Windows Blue build 9364 leaked, shows numerous improvements

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We're all eagerly awaiting to see what Microsoft has for consumers with the Blue updates that will be released for its array of products later this year. Build 9364 for Windows 8 has been leaked, teasing what we can all look forward to in the public release once the final revision is available for the market. So what features and changes are new in this leaked build? WinBeta managed to take a good look and record some footage.

So, you're interested in new stuff, right? Well, we're talking about more advance personalisation, deeper SkyDrive support, more Live Tile sizes (familiar, Windows Phone consumers?), stronger multitasking and a bunch of other goodies. Check out the following video for a walkthrough on installing a fresh copy of the leaked build:

What many will find interesting is how Microsoft is attempting to group all the settings and categories in Control Panel and shove the configurations into PC Settings (accessible from the charm menu). This makes sense as for the time being settings are split up and are available in multiple locations. It can be daunting for new users to figure out where settings are after turning a new PC or tablet on for the first time. As well as this, there have been some improvements made for multitasking.

It's reported that changes have been made to the core system to allow 3 or 4 apps to be "snapped" on-screen at any given time, as well as 2 or more "Metro" apps to be run across multiple displays. Sounding good so far? We couldn't agree more. Microsoft has to battle initial reviews that noted how the new operating system may feel like too much of a climb for those who perform multiple tasks at once. It can be frustrating to juggle multiple apps on Windows 8.

A one-swipe gesture from the main home screen will take the user straight to the app list - swipe down, buddy. Instead of having to rely on heading over to search for the list of installed programs, users can now check what's available with an accessible display. Oh, and the Windows logo in the Charms menu shines a little bit clearer when the bar is activated - or is it just us? It's the little things like this that make a visual difference.

Windows Phone owners will be slightly jealous once they've witnessed Microsoft implement a colour chooser for the background theme.

Windows 8 Colour Chooser

Can Windows Phone not sport an accent colour bar selector tool?

Could we be seeing something similar in the Blue update for Windows Phone? It'll be interesting to see. To add just a few more new observations, a handful of new apps were spotted in the above video, including Alarms. All this is coupled with reports that current core apps on Windows 8 set to receive major updates - the Mail app alone is crying out desperately for a refresh.

So, as Windows 8 users, what do you make of findings thus far? What else would you like to see Microsoft include before the update is released? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

Source: WinBeta; thanks, John, for the tip!

