A First Look at Windows 8 "Blue"

Secure Boot is intended to prevent unauthorized Operating Systems, firmware, or UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface) drivers (Option ROMs) from running at boot time. It does this by maintaining databases of software signers and software images that are pre-approved to run on the individual computer.

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Windows 8 > Secure Boot Demonstration Video

technet.microsoft.com > Secure Boot Overview

Wikipedia > UEFI > Secure boot > Booting

Wikipedia > UEFI > Secure boot > Criticism

 

I did try Win XP Pro

Yes, actually, I did try compatibility to Win XP Pro for both, but neither allowed the software to work. I guess it all starts with the drivers; there were no generic Win 8 drivers for either gizmo. The Intel Camera is called the Pocket PC Camera - not sure of the model number. The fingerprint reader is USB-based, and uses Digital Persona software and, like the camera, is not backwards compatible, even when choosing both Run as Admin and XP Pro compatibility in the Properties.

I really wish they did work. But you should know, even choosing XP Pro, neither works under Win 7 Home Premium, not 32- or 64-bit versions.

-a.

 

When you're right ...

I guess that's true, as the fingerprint reader, from Microsoft, only last worked with XP Pro. Why Microsoft didn't make it work going forward is beyond me.

But a lot of software is (compatible), and Microsoft always made things backwards compatible for the majority of software and apps, since they wanted to keep their base of customers. They do even now, with Properties' option of compatibility. But then, the fingerprint reader didn't make it that way, either.

Well, it's only a toy for me anyway ...

It is, historically, one of the reasons that Win NT and IBM's OS2 went their separate ways. MS wanted to be backwards compatible; IBM said it wasn't worth it. Many people thought IBM's OS2 was better, but MS won that battle, after a few years, because they allowed more software to work with their OS.

Of course, I'm showing my age now ...

 

@TonyT

Sorry mate, it's a fail. Classic shell is being reinstalled now and to be honest other than gaming I'll be using Linux.

I see absolutely no benefit with the modern GUI and only confusion (separate rules for desktop and metro).

I tried my best, farewell MS.

 

I forgot to check out that Eikon reader you mentioned. I'm gonna do it now.

Thanks,
-a.

 

Wildfire, you won't regret going to Linux. Linux Mint "Mate" version is a very popular & fairly easy to learn Linux OS.

Currently, I'm splitting time between Windows 7 & Mint 13 (5 year LTS). And a little time on XP Pro 64 bit. There's actually nothing that I can't do on Mint that I can on Windows. And much less to maintain. Windows 7 is the end of the line for me & probably will be for others also.

I do have two Windows 8 Pro w/Media Center installs, largely unused, they can be transferred to another computer or even user, however the couple of family members who looked passed it up. That's bad, can't even sell an OS at cost (one was $40, the other $15).

As far as this "Blue" goes, MS is getting desperate for sales. They should have left a good thing alone in Windows 7. I agree that MS needed to compete in the tablet market, Windows RT was all that was needed. They had a solid cash cow in Windows 7/Office 2010 (both are actually still selling decently) & could have left all alone until XP's support ends next year.

New technology is great, however if it's not what the customers wants, it's all to no avail. Come October, when Windows 8 becomes a year old, if it hasn't reached 12 to 15% usage, one can consider it a flop, no matter how usable it may be. "Blue" is unlikely to improve things much at all.

Cat

 

Yep. There was also a story in the NY Times about Blue and nobody has committed to it being a free update/upgrade yet.

Also the Product Manager or President of Windows' Division has resigned. I's a good news-bad news situation. Bring Back Brad Silverberg!

Cheers!

 

IF Microsoft's Windows 8 Plan B is Windows lue;
THEN its Plan C will be [C]hromebook.

 

Plan D: Dumb terminal.

I.e., Stream everything, including the OS.

 

Oh, don't say Chromebook! Those things are worse than toys. People are buying the HP Chromebook version, then finding out they simply are not PCs of any variety, and can't do what a PC type laptop or netbook or tablet can do.

For what they are, they're very neat, don't get me wrong. But the problem is that the Chromebook is being hyped as the alternative to an expensive laptop or Slate and it simply is not an alternative.

IMHO, that is ...

Alex

 

It MAY work if its a free update. Forcing consumer to pay again for Win8 failure the first time may backfire on MS.

 

Plan D = Microsoft Door.
Plan E = Microsoft Egghead
(I don't want to predict Plan "F ".-()

AlexH, some years ago, a graduate classmate of mine commented that SmartPhones cannot do much because the CPU would be too small to handle anything. Today, Chromebook should be sold at ToysRus, but tomorrow .... Anyway, I'm very unhappy on ALL current generation of OSes.

The current generation of all OSes is based in Human-Machine-Interface (I prefer to call them Machine-Human-Interface). Any OS being called "Next" generation, must be based on Machine-Machine-Interface (MMI). MMI will not need any keyboard, mouse, touchpad, display, sound or color.

 

Create one.

1. Right click the Desktop, select New > Shortcut, type (or paste in) the following command:
   
   
   shutdown /s /t 0 /f​
   
   (that "0" is a zero, not an "O "h), and then click Next > Finish.
   
   
2. Right-click your new Shutdown shortcut and select Properties, click Change Icon..., click OK, select the square red icon with the round white power symbol on it, click OK > OK.
   
   
3. To pin it out on your "Metro" screen, right-click the shortcut once more and select "Pin to Start ".

Now you can simply double-click your new Shutdown shortcut to Shutdown.


Note: The "/s" parameter in the above command means shutdown, the "/t 0" means with a wait time of zero seconds, and the "/f" means force.

 

Smart work!

 

Thanks.

 

You saved Microsoft for another week. The Microsoft Board should consider giving their CEO's a week of income to you, my proposal.