Hasta La Gadget!

Right on schedule, Microsoft has just announced on its Windows Team blog that Windows 8 has emerged from its long development and testing phase, and will soon be in the hands of manufacturers and OEMs for installation on new PCs and devices.

Among those on the list to receive the final build (build 9200, if you were curious) are Lenovo, Acer, ASUS and Toshiba, though that’s clearly just the tip of a very large iceberg.

While average users won’t be able to get their collective hands on the new OS before its official launch on October 26, Microsoft revealed when certain subsets of users could access the final build. Developers can download Windows 8 via their MSDN subscriptions on August 15, as can IT professionals with their TechNet subscriptions — lucky devils.

In a separate blog post, Microsoft’s Stephen Sinofsky dives into greater detail about the RTM process and the steps that led up to it. One of the juicier tidbits Sinofsky addressed was just how many people participated in the Windows 8 preview program — over 16 million PCs took part in the preview, with a full 7 million of those PCs running on the company’s Release Preview build. Solid numbers for what the company has referred to as a substantial “reimagining” of Windows as we know it, and the company hopes that same sort of momentum carries over into retail sales.

With Windows 8 finally complete, Microsoft has begun to bring other parts of its ecosystem online. Take the Windows Store for instance — developers will soon able to submit paid apps into the new marketplace, though they’ll have to have their RTM builds installed and ready first. That said, Sinofsky was quick to note that “no software project is ever really ‘done,’” so the company will continue to monitor feedback from both users and its myriad hardware partners.

RTM. To the everyman, those three letters may not mean much. To those waiting with bated breath for Microsoft’s next operating system, it’s a huge milestone worth celebrating. Microsoft has today confirmed that Windows 8 has been released to manufacturing, enabling its OEM partners to grab the final code and begin implementation on systems that’ll be tempting you mightily starting on (or around) October 26th.

If you’re curious about the specific rollout details, here goes. Starting August 15th, devs will be able to download the final version of Windows 8 via their MSDN subscription, and IT pros testing Windows 8 in organizations will be able to access the final version of Windows 8 through their TechNet subscriptions. On August 16th, customers with existing Microsoft Software Assurance for Windows will be able to download Windows 8 Enterprise edition through the Volume License Service Center (VLSC). Also on that day, Microsoft Partner Network members will have access to Win8. On August 20th, Microsoft Action Pack Providers (MAPS) receive access to the goods, while Volume License customers without Software Assurance will be able to purchase Windows 8 through Microsoft Volume License Resellers on September 1st.

Update: Microsoft has just affirmed that starting today, any qualifying business in a supported market can now submit a Metro style app for Windows 8. Boom.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Tablet PCs

Microsoft confirms Windows 8 has been released to manufacturing, OEM partners now have final code originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 01 Aug 2012 12:09:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Microsoft Surface is one of the most exciting products we’ve heard about in a long time, but for everything the company did to whet our appetite, it left us with plenty of questions about the tablet’s guts, too. Tech In 5 has obtained what appear to be leaked slides detailing the forthcoming Lenovo “Windows 8 ThinkPad Tabet 2.” Could this be our first look at what Surface and its competition will look like inside? More »

Lenovo‘s next attempt at a pen-enabled tablet has been prematurely revealed, the ThinkPad Tablet 2, this time running Windows 8 on an Intel dual-core Clover Trail processor with an optional keyboard dock. The business-focused slate has a 10.1-inch WXGA touchscreen, so presentations slides leaked to The Verge reveal, along with 2GB of RAM and 64GB of storage. Update: Full specs now leaked, read on for all the details…

There’s also NFC, a fingerprint reader, and HSPA+/LTE connectivity for mobile use. It’s the accessories that have us most curious, however, one being a keyboard dock complete with trackpoint navigation – and hopefully delivering that envied typing-feel from Lenovo notebooks – and a pen stylus for handwriting and sketching.

