Sneak peek at Windows 8?
Although Windows 8 has not yet been officially announced, several sites are reporting details on key features of the operating system. The documents, released in the form of slides marked “Microsoft Confidential,” have not been authenticated by CNET, but do use internal Microsoft vocabulary.Some key new features discussed as possibilities include:
- More secure authentication, with a focus on facial recognition
- Faster start-up times, such that laptops could resume from sleep in under a second
- 3D displays
- Wireless connectivity to TVs
- Compatibility with USB 3.0 and Bluetooth 3.0
- Automatic display readjustment to ambient light
- A possible means of returning a PC to default mode while maintaining all files and settings
In addition to new features, the slides discuss how Apple and a new focus on laptops and other portable devices, with an emphasis on energy efficiency. Microsoft has not made any comment on the slides, and has not discussed any OS beyond Windows 7, except a comment by Server and Tools president Bob Muglia to say that it will be a significant release. An update for Windows 7 is set to be tested next month which fixes a variety of bugs without adding significant features. Instead, the company seems to be focusing on the Windows Live Essentials series, which are free downloadable programs that include Photo Gallery and Movie Maker.A final interesting point is that the slides indicate Microsoft still wants more data before “M1,” a common reference by the company to milestones in development (M1, M2, etc.). This seems to indicate that the project was still in the planning stage at the time of the slides, some of which are dated April 20.