Rich Edmonds
Rich Edmonds

Rich Edmonds is a word conjurer at Windows Central, covering everything related to Windows, gaming, and hardware. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a device chassis. You can follow him over on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.
174 Comments
  • This is icing on the cake. I already love Windows 8. MS is so far ahead of their competitors on the OS front -- can't wait to see W8 in 2-3 years.
  • You mean W9 in nearest future
  • I honestly don't think MSFT will keep numbering their operating systems. Maybe Win 9, but I just see more updates. They will make money off the store.
  • Like the new SimCity, no number but still the same franchise
  • What would you like to see improved. I can think of a few really annoying things.
    1. Those disappearing scrollbars when using a non-touchscreen. Whats up with that? There needs to be an option to leave them visible so a user doesn't need to move their cursor around every time they want to scroll a little more. 
    2. Have the Start Menu available as an option. I know my way around fairly well now, but that's just a necessity to get many people to start using 8. I still wish it was there as a backup. Sometimes I need to do something I haven't tried on 8 and am not always in the mood to figure out the new way of doing it.  It's hard to teach some old dogs new tricks and there can be a slow learning curve at the very least.
    3. Someone really needs to come up with cheap, basic  Blu-Ray software that is compatible with Win8. For those of us who rarely use the blu-ray player on our laptop, but want to have it available for those rare occasions we want to use it, $70 for player software is rediculous. Having Win8 downgrade our Blu-Ray player to DVD is not a good PR move.
  • Point 2: The start menu is gone forever, never to return. No amount of complaining and suggesting will ever bring it back. MS has moved past it and bringing it back, even as a backup, would be counterproductive to their current goal of moving everything into modern UI and making everything touch friendly. Sorry, but it had to be said. MS wants people to get used to it, and even giving the option of the start menu will not prepare people for the future of MS.
  • They're gonna start with colors now watch.
  • Nice MJOLNIR dude!
  • You are likely correct. Office 2013 will be the last "numbered" office. The "Softies" have been telling us partners to refer to it as "The New Office". In case anyone hasn't noticed they are pushing "subscription-based" Office like 365 really hard through pricing. I suspect Windows upgrades will follow suit and will join the "subscription-based" family.
  • The subscription for Office, in my opinion, makes sense. I don't want to subscripe to an OS and I want to see what MSFT comes up with to keep the money coming in.
  • The whole version thing is just marketing. Head to the command window to confirm it for yourself: WinVista = ver 6.0, Win7 = ver 6.1, Win8 = ver 6.2.
  • W9 isn't coming anytime soon, Microsoft is sticking with Win8 (and WP8 and Xbox8, and Sky8? They like 8! Besides IE8, it's been used). Integration, it's all in 8's.
  • Hopefully microsoft will realease one of this apps huluplus, hbo go or instagram. Im really excited for the next month for the announment of the next Xbox and hopefully more leaks of windows blue :)
  • Great things are coming for our platform.. And tomorrow is the start of it ;)
  • What will come?
  • Know something we don't know?
  • Yep, It is an interesting addition to the windows store.. Though not a deal breaker for most people..
  • Well first off, the start button on the charms menu always did a glow like gesture. I'm pretty stoked!
  • True that.
  • Does it not shine slightly clearer? Or am I attempting to notice something there? Could well be because I can't see it very well on the laptop...
  • There was definitely an animation to the start button in that video that's not currently in Windows 8, unless I just have it disabled. I don't see them including that and then turning it off by default.
  • W8 doesn't show an animation if you use your mouse to show the charms bar. But if you use Win+C or touch, there is an animation.
  • Still no Tellme support. No voice for Bing searches. Ughhhh.
  • Mine is animated and always has been since installing about a week and a half ago... I'm confused. I am using a desktop I built maybe 6 years ago so mouse + keyboard.
  • Can't wait for new PCs to have this.
  • ''  A one-swipe gesture from the main home screen will take the user straight to the app list - swipe down, buddy. Instead of having to rely on heading over to search for the list of installed programs, users can now check what's available with an accessible display. ''
     
    They can currently also get to the app list by swiping up on the startscreen. It will open the 'app specific' optionbar and when on the startscreen the only available option is 'all apps'. But I agree this is a fantastic addition. Windows 8 is becoming a 90 degrees version of WP8. I like this as I think the two should move more toward each other. Stuff like:
     
    - Give both platforms the same charmbar for basic commands (as seen in Windows 8)
     
    - Give both platforms of a game-hub (as seen in WP8)
     
