New Features of Windows 8

According to data from the overseas market research organization Net Application, as of the end of August this year, Windows desktop operating systems including major versions such as Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 accounted for 92% of the market share of personal computer operating systems. However, Microsoft has never slowed down. Since the official launch of Windows 95 in 1995, the "Start Menu" has been a major classic element along with the upgrading and evolution of Windows. When Windows 8 was released globally on October 25 this year, it not only brought us a brand new start screen, reshaped the user experience, but also expanded Windows to more platforms including tablets.

The advent of Windows 8 is considered to be the most revolutionary product in the history of the Windows operating system. In addition to the introduction of a new Windows user interface, a series of touch interaction operations have been added to the traditional mouse and keyboard controls. . Windows 8 brings users a more innovative, concise, fast, and smooth user experience, integrating applications and systems seamlessly. The Microsoft official blog introduced us to the five new features of Windows 8 about applications:

Windows 8 allows apps to seamlessly sync between PCs and tablets

Windows 8 is an operating system that takes into account both the desktop and mobile experience. It has deeply integrated Microsoft's SkyDrive cloud service, making it easy to share content. Moreover, Windows 8 also integrates Microsoft's application experience, users can use Microsoft account to log in Windows 8, Windows Phone, the new Office software, Hotmail mail, SkyDrive cloud storage, Skype instant messaging, and Messenger instant messaging.

More convenient is that the user's purchase/download information in the Windows App Store can also be synchronized across multiple Windows 8 devices.

After users purchase an application from the Windows Store, they can log in to the Windows Store on up to five computers to view and synchronize their downloads. For example, when a user downloads the "Gaode Maps" application on a Windows 8 laptop or desktop, the downloadable information for this application will also appear on Windows 8 tablets that log on to the same Microsoft account, and can be easily installed for different devices. application. In this way, the user does not need to carry the Windows 8 notebook when traveling or traveling, as long as a more portable Windows 8 tablet can be used as a navigation and positioning terminal. This not only brings the convenience of application management to the user, but also saves the user's spending on the paid application, which cannot be achieved between mobile devices and desktop devices of other operating systems.

New Windows App Store Brings a Convenient, Secure "One-Stop" Shopping Experience

Another significant feature of Windows 8 is the emergence of the new Windows Store model, which provides Windows 8 users with a more convenient and secure application access method.

Prior to its official release on October 25, 2012, the Windows 8 operating system has gone through several testing phases. With the help of 7 million test users worldwide, the number and experience of Windows 8 applications have made a qualitative leap. According to the statistics of the third-party statistics website WinAppReport.COM, the number of applications available for download on the Windows 8 application store on the day of release reached 9,029, of which 5,533 were local applications in China and exceeded the 5,179 applications in the United States, ranking first in the world. one. And 83% of apps in the store are free. Users only need to log into the Windows 8 system's built-in application store to download these rigorously audited applications from Microsoft, which is more convenient and does not have to worry about application security issues.

Windows 8 split-screen display multi-application

Multi-tasking is a basic function of the desktop operating system, which greatly improves the user's efficiency. Windows 8 goes one step further. It not only brings this experience to the tablet, but also supports split-screen display of two applications. It divides the screen into small and large windows, allowing users to use two applications simultaneously under one screen.

If you are a social expert, you can also use the "Taiwan microblogging" application for content aggregation when you use "Sina Weibo" to deeply understand hot spots on Weibo through mass content classification. If you are a travel expert, you can check the destination information on social networking platform or IE10 browser, and easily find the destination in "Gaode Map". Of course, you can also use the Office application while working in the desktop mode, and use the various auxiliary applications or the IE10 browser to view the data on the split screen.

Dynamic tiles make application information push at a glance

The new Windows user interface has excellent and unique content presentation capabilities, and dynamic tiles are the core and soul of the Windows user interface. Dynamic tiles have been well-known to users as early as Windows Phone platform, and now it is more than adequate to play on the Windows 8 start screen. On the surface, it looks like a pure application portal, but behind the push notification task. Based on the dynamic tile, users do not even need to open the application in many cases, and they can watch the update of the movie and TV, the prompt content of the microblog friend, the change of the weather and so on.

In addition to dynamic tiles, Windows 8 also uses the notification bar to pop up message pushes. Regardless of whether the user is in the traditional desktop mode or the start screen state, the notification bar will appear at the top right of the screen. For example, when the user runs the Sina Weibo client in the background, if a new comment or message is received, the application will automatically pop up a push notification, supplemented by a voice prompt, and then fade out quickly. This will not affect the user's current task, but also can play a good role in the prompt, to avoid news missing. Of course, users can also manage message notifications for all or a single application through the setup center.

Global search allows applications to surface themselves

The global search function integrated in Windows 8's brand-new Charm not only can find the local content of the system, but also enables users to directly search for related application information in the Windows application store or on the network. For example, if a user searches for "Taiwan Newspaper," the system will list the application; if the user has not yet installed the application, the system will automatically suggest that it can be retrieved in the Windows Store, or search for relevant content in search engines or other applications, etc. Wait. The excellent feature of the global search built into the charm button is that when users have query requirements, they do not need to retrieve contents one by one from a large number of applications. Instead, they only need to use the global search to input keywords, and they can find the method you want to search in an orderly manner. content. Whether it is watching movies, listening to music or checking information, it can be done easily.