Windows 7 may have just been released, but Microsoft is already hard at work on Windows 8 and the new developments are generating a lot of buzz. Windows 8 is the next generation of Windows client based operating systems and is expected to be released some time in 2012. Windows 8 is expected to be developed according to the vision of Steven Sinofsky, President, Windows and Windows Live Division – making it an evolution of Windows 7 a release Sinofsky also presided over.
According to Microsoft, the release of Windows 7 and Windows 8 are a move toward the more modern understanding of software releases. Rather than big new operating systems, Microsoft is moving toward smaller more iterative releases, thus the change in the product naming convention to Windows + the number of the release. According to new job postings, Microsoft is looking for new blood to join its Information Services team to develop new Windows 8 features
. Further postings are asking for software engineers to debug iterations of the new OS and work on the next version of Microsoft’s Distributed File System Management. Windows 8 is also expected to provide support for 128-bit architecture, according to a status update from a current Microsoft employee, this is a departure from industry expectations for support for 64-bit only and an end to support for 32-bit. Windows 7 currently provides support for both 32-bit and 64-bit, however the Windows Server 2008 R2, was the first Windows Server release to be 64-bit only, leading experts to believe that Windows 8 would follow suit and provide 64-bit only. If this is true, it seems Microsoft is looking further ahead with Window 8.
In what may be an advance of Windows7 HomeGroup functionality, Windows 8 is expected to include more networking and collaboration features. Microsoft is also forging new relationships with existing partners Intel, AMD, HP, and IBM which may speak to the direction of collaboration and networking in Windows 8, since all of these partners have collaborative offerings. Windows Live Mail is also expected to have a much bigger role in Windows 8. Windows Live Mail currently reports 40 million users, coupled with the several hundred million users of Hotmail and Windows Live Messenger.
Microsoft recently requested a program manager to work on integrating Live Mail into the Windows 8 operating system. Other requests ask for engineers to work on further incorporation of Windows Live in Windows 8. Major improvements to the BrancheCache feature rolled out in Windows 7 are slated for Windows 8. The feature, which stores intranet and server data locally for quicker access between users, is expected to see increased functionality in the second version included in Windows 8. The Windows 8 Server is also expected to have a new feature – Distributed File System Replication (DFSR).
This new capability is a multi-master replication engine designed for folder synchronization across several servers. More capabilities in Windows 8 are expected to keep leaking out as the OS continues through its development process. Obvservers are already watching the torrents for the first initial builds, screenshots and videos of Windows 8. Industry analysts are also pleased to see more forward thinking coming from Microsoft, however a few would like to see more focus on patches and fixes for the current errors in Windows 7.