    - Give both platforms the same tiles and customization options (preferably being able to choose between mono-theme or multicolor-theme on both platforms).
  • Agreed on "No. Charm bat on windows phone = bad". That's what the hardware/touch sensitive buttons are for.
  • Well windows blue is supposed to unify the systems more. This is for w8. We have yet to see what wp8 is going to be
  • Great for touch enabled screens. For my old workhorse PC there's still no point with charms bar, start screen, modern windows 8 apps, hoovering in corners etc etc. Microsoft should let users be able to choose what type of screen they have and adjust the OS according to it.
  • Bingo
  • Legacy mode
  • You don't share content on your "workhorse PC"? Or are you still copy and pasting URLs and you call this "work"? ;)
    You don't have friends on social networks? You don't want to be up-to-date with one glance? Well, okay then.
  • They have this product called windows 7 that suits your needs.
  • Honestly it doesn't bother me when I'm on my non-touch laptop. I often find when I switch to Windows 7 that I'm trying to use the hot corners or charms bar. It's not for everyone, but MSFT isn't going back. They made that clear.
  • There is that tiles called desktop. clicking this will instantly bring you on that old GUI that everyone is used to since - guess since the beginning of most people pc knowledge
  • @adrian1338  Omitting the Start Menu as an option screws that up. The last time I was in Costco, I saw an older gentleman fully prepared to buy himself a new computer. He had someone helping him, but after ten minutes or so of becoming frustrated at his own inability to comprehend the new format, he resigned himself to just keeping his old computer. The same can be said for my step-mother in her 60s, my father in his 70s, etc. There are many people with plenty of money that want to buy  a new computer that will not do it just because of that missing Start Menu. Perhaps one day, when all computers have touch screen, this will not be as much of an issue. But right now most do not.
  • Why? In my eyes the new startmenue is the better one. Why? displays the options to run programs right at the start of the pc. displays everything at once. updates live tiles asap to show for example new mails, give uninstall options, and you can access it from everywhere even if the taskbar is not visible.
  • My dog's name is Blue.
  • Ha^
  • Old yeller!
  • I had a beta fish named Blue....(a while ago, he passed away)
  • Still not a big improvement without the start button .
  • Nobody extensively used the Start button. Only Mac users miss it.
  • I do, and im the biggest fanboy there is.
  • Then you ought to move away from your antiquated, inefficient usage pattern.
  • I'm genuinely interested to hear why you miss the start button. The arguments never make sense to me.
  • Because I hate the start screen in windows 8. I don't have a touch display. Nor a touch mouse...
  • Why do you need a touch mouse? I found that rolling the mouse scroll up or down works even better then swiping at the start screen.
  • So you mean the start menu is what you miss? I hear people missing the start button and get confused, since you can still click the corner. No button just means an extra slot on the taskbar is not wasted, which is nice on sub-HD monitors. And you can move the taskbar without the start button corner moving around. If the people who say "button" actually mean "menu", then I can understand that, as metro rubs some the wrong way.
  • When using the OS within a Hyper-V window, accessing the start button or any of the edge swipes is a major chore. You have to be pixel perfect with that mouse. When is this a problem I hear you say? Well, Server 2012 uses the win 8 interface, and we have lots of virtual instances running in our company. Also, Hyper-V doesn't pass through the windows key press either.
  • press windows button or windows c for charms bar
  • Hyper-V virtual clients running within a desktop window don't pass through the windows button. There are other scenarios where it is useful. I mean, the MS surface has the Start button as a physical button ourside the UI.
    All I would like its the ability to pin the Start button to the taskbar. 'Desktop' is a tile in the start screen, so why can't 'Start' be a pinnable shortcut!?
  • True, i rarely hit the start button on my windows 7 laptops. My computer is not even on my desktop, i'd just hit hold on Windows Key + E and My computer will open. Shutdowns = ALT F4 and hibernate = just hit the power button while sleep = close the lid. Given the way i use my laptops i dont use, or rarely use the start button. I dont miss it. 
  • Have to agree with Microsoft on this one. Never used it.
  • start button blah blah blah blah!
     
    In Windows 7 you had to move to the bottom corner of the screen and press the start button. 
    With windows 8.... you have to move to the bottom of the screen and press the left mouse button.  So far superior because its easier to quickly click on the larger area in Windows 8.
    of course with BOTH OS's you can press the windows key.
    Now when you click the 'magical' and 'much loved' start button in windows 7 you are presented with a condensed list where you have to click another button to search all programs OR make sure you pinned your main programs in which case you had to click to launch.
    In Windows 8, you are presented with very clear large tiles to show all your programs that are EASIER to spot.  The same click launches the programe you want.  There is no doubt that in Windows 8 it is easier to spot and click the program you need.
    So Windows 8 DOESNT need a start button.  It is FASTER as it is to get where you want to go.
    Windows 8 navigation wins all round, and the constant whining about the start button is nothing more than a 'change is not good' mentality.
  • Absolutely correct. Is it scary and new-looking? Yes. Is it better in almost every way? Yes. Instead of a useless start button that just invites more clicks and the "whoops I moused off the menu and have to start the drill-down again"... You have a Start SCREEN that gets you where you need to go much quicker. Then, you get to GROUP tiles and name the groups. Very handy (whish Windows Phone would do that as well! in a Vertical format). Finally, those who are yelling the loudest are some of the technical folks used to going to Start, Programs, Accessories... Blah blah blah. Now, simply hover in lower left corner and RIGHT-Click the Start Screen pop-up. Boom-- everything you need in a less-click pop-up menu. Computer Management, Command Window, Control Panel, etc. It's right there. Cracks me up how much people hate change... Even when change brings a better way of doing things. People just get comfortable I guess. ;-)
  • +1
  • The start button as you may have known it on previous versions of windows is not returning. You still have a start button on windows 8 in the charm and hidden in bottom left corner which takes you to the start page which is light years ahead of a start menu anyways.
  • I'm still on Windows 7, but honestly who in their right mind still uses the start menu? Windows 7 has had this feature called "Pin to taskbar" since it was launched. Whenever I need something that isn't pinned I hit the windows menu then type a search for what I want.
     
