back to article Pre-release Windows 8 code hits PC makers

Microsoft's webOS luvvin' partner HP is among the PC manufacturers getting copies of early Windows 8 code, according to reports. HP and other Windows PC OEMs are reported to be getting builds of Microsoft's next desktop operating system known as milestone 3 – seriously pre-beta stuff. They're sucking down the code through …

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  1. Jim 59

    MS

    "Microsoft's webOS luvvin' partner HP is among the PC manufacturers getting copies of early Windows 8 code, according to reports."

    ie. Microsoft says: put this on your machines or else.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Oh wonderful....

    ...another fucking app store.

  3. Patrick 8
    Gates Horns

    ah yes Microsoft

    stealing

    erm copying

    no

    innovating computer operating systems since the start of the personal computer market began!

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Headmaster

    Type your comment here -- plain text only, no HTML

    I like the screen shot of the genuine center, where it shows it's running Windows 7 Ultimate with a blocked key.

    The language profile is also nice: "When applications and websites offer choice of languages,..."

    But, I just can't get my head around the "Your Look" setting. I'm having nasty flashbacks to Clippy... "The picture you choose will appear on your taskbar and represent you throughout Windows" <--Oops, they lost a period there too.

  5. zanto
    Thumb Down

    looks fugly

    that's all

    then again, i'm spoilt on enlightenment e16 so anything else would be ugly.

  6. Peter Gathercole Silver badge

    I think you meant

    Windows 98 SE and Windows ME, not Windows 98 ME. They were two different versions (ME following 98 SE), and while 98 SE was seen as good, ME was regarded as pants by pretty much everybody.

  7. Liam Thom
    FAIL

    It will be no good.

    By the law of every second Microsoft OS is a turd, this one will be a turd.

  8. KroSha
    Troll

    Seriously?

    Time Machine, Archive & Install and an App Store (TM)?

    Does not one of their devs have an original idea?

    1. Ian Yates

      Not just that

      But these aren't even OS functions; these are clearly just applications bundled with the OS. Why not release these as some kind of (paid for) suite for Vista/7 and do a smaller OS update with only OS changes?

      /sigh

  9. Pascal Monett Silver badge

    Hold on

    Is Microsoft trying to change its OS creation schedule to match its OS patch schedule ?

    Windows 7 followed the dismal failure that was Vista after barely two years. It has just started settling down in the market and MS is already making noise about a new version ?

    Madness.

    1. It wasnt me
      Thumb Up

      Windows 7 followed the dismal failure that was Vista after barely two years.

      Thats because it was nothing more than the final release of Vista. It should have been a service pack, so that the punters who bought Vista finally got a working OS. Windows 8 is either a slightly polished 7, or, as another commenter put it a turd. So, its either a polished turd, or a turd.

      Thankfully I finally have a working OS after the Vista debacle, and MS didn't get any money from me.

      Byeeeeeee !

    2. PeterM42
      WTF?

      Windows 8??????

      Er........ "Windows 7" (version 6.1) was only a bug fix for Vista (version 6.0), so what version will the so-called "Windows 8" actually be?

      To check, go to Windows Explorer, Help, About.

      For historians, the first really useable NT system was NT4 (version 4.0)

      Then there was Windows 2000 (version 5.0)

      Then there was Windows XP (version 5.1)

      Windows 3, 3.11, 95, 98 and ME were just GUI front-ends to DOS

      1. Alan Firminger

        Layers please me

        A front end to a machine OS is the best way to do it. No one suggests that gnu/Linux is old fashioned. The interface is just another application.

      2. Stephen Channell

        NT 3.51

        NT 3.51 was a better OS than NT4 because it kept the display drivers out of the kernel. The NT4 UI was a port of Windows 95 UI.

        Windows 1.0, Windows 2.0 & Windows 386 were shells over DOS, but Windows 3 (on 386) used DOS as the boot loader (the DOS interupts were re-mapped when the processor state was changed)

  10. Anonymous Coward
    Joke

    Let me be the first to welcome our MS loving friends to the OSX party!

    Backup software - check!

    Snazzy interface - check!

    Software download from online app store - check!

    O/S soon to be locked up for good by supplier? Steve is mulling it no doubt and I'm sure Bill is sick of people moaning about malware and virii! All they have to do is both agree to stop being childish about the term "app store" and we're all doomed to a life of walled garden desktops!

    Unless we follow the snowy dwelling, feathered bird to a free life?

  11. Mark Aggleton
    Stop

    What?

    8 hours and no Linux/MAC/Firefox comments?

  12. Steve Davies 3 Silver badge
    Grenade

    What the Windows 8 USP then?

    apart from blatant rip offs of already existing 'stuff' I can't see much to entice users to it.