Exactly what technology thee pen will use is unclear at this stage. Lenovo is likely to be using an active digitizer, for more precise input, however, given the company has already used such technology in previous Windows-based ThinkPad tablets (which have usually been convertible notebooks rather than slates).

Pricing and availability are unknown at this stage, but Lenovo’s marketing document is keen to position the ThinkPad Tablet 2 as not only a rival to Apple’s iPad but to other Windows models using the ARM-focused RT version of the OS.

Update: Thanks to more of the leaked slides shared with Techin5, we know more about the ThinkPad Tablet 2. The tablet will measure in at 262.6 x 164 x 9.8 mm and weigh 650g, and have a 10-finger multitouch display with an optional digitizer (i.e. the active digitizer we suspected). It will have twin 1W speakers, a 2-megapixel front-facing camera and 8-megapixel rear camera, both with LED flash, and a dual microphone array with digital noise reduction.

The fingerprint reader and NFC will be a bundled option, while ports will include Mini HDMI, a 3.5mm headset port, microSD and a USB 2.0, along with a docking connector. HSPA+ will be optional. GPS, a digital compass, ambient light sensor and a vibration motor will be included, along with a physical volume control and a rotation-lock switch.

Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet 2 leaks: Win 8 with keyboard dock and pen [Updated] is written by Chris Davies & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.

As Microsoft brings on a whole new era of computing – or so they hope – with Windows 8, so too do they attempt to take on the beast that is Gmail with their own Outlook email service on the web. What we’ve seen thus far is not a far cry from Gmail, with Microsoft taking what’s good about their Metro stylings from both Windows Phone and Windows 8 and working to make the email service as user-friendly as their biggest competitors. And what’s best – you can use the email address you already have to get all your mail in to this inbox quite simply.

When you sign in with your Microsoft account – an account you’ve already got if you have a Windows Phone, mind you, you’re instantly presented with a nice, clean, nearly-empty inbox. In the inbox you’ve got one mail from the Outlook Team and another from Windows Live Hotmail. That’s right, legacy internet users, incase you’ve not been following along – Hotmail is fully teamed up with Microsoft for this release.

Up on top you’ve got the Outlook name and logo, a + New button to start up a new email, and all the way on the right you’ve got Messaging (which connects with Facebook), settings, and a quick-link to your profile – and more account settings too. The fact that this profile link and settings are up in the upper-right-hand corner should be setting off some bells for Google. It’s a little too familiar, and we’re sure Google will have a bit to say about it soon as well.

That said, it certainly is where these elements belong. Google didn’t put them up there because they just thought they’d look nice, that’s for sure. Next you’ve got Search Email in the upper left-hand corner of the screen under the Outlook logo. This search bar is also right where it should be and makes a whole heck of a lot of sense in being there. You’ve got your Folders under this with a simple refresh button, Inbox, Junk, Drafts, Sent, and Deleted folders too. You can also make a new folder right from this list too.

Under that you’ve got several different options for how to see your email with Quick Views – documents, flagged, photos, shipping updates, and New Category again. I’m certain we’ll be using the Shipping Updates view more often than any of the rest.

The center has your emails with quick actions for more than one selection, easy to read and see fonts all around, and emails having quick-action buttons appearing when you mouse over each of them. You can also flag emails from here and you’ve got tags that show how important each mail is as well. Inside each email you’ve also got a majorly impressive view. HTML is in full effect here, with large beautiful text bodies for all to see.

The whole layout is rather respectful to the eyes, and the only piece of baggage the whole system carries over from the old world of email is the set of Bing Shopping ads that sit on the right. We’ll have to see how we can… deal with those soon. Skype for video chat will be popping up too, we’re sure, so stick around for the updates as they happen.

You can check this system out right now by heading to Outlook.com, and be sure to let us know how you like (or dislike) it all soon!

Outlook.com Hands-on is written by Chris Burns & originally posted on SlashGear.
© 2005 – 2012, SlashGear. All right reserved.