Windows 8.1
David F. Soll
Chief Technology Officer
Omicron Development LLC
dsoll@omicron.com
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
Agenda
Introduction
Genealogy
Editions
Windows 8 Overview
Metro
Start Menu
Demonstration
Conclusions
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
Introduction
Presenter: David F. Soll
President and Chief Technology Officer,
Omicron Development
Vice Chair, PCJS IEEE
Past Chair, Princeton/Central NJ IEEE
Computer Society
Senior Member of the IEEE
Recipient of the IEEE Region 1 Award
Past Chair, Princeton Chapter of the ACM
Senior Member of the ACM
Chair, TCF IT Professional Conference
Over 30 years in computing
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
Genealogy
Windows 1.x, 2.x, /286, /386
Never a commercial “hit”
Windows 3.0, 3.1, and 3.11
16 bit, ran on top of MS-DOS
Windows NT 3.1 and 3.5
First 32 bit Windows not reliant on
MS-DOS
Runs utilizing protected mode of the
processor
Windows 95, 98, and ME
16 bit, still reliant on MS-DOS
Windows 2000
Next generation of Windows NT
Both Server and Workstation
Windows XP
Built from Windows 2000
Workstation only O/S
Windows Server 2003
Server only platform built with
Windows XP & 2000 base
Windows Vista
Built from Windows XP & Server 2003
Major security changes from XP and
Server 2003
Many Look and Feel Changes
Windows Server 2008
Server only platform built from
Windows Server 2003 and Windows
Vista
Windows 7
Built from Windows Vista and Windows
Server 2008
Improvements to UAC and other
security mechanisms
Windows Server 2008 R2
Based on Windows 7, server only O/S
Windows 8
Built from Windows 7
Borrows from Windows Phone O/S
Windows Server 2012
Based on Windows 8
Uses the same start screen as Win 8
Windows 8.1
Based on Windows 8 with minor
improvements
Windows Server 2012 R2
Similar enhancements as Windows 8.1
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
Windows 8.1 Editions
Windows
Windows
Windows
Windows
8.1
8.1 Pro
8.1 Enterprise
RT 8.1
Note: Unlike Windows Vista and Windows 7,
there are no Starter, Home Basic, Home
Premium, or Ultimate editions.
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
Differences in Editions
Features
Availability
Architecture
Maximum RAM (32-bit)
Maximum RAM (64-bit)
Desktop
Supported 3rd Party Windows Store Apps
Supported 3rd Party Desktop Apps
Remote Desktop
Storage Spaces
Windows Media Player
Encryption features
Sideload Windows Store apps
Boot from VHD
Can join a Windows domain?
Group Policy
Windows RT 8.1
Pre-installed only
ARM (32-bit)
4 GB
n/a
Partial
Yes
No
Client only
No
No
Device encryption
Partial
No
No
No
Windows 8.1
Most channels
x86 or x64
4 GB
128 GB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Client only
Yes
Yes
Unavailable
No
No
No
No
Hyper-V Client
No
No
AppLocker
Windows To Go
DirectAccess
BranchCache
Can be virtualized by RemoteFX?
