Microsoft: Windows8 Release Preview is fully online

Computer store news June 1st news, Microsoft Windows8 Release Preview officially released download, this is the last preview version of Win8, Microsoft announced in the official blog "Windows 8 Release Preview is fully online", written by Steven Sinofsky, the original excerpt is as follows:

Today, Windows 8 Release Preview is available in 14 languages. This will also be our last pre-release version, including Windows 8, Internet Explorer 10, new Windows 8 apps for connecting to Hotmail, SkyDrive and Messenger (and more), and a wide range of Windows Stores. New apps and updates. Since we launched our first preview in September last year, millions of users around the world have used pre-release products in their daily work and life, and more users are keeping up with our release rhythm and constantly updating. Our latest release, the total test time for our products has now reached hundreds of millions of hours. We sincerely thank all the people for their great efforts in testing the pre-release version, and we are very grateful for the valuable feedback you have provided. The feedback provided directly by you and the feedback provided during the use process have greatly promoted many changes in the product, some of which can be seen by users, while others exist inside the chassis.

We launched this blog 9 months ago to start a conversation about Windows 8 design and development. In the blog post, we delved into the content of building Windows 8, including the features, design, and background information of Windows 8. So far, we have released more than 70 blog posts (if they are printed, the number of pages will exceed 500) and 34 videos with a total duration of more than 90 minutes, all of which are directly from the hands of product engineers. We received about 18,000 comments from about 7,000 users. More than 170 Windows engineers participated in the conversation, including more than 200 comments I posted (although my comments were not as good as other, more active readers). Of course, we have been very serious about observing telemetry data and understanding the use of a wide range of technology enthusiasts for each milestone release.

Windows is unique in this way. This makes other products look back on Windows. The launch of each preview version allows users to keep abreast of the selection and development process as the product improves. Sometimes we even forget that the products we are talking about are still in the intensive development stage, and the users are relishing the design of the products during their use. Users' affirmation, controversy, and even disagreements on products play an important role in the development of Windows. There is no doubt that we have revolutionized Windows from the chipset to the user experience. Now Windows 8 offers new hardware support, a new user interaction model, new application scenarios, new APIs and more. At the same time, we learned that more than 550 million PCs worldwide use Windows 7, so we have continued and improved the way Windows 7 is used in Windows 8. Next, a new round of PCs designed for Windows 8 and new applications based on the new Windows 8 platform will soon be available to the public.

Our team has always been deeply respected and humbly adopted by users for their feedback on the cases provided in blog posts and blog posts. Thanks again!

Our next milestone in the past is often referred to as RTM, the version that is available to manufacturers. As with the release of Windwos in the past few editions, our changes to Windows 8 will continue as soon as RTM is released. We think it's necessary to give a brief introduction to our response to user feedback when many users download and use Windows 8 Release Preview, as this will benefit users.

From now on until the release of RTM, we will focus on ensuring that the quality of each metric we care about is higher than the corresponding level of Windows 7, including reliability over time; security of core content Sex; compatibility of PCs, software, and peripherals; and resource usage. We will rely heavily on the telemetry settings built into the product, which will measure everything from installation to use, let us know how users will experience the Release Preview over time. In addition, we will carefully monitor our forums to view renewable reports related to PC, software and peripheral compatibility. Since the work in the product is complete, we will take a deeper look at all aspects of Windows 8, but we want to highlight the following:

Installation & ndash; We will do a lot of telemetry during the installation process and record a lot of relevant data. Of course, if you can't install Windows 8, or you can't upgrade from Windows 7, we're interested in the details. Please pay attention to the specific content of the installation requirements and precautions on the download page.

Security & Privacy – Obviously, we want to address all vulnerabilities. We will use the same standards to address these issues in all local market products.

Reliability and Responsiveness – We will monitor the “Failures” report to understand the issues that have a large impact on our users. These issues may be caused by Windows code, Microsoft or third-party drivers, or third-party applications. We will take a very serious look at the information about the fault traffic entered by Microsoft Real Time". We’ll also receive a lot of new data about the many new apps in the Windows Store.