    I don't think I've looked in "All Programs" in about 2-3 years!
     
    You know when you allow Microsoft to take usage statistics when installing Windows? Microsoft uses that information to see that the majority of their users, like me, also rarely use their start menu.
     
    Get with the times, don't expect progress to be held up because you want to keep using Windows 95 throw backs.
  • Yep, and the start menu's main function, search, is better in 8 because you have more room to see results. Only thing is you have to do win+W for settings or win+f for files, whereas they were lumped with apps and searchable right away with just with the start button in win 7. That's slightly annoying, but also nice since it narrows down the search selection by type.
  • I feel sorry for those of you know don't use the Just Type feature. If your in your home screen you can just start typing on your keyboard to search apps and within apps.
  • Win8 = Vista , Win Blue = Win 7?
  • In what way is Vista equivalent to Windows 8?
  • Nope, no Mac. Vista was as different to XP as Win8 is to Win7. Vista was much maligned by almost everyone, just as Win8. Win7 brought brought great improvements just as we hope Blue does. Especially to the core apps.
  • I didnt have a problem with Vista, but the only issue i didnt like about it was it requires too much resources to run - it will lag under heavy multitasking if you have entry level specs on Vista.
  • ^this. Vista was fine, problem was people were trying to run it on older machines that didn't have the specs needed to make it run smoothly. Windows 8 is actually the opposite, it made one of my kid's PC run faster than Windows 7. 8 is a very efficient OS and I'm excited about the direction Microsoft is going.
  • Not really. Blue is like SP3 for Windows XP and SP2 for Vista. A service pack that makes the OS finally usable. Not being able to use Metro on two screens is just redonkulos. They have to fix that fast. And it really should be a free Service Pack, not a paid upgrade.
  • WTF are you talking about. Sounds like more Mac B.S.
  • More like Win8 = Me, Win Blue = Vista. 
  • What is so bad about windows 8 ???? doenst come with a desktop mode so why people complain so much ???? I've been using mac for 4 years and whenever I uses windows 8 at my college I feel a joy just of using it. To me is really hard to see people hating so much on windows.
  • No, Windows 8 is more like Windows 95 is < than Windows 98 expansion pack is equivalent to Windows 7 is = to portico 8 > blue upgrade + vista - 7.5 or and possibly 7.8.
  • English, do you speak it?
  • This is a community board, not an English has to be your primary language board. I'm sure you'll flame out over this, but you don't have to be a jerk
  • NT 4.0, NT 5.0, NT 6.0 are all = NT 5.1 = NT 6.1 NT 5.2 = NT 6.2 NT 6.3 = NT 6.2 (If it had SP1) !
  • Would be easy to guess that was the case, but far from the truth. Vista brought performance slowdowns and weird unexplained crashes and system halts, long shutdowns, etc. versus Windows XP. Windows 8 brings a good 40% performance improvement on the same hardware, better navigation, and a more modern "touch-and-tablet-friendly" operating system versus Windows 7. :-)
  • This^
  • "Oh, and the Windows logo in the Charms menu shines when the bar is activated."
     