Services for Network File System
Microsoft Office apps bundled with OS
Windows Media Center
No
No
No
No
No
No
Yes
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Windows 8.1 Pro
Most channels
x86 or x64
4 GB
512 GB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Client and host
Yes
Yes
BitLocker and EFS
Partial
Yes
Yes
Yes
On 64-bit versions only
with SLAT capable CPU
No
No
No
No
No
No
No
Via an add-in
Windows 8.1 Enterprise
Volume License
x86 or x64
4 GB
512 GB
Yes
Yes
Yes
Client and host
Yes
Yes
BitLocker and EFS
Partial
Yes
Yes
Yes
On 64-bit versions only
with SLAT capable CPU
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
No
No
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
Windows Upgrade Path
Note: Upgrades from cross architecture are not supported
(i.e.: From 32 bit to 64 bit)
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
Windows 8.1 Overview
Unified Operating System for:
PCs
Tablets
Smart Phones
New User Interface Design
“Touch First”
Two Versions:
Windows 8.1
Supports Intel/AMD (x86 and x64)
Windows RT 8.1
Supports ARM (Advanced RISC Machine - 32 bit
processor)
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
New Windows API (Win RT)
Windows NT through 7 uses Win32 API
Old style programming model
Win RT uses a new Object Oriented
Programming model
New style programming model
Windows RT 8.1 only supports Win RT
Windows 8.1 supports both Win RT and Win
32
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
Windows Store App Style
New style of applications called Store App
style applications using Modern UI
Code named “Metro” style
No longer called Metro due to legal issues
App Store Style Applications do NOT window
They have 2 modes:
Full screen
Snapped Mode (side by side)
Snapped mode requires 1366 x 768 or higher
resolution
Store Apps use Win RT
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
Store App vs. Traditional
Traditional apps are windowed
Store Apps take over the whole desktop
Traditional applications live within the legacy
desktop
Store Apps have their own display space (they take
up the whole desktop)
All apps participate in the application rotation (i.e.:
Alt-tab and Windows-tab) including the desktop
itself
Store App icons (well, they’re not really icons, they
call them “tiles”) can be “live”
Store Apps use Win RT, Traditional Apps use Win 32
Traditional apps have “chrome”, Store apps don’t
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
New UI
New Desktop Experience: Modern UI
Originally appeared on Windows Phone 7
Operating System
Provides an easy to use interface for touch
screens (such as tablets and smart phones)
Can switch to classic mode via registry edit
New Internet Explorer (actually 2 of them)
Dedicated Modern UI version
No add-in
No tabs
Application Style
Similar to current IE experience
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
Other New Features
Multi-touch Gestures
Store
SkyDrive OneDrive
Snap
Charms
File History
When installing, if connected to the internet
Windows tries to use your Microsoft Live
account
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
Updated Desktop Apps
Some of the desktop has been improved
Windows Explorer now has a ribbon
New Math Input Panel
Not very useful on a desktop
Many new or rewritten re-written in Store
App
Mail
People
Messaging
Calendar
Maps
Weather
Music
Photos
Video
Camera
SkyDrive
News
Travel
Finance
Store
Internet Explorer
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
Who Stole the Start Menu?
The Start Menu
has been replaced
Windows 8 has no start button
Windows 8.1 adds it back
Now, the start menu is a full screen interface
The start screen doesn’t look like a menu
Supports a search
Segregates the results (apps, settings, files, etc.)
Shows Store Apps differently than legacy
Supports a “Show all apps” (right click)
Also supports a show shrunken menu (click at
bottom right)
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
How do you shut down?
3 Ways:
Press the power button
Use the settings “Charm”
Right-click on the Start Menu button
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
Demonstration
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
Review of Windows 8
IEEE Spectrum Magazine published an
article interviewing software guru Jakob
Nielsen and his review of Windows 8
(http://spectrum.ieee.org/podcast/computing/software/is-windows-8s-lack-ofwindows-amistake/?utm_source=computerwise&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=121212)
Nielsen Concluded: “Windows 8 is week on
tablets, terrible on PCs”
(http://blogs.computerworld.com/windows/21357/interface-design-guru-windows-8-weak-tabletsterrible-pcs)
Neilsen tested Windows 8 by having 12
experienced users try Windows 8 on both PCs
and Surface RT tablets
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
Nielsen Review (cont’d.)
Users have to learn and remember where to go for
which features.
When running web browsers in both device areas,
users will only see (and be reminded of) a subset of
their open web pages at any given time.
Switching between environments increases the
interaction cost of using multiple features.
The two environments work differently, making for
an inconsistent user experience.“
One of the worst aspects of Windows 8 for power
users is that the product's very name has become a
misnomer. "Windows" no longer supports multiple
windows on the screen.
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
Nielsen Review (cont’d.)
Icons are supposed to (a) help users interpret the
system, and (b) attract clicks. Not the Win8 icons.
As a result of the Surface's incredibly low
information density, users are relegated to incessant
scrolling to get even a modest overview of the
available information.
The underlying problem is the idea of recycling a
single software UI for two very different classes of
hardware devices. It would have been much better to
have two different designs: one for mobile and
tablets, and one for the PC.
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
Conclusions
The new Store App interface is good for
phones and tablets but may not be optimal
for a laptop or a desktop
Basic underlying functionality is still
Windows 7 based (plus the Win RT
infrastructure)
The fast boot is amazing
The lack of Windowing for Store Apps is
puzzling
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055
Windows 8.1
David F. Soll
Chief Technology Officer
Omicron Development LLC
dsoll@omicron.com
This presentation is available at:
http://home.comcast.net/~soll/
Omicron Development
16 Union Street
Medford, NJ 08055