    I had to smile at the bit where it says, 'you pc slows down'.

    Can this be true? MS admitting that their OS sucks so much that itself needs a reboot? Te-he....

    As for the UI... How is this going to get the corporate buyers interested. The first thing that any half decent company will do will be to disable all access to their application repository. Have they forgotten the pain that their MCSE's etc must go through to learn how to lockdown Windows for a corporate environment. As far as I can see it this is going to be anothe vista at least in the Corporate world.

    Grenade. To be shoved up the ... of the MS designers. Don't copy everyone else. Innovate.

  13. Refugee from Windows
    Alert

    Less than enthused

    We're going to be looking for the usual scenario here. Lack of driver support and the usual comments that it runs really well - until they load all the bloat onto it for the production release. I don't expect to see any serious innovation, they'll just pinch the best ideas for other OS's and then claim it as theirs.

  14. Bilgepipe
    FAIL

    Hilarious

    System Reset has to be the funniest thing I've seen all year. Don't fix the problems, just kludge your way around them. It's the Microsoft Way.

    1. blofse
      FAIL

      ... and I agree

      don't fix the root cause of the problem - get around it by wasting another 15gig of space you could really do with (oh and not tell you about it where it is - e.g. really hidden folders etc)!

      Sod it. I'll stick with my Ubuntu installation. 3gig install, lightning fast on SSD, lightweight use of system resources and it does not get slower over time (except if I keep adding new stuff), most of the games I barely play work though wine, why do I need to install it as my main OS?

      1. Geoff Mackenzie

        Bloat!

        3Gb!? You could fit my Puppy installation in that 15 times! :)

  15. Daniel 43
    Thumb Down

    Another OS?

    Although Win 8 is still obviously in very early stages of development, why dont MS just concentrate on making their current OS worthwhile???

    XP has been around for over 10 years ( i think) and is still used by a high percentage of people, includign most businesses. Reason, its old enough that pretty much all problems have been ironed out! Admitedly after XP a new OS was needed as XP had hit the ceiling in capability, but then to release Visa?

    Vista has its problems, way too many, so then they release 7, the all new singing and dancing OS thats basically Vista with all the cr@p remvoed so its actually usable! I have bene using 7 for a while now and havent had any major issues, so why then go back and create awhole new OS, with all tjhe problems this will bring with compatability and drivers, and the enivitable BSOD, when you could just patch 7 for the next 10 years until that hits teh ceiling with capability

    MONEY MONEY MONEY! Keep waving that carrot infront of our faces MS, but one day, hopefully, we'll realise we're not donkeys and give a BIG 2 fingers and just acceptt hat Ubuntu is teh way forward

    Just my 20 cense anway

  16. TeeCee Gold badge
    Coat

    "...seriously pre-beta stuff."

    Yardstick required. Is that more or less stable than Vista?

  17. JDX Gold badge

    @Patrick 8

    So you'd prefer them to leave out good features just because they're not new? Your argument is absurd. I WANT an OS that steals all the best features.

  18. Defiant
    Thumb Up

    NT7

    Going off the past cycles this will be the first NT7 kernel

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Paris Hilton

      Version

      Will Windows 8 be version 8?

      Are Microsoft going to resolve the embarrassing little problem of Windows 7 being version 6.1?

    2. Ken Hagan Gold badge

      Re: NT7

      But given the relatively short time they've had to develop it, I hope it is 6.2.

  19. Dr. Funk.
    Grenade

    M$ innovating like Apple

    ie taking something that already exists. pimping it up a bit and then passing it off as new and innovative.

    Who says Microsaft can't learn ?

  20. Wibble
    Coffee/keyboard

    Roll up, roll up, free phone with every app

    >The Windows Phone 7 Marketplace was reported on Wednesday to have hit the 12,000 mark

    So that's one app per phone sold? Only another 300,000 to go to match the iPhone/Android app stores!

  21. DJV Silver badge
    Grenade

    System Reset

    Wow, what a wonderful idea! Instead of actually FIXING the problems which cause Windows to slow down let's add yet another BODGE to the system which just makes it appear like we've fixed it! Pretty much the same mindset in use when they "fixed" the corrupted DLLs that plagued earlier versions by storing backups that would get copied back over the in-use versions when they became corrupted, INSTEAD of actually fixing the things that were causing the DLLs to become corrupted in the first place. Pathetic!

  22. Remedial Gash

    Isn't an 'app store' already here?

    Except people on linux don't have to pay.

    If I want a graphics proggie, I just hit adept/package or whatever, i type in image or graphics and I get a shiny app for sod all.

    This the future!

    Gash

    x

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Err...

      You do realise that not all software for Linux is FOSS? There is a fair amount of COTS, ie: You have to pay for it - it's available on a disk or from the vendor web site.