    P.S. W8 already does this
  • Windows Blue is?
    Is this Windows 8 SP1 or Windows 9? Same with Blue for WP8.1 or WP9? What is Blue?
  • Microsoft is doing away with the full service packs, instead implementing smaller but significant updates throughout the operating systems lifetime. This will be the first of those updates.
  • Will they be free?
  • Of course. You're using a Windows machine, not a Mac you goof :P
  • Yes
  • NT 6.3 is not a Service pack (Too me its a SP1 for Windows8) So yes you would have to pay for it! Bye bye free Service pack's!
  • I don't think it will be a service pack cause version number is now 6.3.xxxx where as win 8 is 6.2.xxxx
  • I don't use W8 and I don't intend to, BUT, do you know if they fixed the missing Start button on the desktop mode? That said, I'll be crossing my fingers so that the colour palet will also come with WP9.
  • You're an idiot. Lol
  • And you're an asshole who has nothing better to do. Would you please consider ceasing your breathing activities? Thanks.
  • Certainly
  • "Fixed" ???? No...they LEFT IT OFF like they meant to, because it served no purpose with the new metro screen.
  • Perhaps you didn't read what I wrote "ON THE DESKTOP MODE". It's not needed in metro screen, but it's a basic feature on the desktop mode. 'cause normal people in a normal PC use a normal desktop mode. I'm sure you haven't read any criticism to W8. You probably worship every dump the guys at Microsoft release. But for those of us with critical capacity have noted the many flaws of W8. Being that one a major one.
  • Everyone sitting in front of a keyboard and mouse has a Windows key right on their keyboard. Stop being so stubborn and learn to change. You're wasting your time reaching for your mouse to click the start button.
  • Perhaps you read to much and did not try it. Perhaps the missing button is not such a big deal perhaps you should start a thread with I have tried it rather than your opening gambit... Just saying...
  • I like to think I'm normal (mostly) ;) I haven't missed the start button at all. Not just that but I feel navigating in general is not only smoother but easier. Alas that's just an opinion and I'm sure with every on person that agrees one doesn't.
  • All Programs has been redundant since Windows 7, making the start menu a stupid idea. Windows 8 does so much more with the menu than a crappy Windows 95 throwback.
  • Wow, you really are an idiot for not reading all the posts before you asked that asinine question before. The best answer to your question was already posted, below is what was written in this same thread.
     
    start button blah blah blah blah!
     
    In Windows 7 you had to move to the bottom corner of the screen and press the start button. 
    With windows 8.... you have to move to the bottom of the screen and press the left mouse button.  So far superior because its easier to quickly click on the larger area in Windows 8.
    of course with BOTH OS's you can press the windows key.
    Now when you click the 'magical' and 'much loved' start button in windows 7 you are presented with a condensed list where you have to click another button to search all programs OR make sure you pinned your main programs in which case you had to click to launch.
    In Windows 8, you are presented with very clear large tiles to show all your programs that are EASIER to spot.  The same click launches the programe you want.  There is no doubt that in Windows 8 it is easier to spot and click the program you need.
    So Windows 8 DOESNT need a start button.  It is FASTER as it is to get where you want to go.
    Windows 8 navigation wins all round, and the constant whining about the start button is nothing more than a 'change is not good' mentality.
  • There is nothing missing. The Start button is there but it looks different. Instead of a fake glass like round candy sticking on the Taskbar that you can *only* access when the Taskbar is visible, they choose to have the Start button in the corner where it is *always* accessible. Even in full screen apps. If you like to stare at a round cute candy button, you should stick with Windows 7.
  • I agree.  I had no problem adapting to the Start screen on my desktop.  I actually like the fact that when I'm on the Start screen I can start searching without having to hit the Win key.
    The only thing I would change is the result page, to include apps, files and settings all at once, because in most cases, once I've typed two letters, i only have 4 or 5 apps that match.  Why not populate the rest of the screen with settings and files results?
    That would eliminate the need to switch to settings or files results in a lot of cases.
  • Press the Window Key to the Start screen, a quick glance I can see the email, message, calender, weather, news, a quick 'ahhhh' from the photo tile, a quick 'woah' from the people tile, press the Window Key and I am back to what I'm doing.
    Start butoon? No thanks.
  • I totally agree here. Everyone seems to think that only the ApS show up on the start screen and you have to go to the full application screen to find a desktop application. Guess what? You can pin a desktop application to the start screen. I find the new start screen to be far superior to the old start menu.
  • You can also stil pin applications to the classic QuickLaunch/TaskBar.
     
