Why Windows 8 Boots so Fast?

You know that Windows 8 booting speed is fast, but have you ever considered “why it is so” and how Microsoft did it to give you the great PC experience ever. Microsoft engineers have done a great job on reducing the Windows booting time at its lowest by making several transitions and that’s why you can get into the Windows 8 and ready to use it in as less as 7 seconds.

Windows 8 can pass the power on self test (POST) screen, render BIOS to Windows and loads graphical window while keeping you at the manufacturer start screen or logo. Once you get into Windows, can choose the desired OS to start with if the system have dual copy of Windows or configure other settings from the same menu like system recovery options, command prompt, system image recovery etc.

Windows 8 is remarkably fast, and you might have no chance to interrupt the boot. Means, you may don’t see options like ‘Press F2 for setup’ or other similar options which can be seen and used in previous versions of Windows.

Below is the comparison graph to have clear idea about how fast you can boot in Windows 8 than Windows 7.

In most modern PC’s containing Windows 8, all you can see is the manufacturer logo for a very little time and then immediately taken to the Windows 8 desktop screen without seeing any BIOS message or Windows booting screen as in its predecessors.

What methodology Microsoft engineers employed or what has been removed/added to make Windows 8 so fast? Have a look on the below facts to explore the ideas behind Windows 8 fast booting.

Why so fast?

Windows 8 booting systems were moderated and redesigned in a way that it takes minimal set of hardware resources and battery energy or power drain. As a result, minimal set of input/output requests are made to access the required boot parameters.

In traditional Windows OS i.e., Windows 7, firmware interface tends to close the entire user sessions, kernel sessions and broadcasts messages to devices, windows services, drivers, printers and running applications to close down any running handles as Windows station is shutting down. If any running applications couldn’t be turned off properly, windows forcefully closes them down after saving any unsaved data on hard drive to make sure that they were not lost.

Where as, Windows 8 turn off only the user session and keep the kernel session running in hibernate mode. Unlike full hibernation, only the exact system state and memory content is stored on disk using ‘hiberfil.sys’ system file and Windows can easily restore them and reinitialize the drivers at very next time you begin using your PC. 

Below are the graphical differentiation between normal boot and Windows 8 boot model, hope you’ll have some clear idea from it:

Though, you can take more benefits of this great boot time by adding an SSD and placing windows on it as SSD reads and access data more fast than traditional hard drives. This great improvements in Windows 8 can draw many other benefits too and make you able to keep Windows running in standby mode over a week or so without having any speed difficulties.

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Google I/O 2013 set for May 15

Google is moving back to their usual May timeline for Google I/O 2013 After hosting a rather late Google I/O conference than usual towards the end of June earlier this year. May 15-17, 2013 will be the dates for the upcoming developers conference, with registration starting sometime earlier in the year.

Google confirmed the dates on their developer's twitter page, the company hasn’t mentioned any other details on what’s to come at the conference, but we’re guessing that Project Glass will make a big appearance on stage. We’ve seen it in action before at Google I/O 2012, but it’s possible that the company may announce public availability for the product, or a release date.

I/O 2012 was huge for Google. They announced Android 4.1 Jelly Bean, Nexus 7,  Nexus Q and Project Glass, updates for Google+, Google Maps, and YouTube. Hopefully we’ll see the same kind of action come this May.

Unfortunately, Google doesn't have nothing on their I/O website, we’ll just have to sit and wait for registration to open in next year.

Google announces 10 GB file transfers in Gmail [Report]

Google Drive and Gmail have teamed up for a new project to allow their web mail service users send enormously large files across Internet. The company has declared it would allow its users to insert files of up to size 10 GB directly from Drive into their messages. This is what users have been wanting since long.

Gmail's product manager Phil Sharp writes in a blog post "Now with Drive, you can insert files up to 10GB — 400 times larger than what you can send as a traditional attachment. Also, because you’re sending a file stored in the cloud, all your recipients will have access to the same, most-up-to-date version."

To use this feature all you need to do is click on the Drive icon while you’re composing a message and proceed. Along with it, Google is also introducing some smart assistant technology that will be assigned with the task of double-checking if your recipients have access to any files you’re sending.

Source 

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Microsoft is Working on a New Operating System Codenamed 'Windows Blue'

Microsoft is busy preparing the next-generation of Windows client, shortly after shipping Windows 8 in October. Several sources familiar with Microsoft’s plans that the company is planning to standardize on an approach, codenamed 'Windows Blue', across Windows and Windows Phone in an effort to provide more regular updates to consumers.

According to sources, the new operating system will be released in mid-2013 which will include UI changes and alterations to the entire platform and pricing. Microsoft will price its next Windows release at a low cost or even free to ensure users upgrade. Once Windows Blue is released, the Windows SDK will be updated to support the new release and Microsoft will stop accepting apps that are built specifically for Windows 8, pushing developers to create apps for Blue. Windows 8 apps will continue to run on Blue despite the planned SDK changes.You will need a genuine copy of Windows to upgrade to Windows Blue. Built-in apps and the Windows Store will cease functioning if a copy is upgraded that is pirated.

Sources tell us that Microsoft will likely keep the Windows 8 name for the foreseeable future, despite the Windows Blue update. A big part of Windows Blue is the push towards yearly updates for Microsoft’s OS. Microsoft will kick off an annual upgrade cycle for Windows that is designed to make it more competitive against rival platforms from Apple and Google.

Source

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Windows Phone 7.8 to be released on 28th November

Not that long ago, we heard that Windows Phone 7.8 had hit RTM (Release to Manufacturing) status and that it would not come with Internet Explorer 10. Microsoft has yet to reveal when Windows Phone 7.8 will make its appearance and all we know is that this update is designed for those who will be unable to update to Windows Phone 8.

Now, a new rumor claims that Windows Phone 7.8 will be released this Wednesday, November 28.

 

We learned that Windows Phone 7.8 had been Released to Manufacturing (RTM) and that IE10 would not be making an appearance in the update. Microsoft has yet to official reveal when Windows Phone 7.8 will be rolled out but the company has indicated that it would be released soon after the release of Windows Phone 8. 

The update will bring the new start screen with new accent colours, Bing lock screen wallpaper, and on Nokia handsets SMS drafts and the ability to keep WIFI active when the device is suspended. it also includes re-sizable tiles and the removal of the gap on the right side of the Start Screen. Microsoft hasn't been too chatty about Windows Phone 7.8, which is designed to work on phones that don't have the hardware requirements for Windows Phone 8.

We are on twitter, followers for more updates.