      There is also a whole load of software for Linux which isn't available from repos, some of it you even have to compile yourself.

      You may also want to, bear in mind that MS Windows is the largest platform for free software and FOSS, be there an 'app store' or not.

  23. b166er

    Fixing it

    On the subject fo System Reset and your opinion that that's the 'Microsoft Way', how about the OEM's who think it's funny to add 'Just Enough RAM' and fully populate the slots with smaller sticks so your machine starts to crawl once you install 3 apps.

    Plus, Microsoft have started selling PC's without all the OEM crap on in the first place 'cause they understand it's a problem.

    Whenever I see a Windows PC at a crawl, it's usually got very little to do with Microsoft and more to do with TSR applications installed by Apple, Googe, Dell, HP, Toshiba etc.

    Expand the system tray and you'll find plenty of evidence for a machine running slowly and most of it has nothing to do with Microsoft.

    Agreed, they're copycats, but disagree slow Windows boxes are much to do with MS.

  24. Antoine Dubuc
    Pint

    Morons from the Dark Ages, thou art everlasting!!

    You morons finally got to me.

    Even if you have a Ferrari, if you load the trunk brimming with shit, it will slow it down.

    The Lobotomize Me! button is perfect for all computer morons including family members who just don't deserve proper tech support and don't want education. When you have to support 90%+ of the world, yeah, there's a lot of stuff that has to be in there to account for that 90%+.

    I love the fact that most posters here are computer literate. Yet, they yap like the worst morons/degenerate teens about Microsoft. Showing to all, their complete lack of understanding of basic business and software rules in the real world.

    You remember the peasants in the movies that just mob around the poor bastard being roasted on a stick in the Dark Ages and just cheered wildly without having clues about what's really going on?

    That's you, Morons.

    Cheers

    1. ScientologyIsACult
      Happy

      I Agree....

      though I believe Dan Ashcroft referred to them as 'idiots' http://bit.ly/qaQJ6

    2. Doug Glass
      Go

      Doh!

      Ditto

  25. doperative
    Linux

    Windows inevitablely slowing to a crawl?

    > Microsoft's webOS luvvin' partner HP is among the PC manufacturers getting copies of early Windows 8 code, according to reports.

    They're not getting copies of the code, they're getting copies of the executables. Releasing code to the 'partners' would be equivalent to communism ..

    > According to leaked screen shots on different sites, something called History Vault, which is described to be analogous to Mac OS X's Time Machine for back up.

    Haaaa .. and Steve Jobs went forward in time and stole the History Vault from Microsoft.

    > There's also a system-reset feature that'll let you reset your machine and retain your data once that inevitable day comes, often very soon, that your Windows PC starts slowing to a crawl.

    That should be retain user data, something that's been availabe on Linux machines for decades. User files being stored on a seperate partition under the /home directory. Besides, system-reset sound a lot like the Lenovo One-Button-Restore. I also recall on earlier Windows versions creating a D: drive on a seperate partition and storing Documents-And-Settings there. That we have to wait till 2011 for such 'innovations' merely serves to demonstrate the total stagnation and lack of innovation on the desktop. And finally the 'PC starts slowing to a crawl' feature is only available on the Windows platform, something you never see on the Linux/Mac platform.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Err...

      They probably aren't getting the code - yet - but MS partners pretty much all get access to the source and have done for about eight years.

      The reason that MS haven't had something exactly like Time Machine is because they have been using VSS to provide snapshots but VSS is an elective point in time system. History Vault is just the logical next step for VSS' development.

      Just because people put their files onto the system disk, doesn't mean that this is how you should do it. You can't blame MS for people's inability to properly configure their software, both Windows and Linux installers will allow you to create one large C: or / file system and be happy about it.

      As for Linux and Mac not slowing down over time, as a user of Win/Lin/Mac, I beg to differ.

  26. Shane Kent

    RE: Windows 3, 3.11, 95, 98 and ME were just GUI front-ends to DOS

    Win 3X in standard mode is a GUI for DOS. Standard mode is a VCPI client, otherwise it runs as a DPMI server. Non standard mode have 32 disk access, and later vfat 32 bit file access. Windows 95 could use dos mode disk access, but for the most part it used DOS as a spring board and not just a pretty face for DOS. Each version of Windows trapped more of DOS and emulated LPT, COM, etc. through Windows drivers.

    Much more than a GUI. Non-DOS drivers, file and memory management, and virtualized/emulated DOS environment.

  27. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Does it still have the 'registry'?

    That steaming pile of dog poo that makes the system slow down as it gets bigger.

    That shit hole where every app you install sticks piles of crap.

    That POS that is a single Point of failure for the whole kaboodle.

