Details leaked to a Microsoft enthusiast blog on Monday reveal Microsoft’s immediate plans for Windows 8.
Francisco Martin, a Microsoft Enthusiast, posted several confidential pieces of information to his blog on Monday revealing improvements that Microsoft is aiming for with Windows 8. Microsoft is planning to enable next generation high speed connectivity solutions such as USB 3.0 and Bluetooth 3.0 within Windows 8. Microsoft’s key area of focus appears to be performance and instant-on systems. “Windows 8 PC’s turn on fast, nearly instantly in some cases, and are ready to work without any long or unexpected delays. When customers want to check e-mail, sports scores, or play media they love to reach for their PCs because they can get to what they want quickly.”
In what appears to be suggestions to OEMs, Microsoft details Windows 8 investments under consideration. Focusing on POST performance, S3 resume performance and general performance optimizations for each of the Off states are the key areas of improvement that Microsoft is aiming for with Windows 8 and Windows 8 enabled PCs.
Microsoft is also aiming to use sensors in Windows 8 PCs. “Windows 8 can adapt to changes in ambient light, so that the display is always easy to see”, states part of the document. The document also hints at Kinect like features. “Windows 8 could detect my presence and log me automatically”, hinting at PCs being able to detect their users.
The leaked document finishes with the suggestion that Microsoft is working on hard drive encryption for Windows 8. The software giant currently handles encryption by using its Bitlocker technologies. Earlier this year Microsoft posted a job opportunity where the company stated it was “looking for a great PM to define the “BitLocker Experience” in the next version of Windows.”
View: Source
The upcoming Mobile World Congress, or MWC, has many technology enthusiasts excited about the possible release of Windows Phone 7. Rumors have been flying non-stop over the past weeks, most recently regarding the lack of Flash support, and even a Windows Mobile ‘Starter Edition‘, much like Microsoft’s desktop offerings. As the Microsoft stage at the MWC was undergoing some last minute minor changes, learnbemobile managed to get photos of the interface for Windows Mobile 7, which will be unveiled in the hours ahead.
The photos, unlike most spy shots of pre-released products, are good quality, and display some of the very welcome changes that Microsoft has made to its mobile operating system. Interestingly, there seems to be support for Xbox Live, in addition to a revamped home screen, showing off information crucial to most users. There also appears to be a new section labeled ‘Me’, which will of course be detailed when the announcement is made. We’ve included an image of the interface below, along with a gallery (again thanks to learnbemobile).
The iPhone repair site, iResQ, has leaked photos of, what they claim to be, the faceplate of Apple’s upcoming 4th generation iPhone. According to the site, the front panel of the phone is approximately 1/4 of an inch taller than that of the iPhone 3GS. The screen is also longer, but exact measurements are not given. In addition, there seems to be some sort of “reflective, mirror-like surface” that sits right above the speaker. It’s unclear what purpose this will serve, but iResQ postulates that it could be for the proximity sensor.
The site also notes that the LCD is “factory glued to the digitizer,” similar to the first generation iPhone. This will make screen repairs pricier due to the need to replace two parts instead of one. No other hardware details are available at this time.
From left to right, you have the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS, and the iPhone 4G front panel
On the left, the iPhone 3GS front panel. On the right, the iPhone 4G front panel assembly. Note the difference in length and the reflective surface above the speaker, presumably for the proximity sensor
On the left, the iPhone 3GS front panel. On the right, the iPhone 4G front panel assembly. Note the difference in length and the reflective surface above the speaker, presumably for the proximity sensor
