Creating Windows 8 and IE10 - a selection of materials for February'12

Creating Windows 8

Increase energy efficiency for applications

Ensuring the minimum power consumption of a computer while simultaneously achieving maximum response speed and best performance (to make work on a computer fast and efficient) is an extraordinary technical challenge. It all starts with the work that we do in Windows to ensure support for using resources at the proper level, but to solve this problem it is necessary that developers take into account the use of resources during the creation of their applications.

Build Windows OS for ARM Processor Architecture

One of the notable features of the Microsoft Windows operating system is the flexibility of its architecture, demonstrated during technological progress and the gradual expansion of the client base. The original version of this operating system was designed for one person working individually with software that improves the efficiency of his work. Now it is the basis for using a wide range of hardware and software technologies, interconnected Windows products and an amazingly flexible approach to performing calculations. In Windows 8, we rethought the concept of Windows, from chipset to user interaction, and transferring this new Windows idea to the ARM processor architecture has become an important part of this innovative process.

Providing Accessibility Support

The Windows 8 operating system is a product that we develop for the widest range of users around the world. One of the areas in which we have tried to implement a particularly high level of innovation covers the availability of Windows 8 (above all, in terms of interaction with Metro-style applications) for all users, regardless of their physical capabilities. In this article we will talk about the engineering work related to the capabilities that we call “special” (however, as you will see later, many of these features are used quite widely and simply increase the usability of the product for all users).

Use any language of your choice

Since its introduction in Windows 2000, a multilingual user interface (or MUI) has allowed clients to install additional interface languages ​​on their Windows computers and switch between them. However, most users, as a rule, used the language they chose when they first booted their Windows PC. In Windows 8, we proposed a new approach to managing interface languages, making additional interface languages ​​accessible to all Windows users and simplifying their search and installation to the limit, allowing users to easily switch between them. This blog entry describes the changes in Windows that have achieved these goals.
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Internet Explorer Performance Lab: Reliable Measurement of Browser Performance

A significant part of this blog is devoted to describing what is happening “behind the scenes” of the engineering development of Windows 8. This article discusses the issues to which we pay the closest attention both as engineers and as users - web performance in real conditions. We had to do a lot of work to move from vague plans and discussions to real and effective actions to ensure high-performance web browsing.

Presentation of Windows 8 Consumer Preview

Today is an important day for the Windows team. A few minutes ago at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona (Spain) we presented our partners and journalists with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. We made more than 100,000 changes to the code based on numerous reviews, and the Consumer Preview presents a modified product, ready for widespread daily use by all who want to test a preliminary version of the OS. You can download Consumer Preview right now at preview.windows.com . If you have already worked with Windows 8 Developer Preview, then you will be delighted with many changes and improvements based on feedback received from various sources.

Run Consumer Preview: system recommendations

We are very pleased that we have finally reached the stage in the project, when we can submit a preliminary version of Windows 8, which is quite suitable for daily use in the technical community. We know that users who are waiting for the release of Windows 8 Consumer Preview will probably be interested in what equipment is recommended to use. This blog article provides technical information on system recommendations. These are not system requirements, they are not final, but simply provide information about the equipment that is best suited for the Consumer Preview.

Windows Store: Developer Blog

Release of applications for Windows 8

Applications, your applications, are the heart of the Windows Store. When we decided to develop the process of sending applications for developers, we wanted developers to put their applications on the Store as quickly and easily as possible. We have thought a lot about reducing the number of contradictions, building trust through transparency, ensuring predictability and consistency in the process of sending applications. This article, authored by Jonathan Garrigues, program manager in the Developer Experience work group, describes the interaction process for submitting apps to the Store.

Linking applications to online resources

In previous articles, we have already written about the unprecedented opportunity that the Windows Store provides developers, and how users can find applications in the Windows Store. As you know, users are also looking for applications on the Internet. In this article, Russell Wolf, program manager for the Store Services group, will describe three possibilities that will help you as a developer to increase the likelihood that users will be able to find your application on the Internet and buy it on the Store portal.

Winners of the first application contest

On December 6, we presented the Windows Store and announced the first contest of Metro-applications for Windows 8. We challenged the developers, inviting them to be the first to submit their applications to the Windows Store. There was only one limitation - the developers' own imagination. And they accepted the challenge despite the tight deadlines! Today we announce the winners of the first application contest and present the impressive results of their work. These applications are now available in the Windows Store after downloading and installing the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

Internet Explorer

CSS3 3D Transformation to Internet Explorer 10

The features of CSS3 make it possible to make the experience with web resources more diverse and exciting. In a recent article, we explained how web developers use CSS3 transitions and animations to add new dimensions to their site and thereby improve it. Three-dimensional transformations using CSS3 allow developers to use another dimension (literally) to empower sites. For example, in Windows 8, on the “Start” page created in Metro style, subtle three-dimensional transformations are used to display the clicked icons, as shown in the example below.

High-performance HTML5 content in Metro style apps

When displaying web content in Metro style apps in Windows 8, all the performance benefits of InternetExplorer 10 are used. Web content in Metro style apps are always JIT compiled and displayed using hardware acceleration. Other platforms do not provide this level of performance in applications. For example, Cocoa applications on the iOS platform provide significantly lower JavaScript performance (through the UIWebView control) compared to running the same content in Safari. Cocoa applications do not take advantage of JIT compilation, and these applications cannot display and use web content in the same way that a browser can do in an operating system.

CORS technology for XHR in Internet Explorer 10

The fourth version of the Internet Explorer 10 platform makes it easy to build cross-site scripts that work in different browsers consistently, thanks to the support of the CORS (Cross-Origin Resource Sharing) technology for XMLHttpRequest (XHR). CORS technology for XHR makes data sharing sites simple and flexible. In most basic scenarios, CORS technology allows you to create data sources that are accessible from any site, and with a few small settings you can limit the list of allowed sites, implement support for changing data, and even enable authentication. Most often, CORS technology ensures the security of existing sites by requesting server participation.

Subpixel rendering and CSS object model

Windows 8 provides the user with a huge selection of devices for browsing the web on the Internet, from large desktop monitors to compact tablets. To ensure compliance with this entire range of devices, the browser must support scaling and change the layout of web pages in accordance with the screen size and dimensions of its elements. We already wrote about some features in Internet Explorer that support these scripts. Subpixel rendering (text and layout) is one of the basic technologies of the platform, thanks to which web pages look beautiful and consistent at any display scale. In this article we will talk about the changes made in Internet Explorer 10, which allow us to improve support for sub-pixel rendering using the CSS-OM object model.

Windows Consumer Preview: Fifth Version of IE10 Platform Preview

Internet Explorer 10 in the Windows 8 operating system is the result of our rethinking of the idea of ​​the browser. We designed and built the Internet Explorer 10 browser so that it provides the most convenient use of web-based capabilities in the Windows operating system. Thanks to the updated engine of Internet Explorer 10, which is part of the Windows Consumer Preview, users can now enjoy their own use of an even greater number of bright, fast and dynamic web applications that support touch control. This fifth version of the Platform Preview for Internet Explorer 10 provides improved performance and supports more HTML5 features.