Windows 8 and  Hardware Architecture

About Windows 8

Windows 8 is the current release of the Windows operating system, produced by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablets, and home theater PCs. Development of Windows 8 started before the release of its predecessor in 2009. Its existence was first announced at CES 2011, and followed by the release of three pre-release versions from September 2011 to May 2012. The operating system was released to manufacturing on 1 August 2012 and was released for general availability on 26 October 2012.Windows 8 introduces significant changes to the operating system's platform, primarily focused towards improving its user experience on mobile devices such as tablets to rival other mobile operating systems like Android and iOS.

New features and functionality

New features and functionality in Windows 8 include a faster startup through UEFI integration and the new "Hybrid Boot" mode, a new lock screen with a clock and notifications, and the ability for enterprise users to create live USB versions of Windows. Windows 8 also adds native support for USB 3.0z devices, which allow for faster data transfers and improved power management with compatible devices, along with support for communication to facilitate sharing and communication between devices. Task Manager has also been redesigned, including a new processes tab with the option to display fewer or more details of running applications and background processes, a heat map using different colors indicating the level of resource usage, network and disk counters, grouping by process type.

Safety and security

Additional security features in Windows 8 include two new authentication methods tailored towards touch screens (PINs and picture passwords), the addition of antivirus  capabilities to Windows Defender.  Smart Screen filtering integrated into the desktop, and support for the "Secure Boot" functionality on UEFI systems to protect against malware infecting the boot process. Parental controls are offered through the integrated Family Safety software, which allows parents to monitor and control their children's activities on a device with activity reports and safety controls. Windows 8 also provides integrated system recovery through the new "Refresh" and "Reset" functions. 

Online services and functionality

Windows 8 provides heavier integration with online services from Microsoft and others. A user can now log in to Windows with a Microsoft account, formally known as a Windows Live ID, which can be used to access services and synchronize applications and settings between devices. Windows 8 also ships with a client app for Microsoft's SKyDrive service, which also allows apps to save files directly to SkyDrive. A SkyDrive client for the desktop and File Explorer is not included in Windows 8, and must be downloaded separately. Other bundled apps provide the ability to link to services such as  Flickr and Facebook.

Windows 8 also incorporates improved support for mobile broadband,  the operating system can now detect the insertion of a SIM card and automatically configure connection settings, track and reduce bandwidth use on metered networks. Windows 8 also adds an integrated airplane mode setting to globally disable all wireless connectivity as well. .

Windows Store and Apps

Windows 8 introduces a new style of application. These apps are to be optimized for touch screen environments and have smaller scope in relation to desktop applications. Apps can run either in a full-screen mode, or be docked directly to the side of a screen. They can provide notifications and a "live tile" on the Start screen for dynamic content. Apps can use "contracts"; a collection of hooks to provide common functionality that can integrate with other apps, such as search and sharing. Apps can also provide integration with other services; for example, the People app can connect to a variety of different social networks and services (such as Facebook), while the Photos app can aggregate photos from services such as Facebook and Flickr.

 

Interface and desktop

Windows 8 introduces significant changes to the operating system's user interface, many of which are centered towards improving its experience on tablet computers and other touch screen devices. The new user interface is based on Microsoft's Metro design language, and features a new tile-based Start screen similar to that of Windows Phone, which has replaced the previous Start menu entirely. The Start screen displays a customizable array of tiles linking to various apps and desktop programs, some of which can display constantly updated information and content through "live tiles". As a form of multi-tasking, apps can be snapped to the side of a screen.

Different hardware Architecture

System requirements for installing Windows 95:

• Personal computer with a 386DX or higher processor.
• 4 megabytes (MB) of memory
• Typical hard disk space required to upgrade to Windows 95: 35-40 MB.
• One 3.5-inch high-density floppy disk drive
• VGA or higher resolution

To use Microsoft Exchange and The Microsoft Network:

• 8 MB of memory
• 20 MB of additional hard disk space
• Modem 

Optional components:

• Microsoft Mouse or compatible pointing device
• Modem or fax/modem
• Audio card and speakers for sound

System requirements for installing Windows 2000-2002

• 133 MHz or more Pentium microprocessor. Windows 2000 Professional supports up to two processors on a single computer.
• 64 megabytes (MB) of RAM recommended minimum. 32 MB of RAM is the minimum supported. 
• A 2 GB hard disk that has 650 MB of free space. If you are installing over a network, more free hard disk space is required.
• VGA or higher-resolution monitor.
• Keyboard.

For CD-ROM installation:

• CD drive or DVD drive
• High-density 3.5-inch disk drive, unless your CD drive supports starting the Setup program from a CD

For network installation:

• Windows 2000-compatible network adapter and related cable.
• Access to the network share that contains the Setup files

System requirements for installing Windows 8:

v Windows- 8 system requirements 64-bit(x64)

·        CPU with 1 GHz

·        20 GByte Hard disk space

·        2 GByte  RAM

·        DirectX -9 graphics Card

v Windows- 8 system requirements 64-bit(x64)

·        CPU with 1 GHz

·        16 GByte Heard disk space

·        1 GByte RAM

·        DirectX -9 graphics Card

Software Compatibility

Windows 8 for IA-32 and x64 processors runs most software compatible with previous versions of Windows, with the same restrictions as Windows 7: 64-bit Windows 8 runs 64-bit and 32-bit software while 32-bit Windows 8 will be able to run 32-bit and 16-bit software.

Windows RT, a version of Windows 8 for systems with ARM processors, only supports applications included with the system (such as a special version of Office 2013), supplied through Windows Update, or Windows Store apps, to ensure that the system only runs applications that are optimized for the architecture. Windows RT does not support running IA-32 or x64 applications.  Windows Store apps can either be cross-compatible between Windows 8 and Windows RT, or compiled to support a specific architecture.

 

Market performance

Microsoft says that 4 million users upgraded to Windows 8 over the weekend after its release, which CNET says was well below Microsoft's internal projections and have been described inside the company as disappointing.

On 27 November 2012, Microsoft announced that it has sold 40 million licenses of Windows 8 in the first month, surpassing the pace of Windows 7.