    The people who coomlain the most about he missing start button are usually the same who complained about the new bigger Start Menu in Windows XP and have always switched to the classic Windows 95 Start Menu. They only recently learned to use it when they finally upgraded to Windows 7, and they hate having to learn new stuff after only 3 years, as it took them 10 years to grasp the bigger Start Menu. And unfortunately even people working in IT can be that dumb.
     
  • Fixed in Windows 7.
  • I see no need for it. I think it is time for you to move on... If you want a start menu so dam bad just buy some software for $10 so you can stop your pointless complaint. Done!
  • The start menu button is there, just hidden (essentially). Just move your mouse cursor to the very bottom left corner and you can bring up the start menu easily. In fact this can be done from any screen, doesn't need to just be the desktop
  • The startbutton is not missing in W8, it was removed.
     
    The whole argument is skewed and silly. Most people have no use for the start button and those who do or think they do have options to regain it. So stop your crying already. I have yet to hear one valid or sensible argument why it was wring for MSFT to remove it. The Start Screen offers everything the button did and then some.
     
     
  • Ignore the haters and just buy Start8 from Stardock. It's cheap and greatly enhances my enjoyment of Windows 8.
  • The Start button isn't "missing".... you're implying that they forgot it. I suggest you give Win8 a try because it's pretty awesome once you realize "the start button" you crave is still there in function, just not in "button" form. You do the same motion as before, slide mouse to corner. The only difference is the corner has been moved to the right of the screen. It really only takes a short time to get used to. Also, you can still just hit the Win key on your keyboard, just like in the 90s.
    NOW, here's where you'll have the hardest time, because I assume you're one who hates change, even when the change is just visual rather than function: The "Start" Menu is now a graphic interface!!! OMG! So before you panic, let me just calm you.... the start menu has the same function now but is sleek, sexy, and alive with info, alerts and color. So everything is really the same, just prettier.
    If you still insist on staying in the past because of a "start button" then, um enjoy being stuck in the past.
     
  • Im in. I love W8 on my touch screen laptop, but acknowledge there can be improvements. I like where they are taking this OS.
  • It is good to hear this because as windows user we can say that 8 is not perfect, so this and many more improvements in the future are very welcome. I just hope they do not make us pay money so soon because I just bought 8. Don't forget about windows phone too!
  • Its looking good so far bit bugged but its beta so that's understandable tbh liking the multi task improvements apps the sliding up down with the apps and making super small or big big tiles etc etc cant wait to see the finnished results :)
  • How much of this will come to RT?
  • All of it I believe
  • I think Blue contains updates for the Metro side of the OS, so I do believe all of it will come to RT.
  • Windows RT is pretty much Windows 8, so all of it should come to it.
  • As a RT user this id nice and all but I would like to see more Outlook like functionality. I am ok for the most with 8 on the desktop save some minor niggles.
  • If they fix the currently horrible music app and syncing app I'll be happy
  • That will be fixed this week.
  • hopefully this includes syncing Xbox Video purchases to my Lumia 920
  • Source?
  • For real?! That is my personal biggest gripe. It is strange my wp7 with Zune is better than my wp8 devices xboxMusic. I also want the ability to save all my music in the cloud and have access to it through xboxMusic. Amazon's new cloud feature and music player is sweet. I would like wp8 to get the amazon music app.
  • Yeah...source please. Video also needs to be fixed. I'm tired of all my personal TV shows and movies showing up all lumped together in 'other' and no way to add cover art. I have ten movies that all show the MGM Lion as their thumbnail...that really helps.
  • The path should be clear: they remove the need to go to the desktop. It is rumored that Blue will have a modern "File Manager" app. So Blue can be used on cheap 7" tablets without a desktop. Nice.
  • The start button really does seem to be a love hate topic, strong opinions in each camp. I think there should be a setting to turn it on or off, then every1 is happy.
  • I guess, I mean real old timers do most of their work in the DOS prompt, I mean power shell. ;)
  • If its that big a problem for you just add it back with one of the many utilities. Every new version of the os annoyed me in one way or another that I had to fix with a tweak but overall my view is that its heading in the right direction. A work in progress but a good foundation.....
  • I found myself trying to.use the surface/win 8 gestures on my phone, not sure if they'd work, but interesting.
  • Wow. I'm in love. Although, I'm not gonna install it on my Surface quite yet because idk how to get my stuff back if something goes wrong (I learned the hard way...). But so many excellent features. I always wondered why we couldn't snap apps halfway. Glad they have it, and I can't wait.
  • My biggest annoyance is it's to easy to trip the charms bat when you don't want it. Like the is but maybe the charms only come on with a swipe and key combo not just the corner swipe.
  • If you believe the Developer rumors it will be "Write once" and "Submit once" for ARM devices---both RT, Phone and possibly Intel Windows Metro/Modern apps using a common API and UI based on Silverlight and HTML 5 . The Windows Store will take care of the rest. RT will get many phone apps and be that much closer to the iOS and Android model for common apps. This doesn't preclude high performance apps from being written for each platform that are not write once, deploy once.
     
