Recommended Posts

This is from win8china, they not only confirmed the new kernel 6.3 for build 9319, but also claimed that there would be a MileStone Preview:

http://www.win8china.com/html/4179.html#

screen1202.jpg

screen1200.jpg

If what win8china reports is true, then it is real good news, because the earlier rumor was that there would be no winblue public preview.

Also, this was posted in Soft-Forum, if the build tag was legit, then build 9289 was actually compiled 2 months ago!

screen1201.jpg

progress.gif

One rumor says that they'll have a m2 build and then go right to rtm without any preview. This newer one talks about m2 actually being the first and only preview with a rtm, or rather rtw in August or September.

icon1.png

posted in soft-forum, but it's a Chinese version, no idea if it's real/fake. (If real, then it means build 9289 already got the 6.3 kernel)

* pic *

This is a fake, please just ignor it. :angry:
  • 2 weeks later...

Just came across this

"Comprehensive update Windows Blue will return to the familiar Windows 8 "Start" menu, which is present in previous versions of the OS."

New comprehensive update to Windows 8/RT, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Phone 8 and cloud Outlook.com and called SkyDrive Windows Blue appears in the middle of this year. One of the purposes of this update is to optimize the work and the interest of the users of the operating system from Microsoft.

As requested by users of Windows 8, developers will return to running the usual "Start" menu, which is present in previous versions of Windows. Recall that in the newest version of Windows "Start" button has been replaced by a screen with "live" tiles that reflect the application. This change, of course, suitable for users of devices with touch screens, however, the management of the mouse on the laptop or PC, the interface is not as practical.

According to the Net Applications, the share of Windows 8 operating system market is growing , but demand did not meet projections. One reason for this was just a new interface, not enthused by users. In February of this year, Windows 8 had 2.67% of the OS market, which is slightly higher than the January result of 2.26%. The most popular are still in earlier versions of Windows 7 (44.55%) and Windows XP (38.99%).

Source

http://translate.goo...ws%2F438306.php

Another wishful thinking rumour or more ?

Just came across this

"Comprehensive update Windows Blue will return to the familiar Windows 8 "Start" menu, which is present in previous versions of the OS."

New comprehensive update to Windows 8/RT, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Phone 8 and cloud Outlook.com and called SkyDrive Windows Blue appears in the middle of this year. One of the purposes of this update is to optimize the work and the interest of the users of the operating system from Microsoft.

As requested by users of Windows 8, developers will return to running the usual "Start" menu, which is present in previous versions of Windows. Recall that in the newest version of Windows "Start" button has been replaced by a screen with "live" tiles that reflect the application. This change, of course, suitable for users of devices with touch screens, however, the management of the mouse on the laptop or PC, the interface is not as practical.

According to the Net Applications, the share of Windows 8 operating system market is growing , but demand did not meet projections. One reason for this was just a new interface, not enthused by users. In February of this year, Windows 8 had 2.67% of the OS market, which is slightly higher than the January result of 2.26%. The most popular are still in earlier versions of Windows 7 (44.55%) and Windows XP (38.99%).

Source

http://translate.goo...ws%2F438306.php

Another wishful thinking rumour or more ?

If they bring back the start menu, I'll do a back flip. :laugh:

If they bring back the start menu, I'll do a back flip. :laugh:

I`l join you, I'm not expecting them to, but giving the users a choice would be a good move

I'm in on that.

Now, I am not saying drop the start screen as there are some people out there that for some reason like it. However having the option to have the Classic start menu with ability to 100% disable the start screen would be "ah... mazing."

Just came across this

"Comprehensive update Windows Blue will return to the familiar Windows 8 "Start" menu, which is present in previous versions of the OS."

New comprehensive update to Windows 8/RT, Windows Server 2012 and Windows Phone 8 and cloud Outlook.com and called SkyDrive Windows Blue appears in the middle of this year. One of the purposes of this update is to optimize the work and the interest of the users of the operating system from Microsoft.

As requested by users of Windows 8, developers will return to running the usual "Start" menu, which is present in previous versions of Windows. Recall that in the newest version of Windows "Start" button has been replaced by a screen with "live" tiles that reflect the application. This change, of course, suitable for users of devices with touch screens, however, the management of the mouse on the laptop or PC, the interface is not as practical.

According to the Net Applications, the share of Windows 8 operating system market is growing , but demand did not meet projections. One reason for this was just a new interface, not enthused by users. In February of this year, Windows 8 had 2.67% of the OS market, which is slightly higher than the January result of 2.26%. The most popular are still in earlier versions of Windows 7 (44.55%) and Windows XP (38.99%).

Source

http://translate.goo...ws%2F438306.php

Another wishful thinking rumour or more ?

It's already been confirmed via a Microsoft job posting and various sources that the Start Menu will NOT be coming back. Use your heads, why would Microsoft up and abandon the Windows Store, and limit the devices Windows can run on, just like that?

  • Like 2

It's already been confirmed via a Microsoft job posting and various sources that the Start Menu will NOT be coming back. Use your heads, why would Microsoft up and abandon the Windows Store, and limit the devices Windows can run on, just like that?

With the failure of windows 8 now official and your links being old news I think it's possible there might have been some changes in direction over in Redmond recently, one can only hope they finally got back on the right track but I'm not holding my breath, Ballmer is still there.

With the failure of windows 8 now official and your links being old news I think it's possible there might have been some changes in direction over in Redmond recently, one can only hope they finally got back on the right track but I'm not holding my breath, Ballmer is still there.

