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Windows 8. It was released to manufacturing on August 27, , and broadly released for retail sale on October 17, , about a year after the retail release of its predecessor, and succeeded by Windows 10 on July 29, A server version, Windows Server R2 , was released on October 18, Enhancements include an improved Start screen , additional snap views, additional bundled apps, tighter OneDrive formerly SkyDrive integration, Internet Explorer 11 IE11 , a Bing -powered unified search system, restoration of a visible Start button on the taskbar , and the ability to restore the previous behavior of opening the user's desktop on login instead of the Start screen.

Despite these improvements, Windows 8. Official mainstream support for Windows 8. As of July [update] , 2. In particular, the report detailed that Microsoft was planning to shift to a more "continuous" development model, which would see major revisions to its main software platforms released on a consistent yearly cycle to keep up with market demands. Lending credibility to the reports, Foley noted that a Microsoft staff member had listed experience with "Windows Blue" on his LinkedIn profile, and listed it as a separate operating system from 8.

The build, which was believed to be of "Windows Blue", revealed a number of enhancements across Windows 8's interface, including additional size options for tiles, expanded color options on the Start screen, the expansion of PC Settings to include more options that were previously exclusive to the desktop Control Panel , the ability for apps to snap to half of the screen, the ability to take screenshots from the Share charm, additional stock apps, increased SkyDrive integration such as automatic device backups and Internet Explorer Shaw officially acknowledged the "Blue" project, stating that continuous development would be "the new normal" at Microsoft, and that "our product groups are also taking a unified planning approach so people get what they want—all of their devices, apps and services working together wherever they are and for whatever they are doing.

On May 14, , Microsoft announced that "Blue" was officially unveiled as Windows 8. Shortly after its release, Windows RT 8. The company released recovery media and instructions which could be used to repair the device, and restored access to Windows RT 8.

It was also found that changes to screen resolution handling on Windows 8. Microsoft released a patch to fix the bug on certain games in November , and acknowledged that it was caused by "changes to mouse-input processing for low-latency interaction scenarios".

On April 8, , Microsoft released the Windows 8. Belfiore noted that the update would lower the minimum system requirements for Windows, so it can be installed on devices with as little as 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage.

At the Build conference, during April, Microsoft's Terry Myerson unveiled further user interface changes for Windows 8. Myerson stated that these changes would occur in a future update, but did not elaborate further. A distinction is the removal of the tooltip with the preview thumbnail of the Start screen.

Microsoft also unveiled a concept known as " Universal Windows apps ", in which a Windows Runtime app can be ported to Windows Phone 8. While it does not entirely unify Windows' app ecosystem with that of Windows Phone, it will allow developers to synchronize data between versions of their app on each platform, and bundle access to Windows, Windows Phone, and Xbox One versions of an app in a single purchase. Microsoft markets Windows 8.

This requires a Windows 8. Upgrading through Windows Store requires each machine to download an upgrade package as big as 2—3. Unlike the traditional Windows service packs, the standalone installer, which could be downloaded once and installed as many times as needed, requires a Windows 8. Windows 8 was re-issued at retail as Windows 8. Retail copies of Windows 8. Microsoft stated that the change was in response to customer feedback, and to allow more flexibility for users.

Pricing for the retail copies of Windows 8. It is subsidized by Microsoft's Bing search engine, which is set as the default within Internet Explorer and cannot be changed by OEMs. However, this restriction does not apply to end-users, who can still change the default search engine freely. It is otherwise and functionally identical to the base edition of Windows 8.

Many of the changes on Windows 8. The Start screen received several enhancements on Windows 8. Additional customization options were also added, such as expanded color options, new backgrounds some of which incorporate animated elements , and the ability for the Start screen to use the desktop background instead. Applications were no longer added to the Start screen automatically when installed, and all applications now have colored tiles desktop programs were previously shown in a single color.

The app snapping system was also extended; up to four apps can be snapped onto a single display depending on screen size, apps can be snapped to fill half the screen, and can also be used on any display in a multi-monitor configuration. Apps can also launch other apps in a snapped view to display content; for example, the Mail app can open a photo attachment in a picture viewer snapped to another half of the screen.

Improved support is also provided by apps for using devices in a portrait vertical orientation. The lock screen offers the ability to use a photo slideshow as its backdrop, and a shortcut to the Camera app by swiping up. The on-screen keyboard has an improved autocomplete mechanism which displays multiple word suggestions, and allows users to select from them by sliding on the spacebar.

The autocomplete dictionary is also automatically updated using data from Bing , allowing it to recognize and suggest words relating to current trends and events. Users can also modify certain user interface behaviors, such as disabling the upper hot corners for using the charms and recent apps list, going to the desktop instead of the Start screen on login or after closing all apps on a screen, automatically opening the "All Apps" view on the Start screen when opened, and prioritizing desktop programs on the "Category" sort mode on "All Apps".