     
  • You can already built a Visual Studio project where you can re-use code for Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8. Some developers do this already and you can see some apps or games come out on both platforms at the same time (see the Twitter app for example). But phone apps on a PC is not a good idea. Code re-use is fine but the same app would give you a terrible experience.
  • This..
     
    See android in general and many iOS apps as an example..
  •  Look at somethng llike Flipboard (or Fuse) on a 17 inch monitor and imagine it on a 55" TV or on a phone or a tablet
     
    The developer mindset will change as new UI standards evolve. Tour the APP.
    http://www.flipboard.com/ .
    It scales screen sizes well from phone to large TV tiles.
    Nearly every non-game app I've downloaded could be scaled to larger screen sizes with minimal effort and once new coding standards are in place--done! Metro Apps for Windows 8 touch ultrabooks and touch all-in-ones. The tilie metaphor works well for many.
    That's the future/
    Back to "Blue Stacks".
      And I'm not talking about "reusing code blocks" . Write Once.
  • Good News!
  • Please tell me someone there got the memo to fix xbox music
  • What's wrong with it?
  • @Rick, you obviously never used the Zune desktop client. Xbox Music is a devastating step backwards.
  • These look like some really nice, common-sense improvements. I'm encouraged!
  • Sad to see the Mail app still overly simple. I hope they do improvements overall for the ARM  RT tablets. App load times are almost unacceptale. And the lag in basic apps like Mail is worse than Android and it is a damn shame. Office on RT is awesome and Mail, Music, Store, and IE's responsiveness at times is garbage. Other than that I like almost every new improvement minus the zooming out to select groups and moving them. that was fine the way it was.
  • Fingers crossed things brings local folder syncing for SkyDrive to surface RT
  • On suggestion, please allow the search to search all (apps docs and settings).
  • What would i like to see... I'd like yo see Win8 team take some lessons from the wp8 team re touch and on-screen keyboard. I mean, why is selecting a text in IE10 metro such a chore. And really, we right click a lot on desktop... And tap and hold for a right click is a massive productivity drain... And tell me please, why does the Numeric Keypad on Win8 starts with 123 at the top unlike the standard keyboard, considering many computers still have a numeric keypad... And how about the spell check/auto correct like we have in WP8... I have recommended WP from day one... But in present implementation of Win8, advise people to stay away from touch... It actually works better with a mouse.
  • Does this include windows rt?
  • Yes!
  • More people that don't use Windows 8 should watch this! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AF_unseP4z0
  • Is Blue going to be free? I remember reading somewhere that they are possibly going to charge for updates, like Apple.
  • Here's a few additions:A switcher for desktop and metro mode that locks one out of the other. Some real voice commands, seriously, come on Microsoft. UNIVERSAL auto correction. Abilitlity to put a picture on the start screen parallax. New start screen designs. Be able to return to the previous position on the start screen after opening an app, this is so annoying. That's all I have for now from my daily usage of Win8. Still the best customizable OS on the market.
    ps, notice the numbers atop the qwerty touchscreen keyboard row for quickly inputting numbers with what I would assume is a function key
  • Everything in a few years is just going to be an APP. Thats how im seeing things so far.
  • Such a missed opportunity to use the title Blues Clues.
  • Any hints of what's to come in wp8?
  • Need notification center.
  • Hold on for the ride.
  • Windows Blue on a Haswell Hybrid, preferably a Surface Pro, is what I'm waiting for.  Windows 8 will take off from there.