Your bias against the OS does not make it a failure, or an "official" failure. Whatever that means. Take a look at the job posting (that was posted less than a month ago, mind you):

We?re looking for an excellent, experienced SDET to join the Core Experience team in Windows Sustained Engineering (WinSE). The Core Experience features are the centerpiece of the new Windows UI, representing most of what customers touch and see in the OS, including: the start screen; application lifecycle; windowing; and personalization. Windows Blue promises to build and improve upon these aspects of the OS, enhancing ease of use and the overall user experience on devices and PCs worldwide.
  • Like 2

No, what's making it a failure is that it's not even outselling what Vista was doing within the same timeframe of it's launch.

  • Like 2

No, what's making it a failure is that it's not even outselling what Vista was doing within the same timeframe of it's launch.

There's a lot wrong in comparing direct numbers. I assume you've done the math and accounted for sales of non traditional PCs, and also taken into account a changed market since 2006?

Even if you add the 3 million or so tablets (and that's assuming the figures don't already account for them), the sales figures are already poor.

Fact is, you can rationalise all you want, if Windows 8 were a good consumer OS it would have no trouble garnering sales.

  • Like 2

Even if you add the 3 million or so tablets (and that's assuming the figures don't already account for them), the sales figures are already poor.

Fact is, you can rationalise all you want, if Windows 8 were a good consumer OS it would have no trouble garnering sales.

You're forgetting the fact that there is 30% of Windows XP users who will be jumping ship next year. Most likely waiting for the first update to Windows 8.

There's a lot wrong in comparing direct numbers. I assume you've done the math and accounted for sales of non traditional PCs, and also taken into account a changed market since 2006?

At this point I think we can all safely dismiss your posts on this topic. You absolutely love Windows 8, you're a complete apologist for it, you'll jump to its defense at every opportunity and argue with or insult anybody who doesn't like it. We get it, okay?

You have no inside information, and you don't know what MS plans to do anymore than the rest of us do. As much as you constantly post about how "the start menu is NEVER coming back", the fact is that Windows 8 is a commercial failure, and that failure WILL be addressed in some manner by Microsoft as they develop Windows 9.

  • Like 3

The fact that Microsoft are ending XP support doesn't mean that the users are going to automatically jump ship, nor does it guarantee that they'll migrate to 8 given that 7 will probably still be available through retail.

  • Like 2

Man... now I'm getting my hopes up, if they bring it back it would be like they finally listened... but this is just too good to be true....

This topic is now closed to further replies.
  • Posts

    • What? They aren't removing the disc drive and charging $800 for questionable performance upgrades that are better suited to a new generation console? How outrageous!
    • Bummer it's only 1TB instead of 2. I had one of those - the "Halo Special Edition" OG Xbox. This looks like a cool update.
    • KillerPDF 1.4.3 is out.
    • Google's NotebookLM gets some useful features you may have been waiting for by Aditya Tiwari It's been three years since Google introduced its AI-powered note-taking and research app, NotebookLM. Just when Apple is about to kick off WWDC 2026, the search giant has announced a platter of new NotebookLM features that add agentic capabilities in chat and more advanced reasoning. For starters, NotebookLM now draws its fuel from Gemini 3.5 and Antigravity to improve accuracy and reliability. One of the things people have been asking for a long time is more transparency into the thinking steps. NotebookLM now shows expanded thinking steps in chat, providing better visibility into the thinking process. Google compared the upgraded NotebookLM with prior versions and found that it "achieved an average win rate of over 65% — a 15% point margin above parity — across our top five core evaluation dimensions," including accuracy & quality, multilingual support, large document analysis, document creation, and advanced research. It showed substantial improvements in analyzing large documents, achieving a 69.9% win rate. The system also delivered "exceptional performance" in advanced web research and source discovery with a 78.2% win rate. The AI research tool now generates outputs in more formats. You can give instructions to guide the outputs and download the generated files from the studio panel. Here are the newly supported formats: PNG and SVG for data visualizations and charts PDFs, docx, markdown, and text files for documents PNG, JPG, and GIF for images JSON and CSV for structured data XLSX for Microsoft Excel PPTX for Microsoft PowerPoint You can make edits after the outputs are generated. The feature is available globally; therefore, you can provide directions in one language and create outputs in another. Google said that it's also making it easier to get started with a project in NotebookLM. Instead of having a list of sources beforehand, you can even start with loose ideas, and NotebookLM can help build the repository of sources through the chat. For instance, you can find primary sources in other languages to get new perspectives or explore related works of an author. All of these new features are rolling out globally for those who can loosen up their pockets. They are available to users with Google AI Ultra and all Workspace business customers with AI Ultra access. Google has plans to expand them to more users in the future.
  • Recent Achievements

    • One Month Later
      amusc earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • One Month Later
      DJC50PLUS earned a badge
      One Month Later
    • Week One Done
      DJC50PLUS earned a badge
      Week One Done
    • Proficient
      Eric Biran went up a rank
      Proficient
    • Dedicated
      Conjor earned a badge
      Dedicated
  • Popular Contributors

    1. 1
      +primortal
      504
    2. 2
      PsYcHoKiLLa
      238
    3. 3
      ATLien_0
      76
    4. 4
      Steven P.
      75
    5. 5
      +Edouard
      69
  • Tell a friend

    Love Neowin? Tell a friend!