probably not, but it's fun to check it out anyway.

If you want to give Windows 8 a try right now but can't stomach the Samsung tablet's price, you candownload the Windows 8 developer preview from Microsoft for free.