    Yeah, I don't think much of Windows. I gave up when Vists,"Let the Wow Begin" hit the streets.

    Unless they can give me a mode that says to the OS, 'I'm the boss around here. The don't get in the way at all. Keep all that 'Are you sure you want to do thiis' crap to yourself. Unless they do that, I'm staying well clear of any Windows OS.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      The Registry

      You're either a Troll, or someone who has no idea about Windows, but:

      The Registry no more makes the system slow down than scattering conf files all over the root filesystem. In fact the registry is a fully journalled relational database, stores in a very few files (which are all mirrored and on separate disk geometry), which means it's a much better candidate for cacheing than a whole load of conf files.

      Conf files are good for some things, the registry is good for others. Personally I like having a single go-to point for my settings. I like being able to change a remote registry, without having to logon via a command line and navigate a filesystem. I like the ACLs, which enable me to allow certain users access to individual settings which others don't - you can't do that with a conf file, it's either everything or nothing, for each file. I like being able to backup the who system settings with a VSS writer, into a single file. I also like being able to write a .reg file in a text editor that can be distributed to other systems to modify their registry.

  28. NemoWho
    Gates Halo

    Embarrasing?

    Hey Anon...

    "Are Microsoft going to resolve the embarrassing little problem of Windows 7 being version 6.1?"

    Are you really of the mindset that versioning an OS internally to not break every preexisting app under the sun is a terrible "embarrassment" ? That's a little shallow I think. Applications don't watch TV or see billboards to gain an understand of what marketing has decided to call their operating system.

    I believe the total number of people embarrassed by this dynamic, including Dave Cutler, now stands at ONE. Enjoy your fame, donut.

  29. Shane Kent

    RE: Embarrasing

    Embarassing was the Ultimate Extras for Computer "Enthusiast". Don't know about the rest of you, but moving wallpaper and the tinker game? That one thing alone goes to show how far off base MS really is!

  30. Jean-Luc
    Gates Horns

    cost to remain current vs. cost of machines?

    How much does it cost a Windows user to keep a machine's OS up to date without replacing the hardware?

    OSX - about $30 per update, comes out every 1.5-2 yrs. hardware is $600 and up and easily $1000+. Old PPC hardware?

    Linux = free, frequency depends on distribution. hardware is cheap, say $300 and up.

    Windows - hardware is also cheap, but a non-OEM unencumbered license is $250+ in the pro line (not OEM, not Upgrade, just 1 "free to use" license).

    Frequency - used to be 2-4 yrs, with significant enhancements. Now, if Win 8 follows right on the heels of Win 7, do you really expect to have $250's worth of stable OS enhancement? Not by judging the recent track record.

    XP = > Vista, long time, little stability, but lots of change.

    Vista => Win 7, short time, good stability, little change.

    Win 7 => Win 8, short time? stability? enhancements?

    One more reason why XP was one of MS's better efforts - I used it for a number of years.

    1. Hugh McIntyre

      Re: cost to remain current vs. cost of machines?

      Most of the OSX updates have been about $130. Only Snow Leopard was $30.

  31. Paul 135

    ugly

    I hope these screen shots are fake. Those giant window caption buttons are UGLY and the big Windows Phone 7 font everywhere doesn't look as good as before.

  32. deadlockvictim
    Unhappy

    Build well not often

    Dear Microsoft,

    I do not have high hopes for this OS. Windows 7 is most agreeable if you have reasonably modern hardware. Windows XP has become the OS standard.

    I am getting sick and tired of your releases. I am firmly of the opinion that if you released really good, well-tested, feature-rich and intuitive software every 5 or so years, that your customers would upgrade as a matter of course. It would tie nicely with the hardware upgrade.

    It would give people a chance to get fully used to all that your software can do. It would give you a chance to test your software very thoroughly and possibly allow you to come up with ideas that haven't been copied from Apple or Google.

    If you need an example of how this has worked, just look at SQL Server 2005 or Windows XP.

    BTW, have you decided what big cat you will be naming Windows 8 after?

  33. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    So soon!

    Cool.

    Sounds very promising - not that 7 is just acceptable - it's not, it's actually very good.

  34. captain veg Silver badge

    Last sentence

    "The incumbent on this portion of the business was the Interpublic Group of Universal McCann"

    Interpublic Group is a holding company. One of the agencies held by it is Universal McCann. There is no such animal as Interpublic Group of Universal McCann.

    -A.

  35. Stephen Channell
    Thumb Up

    History Vault is the big change, but not for the obvious reasons

    History Vault gives the clue that VHD and other Hyper-V features are being backed in, so we can expect Windows 8 to be more of a micro-kernel with virtualisation to support older and deprecated components.

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