Overview of Windows 8

On October 26, 2012, Microsoft released Windows 8, the newest version of the Windows operating system. Increasing its focus on mobile applications, Microsoft created a version of the OS to run specifically on the ARM architecture. Windows 8 also introduces a new look and feel that mimics a tablet experience on the desktop environment. This article highlights a few of the high-level features of the new OS and discusses how it affects measurement and control systems.

Navigating the New Windows 8 UI

Above: The new Windows 8 Start screen features live tiles for Windows Store apps.

The first feature you notice is the re-imagined Windows 8 UI. Also called the Metro UI or Modern UI at various points in development, the new layout creates a clean and modern look with large and often live-updated application tiles, similar to the functionality of gadgets in Windows 7. Only apps built for Windows 8 have these live tiles. You can get these new apps through the new Windows Store only. Applications previously built for Windows 7 still appear as tiles on the new Start screen but instead appear as static tiles to the right of the live tiles for Windows Store apps. Scrolling to the right in the Start screen reveals these app tiles.

            Similar to other app stores, Microsoft reviews and approves apps before placing them in the marketplace. Apps that support external devices, including both common devices like cameras and printers and more custom hardware, have special restrictions. These apps are automatically downloaded from the Windows Store at device insertion and are required to be free.

            If you are familiar with the desktop from Windows 7, you can still find that functionality. However, the legacy desktop does not include a Start button or menu. Windows 8 instead features a Charm Bar that you can access by moving your cursor to the upper- or lower-right corner of any screen. From the Charm Bar, you can search your files and applications, share content from Windows Store apps, open the Start screen, and manage connected devices or settings. The Charm Bar is also context sensitive, which means some of the items displayed in each of the main categories change based on which app is open when the Charm Bar is open.

Intensifying the Focus on Mobile

Over 100 million tablets and 650 million smartphones are expected to be shipped in 2012. Meanwhile, desktops and laptops combined will sell only 371 million units. In the second quarter of 2012, Microsoft’s Windows phones accounted for only 3.5 percent of global smartphone sales.

In an attempt to extend its market share in the mobile space, Microsoft developed Windows RT, a specific version of Windows 8 for ARM-based tablets. RT is simply an initialism and does not stand for “real-time.” Windows RT is designed to run on ARM devices and runs only apps available through the Windows Store or preloaded with the OS. Windows RT cannot run existing 32- and 64-bit applications because the OS does not support the Intel architecture. Additionally, developers cannot recompile these applications for the ARM processor because the OS limits necessary access to the Win32 API.

One of the ARM devices running Windows RT is the Microsoft Surface tablet, which is Microsoft’s new entry into the mobile market. The ARM-based Surface released at the same time as Windows 8. A second version, the Intel-based Surface Pro, will be released later and run Windows 8 Pro.

Above: Data Dashboard for LabVIEW, shown here on an iPad, is also available on Windows 8 devices through the Windows Store.

Already available for iOS and Android, NI Data Dashboard for LabVIEW gives you the ability to both view and manipulate your systems from customized and portable dashboards on your tablet. Data Dashboard for LabVIEW is also available for Windows 8 devices through the Windows Store.

The Microsoft OS Support Life Cycle

Microsoft will stop support for Windows XP in 2014 and Windows 7 in 2020. Among National Instruments customers on Microsoft operating systems, Windows 7 holds over 65 percent of the user base just over three years after its release. NI currently expects to end support for Windows XP and Vista in 2016.

NI Product Compatibility

National Instruments has been working with preview versions of Windows 8 to determine compatibility between the new OS and its hardware, software, and drivers. In general, existing Windows 7 applications should continue to function in Windows 8, but hardware drivers may need updating. Information on the minimum required versions for compatibility with Windows 8 is included online at ni.com/windows8. Also on the web, you can find more information about some known compatibility issues with Windows 8 and how to resolve those problems.

Visit ni.com/windows8 for more information about how Windows 8 affects your test and measurement systems.

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Metro app by LabVIEW
It will be awesome if LabVIEW able to create Metro app as well.. it will be huge advantage to the end user since LabVIEW itself is a Virtual Instrument and .. forget bout the dashboard .. :)
- engwei,freelancer. engwei.tan@gmail.com - Nov 21, 2012

Use Classic Shell to restore Start Menu
Get the best of both old and new by installing Classic Shell, or the start menu of your choice. There are already many to choose from. I like the adjustability in Classic Shell and best of all its free. http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/
- Mark Wezensky,ORNL SNS. m4w@ornl.gov - Nov 13, 2012

NI, time to abandon MS
Stick a fork in it, Windoze is done. The future is Linux and Android. In our facility, we dread the advent of a new version of Windoze because it is guaranteed to break our NI production equipment. It's a house of cards that hasn't gotten better for 15 years. NI, imagine if you weren't tied to what MS "gives" you, and you could tweak your own OS to do exactly as you please. Imagine not having to scramble every few years to fix your product with every "new and improved" version of Windoze. People can't buy tablets and smartphones fast enough, and most are not apple or MS. The paradigm is shifting, and it's definitely *not* towards MS and Windoze. I am weary of having to accept and support consumer grade crap in commercial applications where downtime is serious money. The combination of NI and a reliable OS would be a big winner in my book.
- Nov 12, 2012

Windows 8 Fiasco
I'm predicting that Windows 8 will be a greater fiasco than Millennium Edition and VISTA combined! I was at a Microsoft store yesterday and confirmed my worst fears that there is no option to get a classic Windows desktop (and to be able to boot up to that). When you click on the Desktop tile you get a blank screen (other than your wallpaper). As your article said, there is no Start button. And when you install third-party applications such as NI LabVIEW, you don’t get a shortcut on the desktop, the representative told me. I asked how to launch the app, and she said I’d have to navigate to the exe in Windows Explorer (which is shown as an icon (the only one, I think) on the Task Bar. If she’s right, that’s crazy! (But your article said you’d get a tile on the main screen.) Furthermore, Windows Explorer (and not Internet Explorer, she told me) still does not have the tool bar with the Delete, Cut, Copy, Paste, etc. icons as is on Windows XP. New Microsoft Office software makes great use of giant tool bar icons, so why did they remove that on Explorer? It makes no sense. The user should have an option to view or hide the toolbar. The rep told me that all Windows 7 software would run on Windows 8. She said the drivers, too, but I’d take that with a grain of salt. Trying to shoehorn a tablet OS into a desktop system is just plain dumb, in my (and many reviewers’) opinion. The desktop OS wasn’t broke, so why did Microsoft try to fix it?
- Edward Schwartz,Mark-10 Corp. es@mark-10.com - Nov 06, 2012