[RTM] Windows 8 - CONFIRMED Windows 8 RTM Build = 9200.16384.win8_rtm.12072


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Hopefully some of Neowin's themers will get onto it before it's in the hands of the public because the current themes look absolutely hideous. Gimme my glass and buttons with actual definition back please!

Hopefully some of Neowin's themers will get onto it before it's in the hands of the public because the current themes look absolutely hideous. Gimme my glass and buttons with actual definition back please!

Zain to the rescue (odd, I haven't seen him around much lately)

Just FYI: the win8RTM is all-in-one and is key-dependant like other windows ISO's, pro-key install pro, ent-key install Ent.

But I don't know what WZOR has done to his leaks, so it may not be the case with his leak. :)

my guess is WAIK to bypass entering a key, that or it's in vmware and he used the quick install

With major UI changes they often introduced new icons. XP had new ones, as did Vista because the old ones would've looked out of place. Of coure not all icons were replaced but this time they didn't do anything and the ones we have will be 9 (!) years old when W9 rolls out. They already looked dated and don't fit with rest. Very disappointed by this. :|

You are right. XP had new icons because it introduced a new theme (Luna). Vista also had new icons due to the aero theme. WIndows 7 had few new icons but most were from Vista. However, 7 was not a huge change but mostly a refinement of Vista, therefore the old icons still fit the theme. With Windows 8, however, aero is no more and so the old shiny 3D-looking icons look out of place. You're not the only one disappointed by this. I was really hoping Microsoft would change the icons. I guess they will introduce new icons in the next version of Windows... unless they update 8 and add new ones, which I doubt. The changes to the desktop theme aren't bad, but new icons would've wrapped it all together.

We'll see how it goes going forward, maybe they thought that if they changed too much more it'd freak people out twice as much. The desktop does have a new theme of sorts but keeping the icons mostly the same could be a way to calm users down with something familiar they know from vista and 7. Either way I expect faster updates to RT and 8 going forward. A sort of 8.5 if you will, without re-branding it as such though.

You all worry about unpolished interface.. third-party visual styles will do the trick as with Windows XP did..

I don't worry I expect a good chunk of new themes to come out soon actually. I also think we can expect a UI tweak tool like GNOME has for example. I think that would make things very interesting. I think much of the UI can infact be changed either through the registry or some sort of hack to msstyles again. Either way I don't worry about the UI much.

People suceeded to get 30 days grace for the leaked build, checking with mods to see if it's allowed to post. :)

I also saw a screenshot of /dlv that stated 999 rearms are permitted. I don't know if it's true, if it works or anything of the sort, but...

Is there transparency on the taskbar? it looks like that on the RTM pictures doesn't it?

Yes, I noticed it as well, it's not a lot so it doesn't stand out but there's a small bit of it there, you can see the flower stems a bit.

I'm sure it's still there, the option to fully turn it on and mess with it is just hidden for now, probably for tablets and the effect it could have on battery life. That said I expect we'll see the options return again at some point. Maybe with SP1 or whatever the first update for it is.

Finding it hard to choose a window border colour that feels right. I thought white would be fine but it looks weird on the transparent taskbar. Smokey rather than white. You can't use a dark colour on the window border either, the titlebar text is always black.

I hope there's a way to change the window border pixel independently of the rest of the frame colour at some point, as seen in the new office apps.

I feel that it was a really lazy move, them not updating the icons. I imagine they decided against it because "well, why the hell bother? All of those legacy apps that people install will have old icons" but it would have given a precedence for developers to style their new apps with new icons. I doubt that will happen now.

Actually, I'm surprised at how mish-mashed it is! I was giving Microsoft the benefit of the doubt in that they'd pull the Metro desktop+start screen together but it truly does feel like two very separate entities. So much hasn't changed. All of the old control panel stuff is exactly like on Windows 7. All of the usual system management and stuff is exactly the same. Don't get me wrong, I love the new improvements with Task Manager and file transfer dialogues but I'm fairly underwhelmed.