  • I hope Blue comes on SP1, for Windows 8, also anybody notice the version number of windows 8? Its the same as Windows 7, somebody told me that this is was MS wanted windows 7 to look like. But alas Windows 8. I just hope they don't wait for this update till Windows 9. :( 
  • Anyone work out how to re-enable the new settings screen after changing it to the old one like in the video?
  • So any indication that the music app will be made more usable and give us the same ease of syncing we used to have with WP7 - Zune?
  • I love Win8 for the most part but they need to fix that horribly broken Music App. I use Zune now but I'm pretty they're gonna cut support for it in the future. So I would love them to fix the music app before they do.
  • I am loving this!
  • been using windows 8 for past 5 months now and have to say this OS is best and very fast and fluid. Never have any problems, no blue screen and no crashes. I installing many apps and all works fine. Yes windows7 is still there and hate when people are lazy press windows key button to bring up desktop. I can't wait to upgrade.
  • They should fix the problem with the Xbox Music, there is a random problem that when you play a song, the playback of that song duplicates. Any ideas for the fix?
  • Does anyone know if the mail app is getting more options and features?
  • Ok like beta -wow
  • The level of stupidity on the Engadget comments is just too damn high...
  • So they added all features that we asked for WP to Desktop OS ?
    What the hell...
  • Windows Blue is coming to WP, but at a later date.
  • I'm waiting, refreshing WPCentral all day waiting for this so call update/new app
  • It would be nice to be able to customize the tiles to your own liking, like the icons in older windows versions...
    I have WP8, not a computer with W 8 yet, but as i enjoy it so much on my phone, i'ms sure it won't be long anymore before i purchase a tab with W 8.
  • Why don't they add more apps and detailed-status-capable apps to the lockscreen ?
    It seems useless to me having the whole desktop space available in lockscreen and only a tiny portion displaying such limited info.
    I think the lockscreen feature in Windows 8 has lots of potential if it would allow more apps and more than one app to display detailed info. It would be nice to be a bit more customizable...
  • So where is the start menu ? Will it offer a Windows 7 mode ? :)
     
    Ok, Metro on the desktop is OK (I am someone who hated it on release) but, the corporate world is not accepting Windows 8 very well. So they need to come back with a start menu again...
     
    I guess it's nice features, I wonder how it works on netbooks, etc, Can you run apps at 480 X 800 displays yet ?
  • For the folks who whine about the Start menu, I don't hear complaints about people missing it when they switch to a Mac or Linux.
  • This is great, now if only they could allow these background customizability on WP, it would be great.
  • I want to be able to use my own photos for my Start Screen background NOT those goofy preloaded animated ones.
  • Can they please let the start screen stay put/locked/pinned on a second monitor.
  • The traditional start menu is much more helpful than the new start screen in W8.
    In the start menu, you get the list of all your software and most programs in on place, while on the new WP8 start screen you get a bunch of unorganized and unsorted sqaures where it's hard to find what you are looking for.
  • For the love of god. Go in to the start screen. Start typing and there is your new start with all your programs in one place and no squares.
  • microsoft better fix the 'xbox music' app.. or I'll be using iTunes forever!
    xbox music's inability to edit mp3 metadata, hard to navigate UI, less sorting opition i.e. sort by bpm, date modified, disc number and more, really makes me want to use my good old ZUNE Desktop back in win7.. 
    xbox music need to be more 'metro'ish and fast to search, acess and simple to use for newbies..