Windows 8 The End Of ReBoots

Microsoft yesterday promised that a feature it's added to Windows 8 will put a stop to endless reboots.
Unlike earlier versions, Windows 8 will automatically call up a new menu with repair and recovery options when the software sniffs out problems getting the machine to boot or the OS to load properly.

In a post to the Building Windows 8 blog Tuesday, Chris Clark, a program manager with the user Experience team, described new tools embedded in the operating system designed to step in when a PC reboots more than twice because of problems.

Although Clark couched the changes as necessary because of increasingly-fast boot times -- meaning users are often unable to interrupt the process with traditional key presses like F2 or F8 -- one side effect is that endless reboots should be a thing of the past.

The problem has plagued Windows at times.

In 2008, an update to prep machines for the release of Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) crippled PCs when it sent them into an endless cycle of rebooting.

The same trouble resurfaced in late 2009 as users tried to upgrade to the then-new Windows 7 from Vista, and again in 2010 when a Microsoft security update conflicted with rootkit-infected Windows XP PCs.

Windows 8, however, features what Clark called "automatic failover," which loads a new boot options menu "when there is no way to successfully complete Windows startup." From the boot menu, users can select the operating system's repair or restoration tools to try to find and fix the underlying problem.

"This automatic failover behavior will take you directly to the boot options menu whenever there is a problem that would otherwise keep your PC from loading Windows," said Clark. "This even includes cases where it appears  that boot has succeeded, but in actuality the PC is unusable."

Windows 8 also takes other boot-related actions. An unsuccessful core boot sequence triggers an automatic retry. If a second attempt fails, then the machine automatically loads Windows Recovery Environment , the diagnostic and recovery toolset that's been bundled since Vista.

Because the failover kicks in after Windows 8 detects two consecutive reboots, theoretically the new OS should be immune to the endless rebooting that has dogged XP, Vista and Windows 7

Along with addressing endless reboots, the new boot options in Windows 8 let users initiate a restart that doesn't rely on a key press during the reboot process, eliminating the need to interrupt the reboot at just the right time.

As Clark explained, Windows 8 -- following in the footsteps of Windows 7 -- has such short boot times that it's essentially impossible to press a pause key such as F2 or F8 before the process moves on.

Windows 8 boot times are something that Microsoft has already hawked. Last September, when the company debuted the Developer Preview. According to the company's test, Windows 8 boots between 30% and 70% faster than earlier versions.bygreggkeizer

Things To Look Forward To On Windows 8

Windows 8 To Have Flash Integration?

 Reports suggest that Adobe Flash will be supported in both desktop and Metro-style Internet Explorer 10 browsers in Windows 8.

According to reports, Microsoft is looking to integrate Adobe Flash capabilities into Internet Explorer 10.
Adobe Flash will function on any website when the browser is ran as a desktop application, but will be limited when used as a Metro-style browser on tablet devices.
Screenshots from WinUnleaked, released by Windows ‘insider’ Canouna through a tweet, show that the browser ‘plugin’ will have some functionality in the Metro version of Internet Explorer 10, even though previous reports have stated such plugins were to be barred from use — as the corporation expects a radical shift towards HTML5 in the coming years, and away from plugin services

The Flash capability of the Metro browser is reported to be limited to “trusted” websites. These include streaming sites such as Hulu, YouTube, and Vimeo, news broadcasters such as CNN and the BBC, and a number of entertainment and social media sites including Facebook.
Internet Explorer chief Dean Hachamovitch has previously called Flash and other similar plugins a “relic” of an archaic time in the development of Internet services. He said:

“Running Metro-style IE plug-in free improves battery life as well as security, reliability, and privacy for consumers. Plug-ins were important early on in the Web’s history. But the Web has come a long way since then with HTML5.
Providing compatibility with legacy plug-in technologies would detract from, rather than improve, the consumer experience of browsing in the Metro-style UI.”

However, as many websites are still reliant on Flash, removing the capabilities of the Metro browser from running it had the potential to damage its attractiveness to consumers. As an integrated facility, Microsoft side-steps its previous conviction as it will not be treated as a standard plugin, instead, as a feature of the browser itself.

Microsoft’s anticipated Release Preview version of Windows 8 is to be launched in the first week of June.

Windows 8 Coming in October?

Microsoft  aiming for October to release the commercial version of Windows 8, based on comments attributed to a Microsoft spokeswoman at CES.

 A demo of the new operating system, public relations director of the Windows Business Group Janelle Poole said, "Windows releases come round about every three years and this year will be three years in October since we launched Windows 7," according to a posting by Pocket-lint. "So I think that's a good guideline to consider."


Microsoft has been reluctant to say exactly when it will  Windows 8, but Poole seemed ready to offer a strong hint. "We haven't talked about the release date and we generally don't. We are talking milestone to milestone, so for us right now we're talking about the next milestone being the consumer preview happening in late February," she says.

Windows 8 will feature touchscreen navigation and commands as well as support for tablets. Not all apps that run on Windows 7 will be compatible with the touchscreen capabilities, but mouse and keyboard devices will enable all apps that ran on Windows 7.

The new operating system shoots for power efficiency, better security and compatibility with ARM-based chips (read tablets and next-generation PCs), all of which could make Windows 8 attractive to businesses.by tim greene