I can't see a link to this here, so I'll share: The Verge have posted screenshots of how the Start Screen looks with the patterns available for selection.

My initial reaction: :x :/ Hopefully I will start to enjoy the look of the Start Screen with time, just as I enjoy the look of most WinRT (Immersive) apps.

I can't see a link to this here, so I'll share: The Verge have posted screenshots of how the Start Screen looks with the patterns available for selection.

My initial reaction: :x :/ Hopefully I will start to enjoy the look of the Start Screen with time, just as I enjoy the look of most WinRT (Immersive) apps.

I quite like the start screen with the blue/dark grey option and with no image. Looks sleek :)

I quite like the start screen with the blue/dark grey option and with no image. Looks sleek :)

I currently use it with either the dark grey or light grey backgrounds (in the Release Preview), as that's the look I can stand the most :) I like elements of it, when using those background colours, but there's something about the mishmash of colours and photos that currently doesn't sit well with me. I love the idea, I love the use of bright colours, and I love the monochrome icons, but there's something about it all put together that I don't think I like :s I really want to like it, heh, and I did when I first saw it, but over time, it has grated on me, just like the overuse of only one colour on the Windows Phone Start Screen grated on me over time. I do hope I start to like it, somehow.

I can't see a link to this here, so I'll share: The Verge have posted screenshots of how the Start Screen looks with the patterns available for selection.

There was me thinking it would look less plain with a background... :x might look better with a nice gradient or something.

There was me thinking it would look less plain with a background... :x might look better with a nice gradient or something.

To be fair, those wallpapers are obviously intended for kids who would naturally, normally choose a really horrible low res wallpaper of a kitten if they were on windows 7.

So it looks fairly horrible but it could be worse :p

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Then place the DWARF mini outside, make sure your smartphone or tablet is connected to it, and then head back inside, because you can manage it from the comfort of your home. Simply enter the Atlas tab in the app and search for what you want to capture, and then tap on the camera icon; the DWARF mini will then attempt to track the object and give you a live view right on your connected device. Results I've had the DWARF mini since April, but even though my garden is south-facing, I had a lot of trouble trying to capture a good image of the moon. In the end, it was possible after I took it with me on a trip to my parents in Southend, UK, at the end of May. Here is a capture of the moon, resulting from 20 stacked images over a 90-second exposure. What you are seeing here is not AI-assisted. 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Above you can see how in the app the Sun is tracked, the resulting capture, and Live zoom. I have only scratched the surface of what is possible with this telescope; I found several examples online of shots of the Milky Way, among others, such as nebulae and galaxies. All of this requires patience and knowledge, although if you know what you are looking for, simply enter it in the Atlas tab in the DWARFLAB app, tap the camera icon, and the telescope will attempt to track it. Conclusion The good The DWARF mini definitely places itself in a price point that makes astrology accessible to anyone looking to get started in the hobby. Say you want to have a closer look at the moon, simply enter it in the Atlas, and the Live view also lets you zoom in and snap pictures. The bad Some issues I came across while operating the DWARF mini were that it sometimes failed to connect unless I held my smartphone right next to it, and finding and tracking sometimes took several attempts to get it calibrated. I discovered that it helped if I sort of positioned and pointed the telescope in the general area it was supposed to detect, but this obviously wouldn't work with objects you can't see with the naked eye; more testing is required for that. Another bit of advice is to ensure that the lens is clean. While making the examples of live zooming on the sun, I discovered that the telescope lens and sun filter were not completely clean, and only after cleaning with a microfiber cloth was I able to get a decent shot of the sun. Where to buy and a coupon Okay, $399 is not cheap for a side hobby, but nor is a $1,500 smartphone flagship that you'll most likely have for a couple of years. This is a one-time entrance into astrology, and it won't become obsolete in one year like a smartphone. It's a thumbs up from me. The DWARF mini is available to buy right now in the U.S. and U.K. at the links below. DWARF mini for $399 on the official site DWARF mini for $399 on Amazon U.S. Use the NEOWIN5OFF coupon code for an additional 5% off at checkout (expires June 21) As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
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