Device Installation and Compatibility & ndash; When you download a driver from Windows Update or install a driver through the manufacturer's installer, we collect through the Plug and Play (PnP) ID Program Relevant download data collected. We received a number of unique PnP IDs through the Consumer Preview. We will also receive a device ID that cannot locate the driver. We are constantly updating the plug-and-play web service with pointers to information about each device (driver availability, descriptions, etc.). The compatibility mode is required when installing Windows 7-based products for the first time, and we will actively monitor the usage of this mode.

Software Compatibility – Similar to device compatibility, we will also monitor the software installation process and note the programs that were not successfully installed. In addition, we have set up a mechanism to drive the installation process and/or introduce compatibility operations in RTM milestones. Here, we will also proactively monitor the usage of the compatibility mode required for the first installation of a Windows 7-based product that was not successful. We tested thousands of complex commercial products around the world as we prepare for the Release Preview.

Maintenance – We will continue to test the maintenance services for Windows 8, so all users get available updates through Windows Update. This will include new drivers and updates for Windows 8, some of which are included in the launch plan and will be available to the public. Test updates will be labeled with such tags. We may also use the new code to fix all major issues. All of this work will verify the maintenance pipeline and ensure the quality of the Release Preview.

New Hardware – The most important potential fix might be to make sure we are using all new hardware when we are using the 8400 version. Our PC manufacturer partners and hardware partners are designing new PCs that include a combination of hardware that has never been seen in the market and operating systems. We will work together to ensure that Windows 8 supports these new PCs and hardware.

In fact, as some users have noticed, the RP's own compilation (8400 version) was just completed a few weeks ago. So it takes a while to complete a localized version, verify download images and processes, and enhance the edge of the network to provide a superior download experience for users.

The path to RTM is clearly defined and is critical to the accurate, high quality launch of Windows 8 to our PC manufacturer partners. We have taken into account the changes from RP to RTM, including some of the specific functional changes we plan to make to the user experience (this section has been covered in previous blog posts). This is a routine work in the later stages of bringing a complex product like Windows to the market. Through this process, many people from different teams, from development to testing, will review the code changes. Subtle changes to the code often require the involvement of many engineering staff. Therefore, we often say that the listing process of a major product is the process of “slow work and fine work”. Now, we are measuring every change we make to ensure that the quality of the RTM we launch is at an all-time high. The final version of the product is formed when the product is loaded on a new PC or available for mass release.

RTM itself is still a product development phase, not a specific point in time. We will continue to roll out Windows 8 and launch more than 100 different language versions, and we are preparing the final product for different markets around the world. With the end of this process, we will also end the work of code changes and officially start "maintain" Windows 8. This means that all subsequent changes will be made available to users via Windows Update as a patch (KB project) or as a follow-up maintenance. Obviously, the ability to provide patches via Windows Update has dramatically changed the way we release to manufacturers, so users want to be just as good as Win7, and it's reasonable to get updates as soon as the product is complete. This is not a surprise, but we want to make sure that readers of this blog post have an understanding of the exciting content that will be presented.

Once we enter the RTM phase, our partners will begin to develop their final image and begin manufacturing PCs, while hardware and software vendors will be ready to offer their Windows 8 support and new products. We will also begin manufacturing retail packaging for global shipping. As we will ensure the availability of volume licensing tools and products, we will continue to work with our corporate customers.

Remember, if the new PC you are purchasing now runs on the Windows 7 operating system, you can fully upgrade to Windows 8 with the support of our PC partners.

Providing users with the full range of the highest quality Windows 8 is our most important standard. The RTM process is designed to consider and maintain the integrity of the overall engineering of the system.

Ultimately, our partners will determine when their PCs will be available. If the feedback and telemetry results for Windows 8 and Windows RT meet our expectations, then we will enter the final phase of the RTM process in about 2 months. If we succeed in this phase, then we will achieve our common goal as scheduled, the launch of Windows 8 and Windows RT PCs before the Christmas holidays.

Representing all members of the Windows team, tribute to you,

Steven Sinofsky