Windows manager Chaitanya Sareen stated that the restoration of the visible Start button was intended to be a "warm blanket" for users who had become confused by the removal of the button on 8; the Start button was originally removed to reflect Windows 8's treatment of the desktop as an "app" rather than the main interface. Further interface behavior changes are made on the April "Windows 8.

When a mouse is in use, the Desktop is shown on startup by default, the Start screen uses context menus instead of a toolbar across the bottom of the screen for manipulating tiles, an autohiding title bar with minimize and close buttons is displayed within apps at the top of the screen, the taskbar can display and pin apps alongside desktop programs and be accessed from within apps, and visible search and power buttons are added to the Start screen.

In non-touch environments, the default image viewer and media player programs were changed back to Windows Photo Viewer and Windows Media Player in lieu of the Xbox Video and Photos apps. The suite of pre-loaded apps bundled with Windows 8 were changed in Windows 8.

However, it does not support data loss protection, Group Policy , Lync integration, or creating emails with information rights management. OneDrive formerly SkyDrive [77] is integrated at the system level to sync user settings and files.

Files are automatically downloaded in the background when they are accessed from the user's OneDrive folder, unless they are marked to be available offline. By default, only file metadata and thumbnails are stored locally, and reparse points are used to give the appearance of a normal directory structure to provide backwards compatibility. The OneDrive app was updated to include a local file manager. OneDrive use on Windows 8. A Bing -based unified search system was added; it can analyze a user's search habits to return results featuring relevant local and online content.

Full-screen "hero" displays aggregate news articles, Wikipedia entries, multimedia, and other content related to a search query; for instance, searching for a music performer would return photos of the performer, a biography, and their available songs and albums on Xbox Music. The Metro-style variant of IE11 also adds tab syncing, the ability to open an unlimited number of tabs, and Reading List integration. Due to Facebook Connect service changes, Facebook support is disabled in all bundled apps effective June 8, On compatible hardware, Windows 8.

Encryption begins as soon as a user begins using the system; the recovery key is stored to either the user's Microsoft account or an Active Directory login, allowing it to be retrieved from any computer. While device encryption is offered on all editions of Windows 8.

A new kiosk mode known as "Assigned Access" was also added, allowing a device to be configured to use a single app in a restricted environment. Additionally, Windows Defender includes an intrusion detection system which can scan network activity for signs of malware.

For enterprise device management, Windows 8. Remote Data Control can be used to remotely wipe specific "corporate" data from Windows 8. The bit variants of Windows 8. A Microsoft spokesperson noted that the change primarily affects systems with older AMD bit processors, and that "the number of affected processors are extremely small since this instruction has been supported for greater than 10 years. These changes do not affect the bit variants of Windows 8. Backup and Restore , the backup component of Windows that had been deprecated but was available in Windows 8 through a Control Panel applet called "Windows 7 File Recovery", was removed.

Since October , all future patches are cumulative as with Windows 10 ; individual patches can no longer be downloaded. Tom Warren of The Verge still considered the platform to be a "work in progress" due to the number of apps available, the impaired level of capabilities that apps have in comparison to desktop programs, and because he felt that mouse and keyboard navigation was still "awkward".

However, he touted many of the major changes on Windows 8. He concluded that "Microsoft has achieved a lot within 12 months, even a lot of the additions feel like they should have been there from the very start with Windows 8. Joel Hruska of ExtremeTech criticized continuing integration problems between the Desktop and apps on Windows 8. Although praising the more flexible snapping system, he still pointed out flaws, such as an inability to maintain snap configurations in certain situations.

Peter Bright of Ars Technica praised many of the improvements on Windows 8. However, he felt that the transition between the desktop and apps "still tends to feel a bit disjointed and disconnected" even though the option to use the desktop wallpaper on the Start screen made it feel more integrated with the desktop interface rather than dissimilar , and that the restoration of the Start button made the two interfaces feel even more inconsistent because of how different it operates between the desktop and apps.

Certain aspects of Windows 8. In his review of Windows 8. Leonhard considered this to be ironic, given that Microsoft had criticized Google 's use of similar tactics with its " Scroogled " advertising campaign.

According to Net Applications, the adoption rate in March for Windows 8. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Personal computer operating system by Microsoft released in Default Windows 8.

Closed-source Source-available through Shared Source Initiative. Mainstream support ended on January 9, Extended support until January 10, With the exception of Windows Embedded 8 Standard users, upgrading to a compatible edition of Windows 8.

Mainstream support ended on July 10, [6] Extended support until July 11, [6]. Main article: Features new to Windows 8. Main article: List of features removed in Windows 8. CBS Interactive. Windows Experience Blog. April 8, July 12, Retrieved January 8, Retrieved August 21, Retrieved June 24, StatCounter Global Stats.