[OFFICIAL] Windows 10 Insider Program

[PGHammer]

tell that to Sir. Dotmatrix then, since he brings up Android, android on the desktop and what knows......

And I was addressing Windows 10  - and facing the reality that Android CAN be competition to it - and not just on tablets. (Remember, I posted "Kitkat vs. Kentsfield" in the Android subforum before the first Technical Preview of Windows 10 was released - and things HAVE improved in Android since then, and even on x86.)

All the things that were true of Kitkat are still true of Lollipop - and then some.  The biggest reason why Android (specifically on Atom/x86) has issues is due to the existing ARM-specific native code in existing applications.  A lot of that code WILL be going away because DALVIK (which is the reason for most of it) is itself going away - ART, in and of itself, is more code-neutral than DALVIK.  As much as Microsoft would wish otherwise (and the same is true of Windows developers), ignoring Android makes no sense - even without platform similarities.

 

After all, the biggest reason why Android is where it is is due to it being cheap.

[Wakers]

How's the font rendering in Internet Explorer and the Modern UI this time around? Have they reinstated clear type or otherwise fixed the disaster that is font rendering in W8?

[PGHammer]

Strange, because I find it works incredibly well on tablets. It resolution scales substantially better than iOS (meaning phone apps don't look like crap), and doesn't consume all of the 16GB of storage available because it's developers insisted on bastardising instead of developing separately. And unlike Windows metro it actually has good support from AAA devs.

But look at WHY Android has support from "AAA" developers.  Do you see an "AAA" developer as a developer that isn't locked into Windows?  Then you are correct - most of these developers hate native code with a passion.  Still, even Linux has their share of "political food fights" - the biggest has, in fact, been over OpenGL.  (Windows itself plays no part in that, except on the periphery.)  Where Android differs from most Linux distributions is due to the high reliance on OpenGL - any attempt in using an OGL-driven desktop environment in any Linux distribution has devolved into infighting and squabbling.  However, what will happen when Android and Linux can play equally on the same battlefield?  (If the OGL issues with Android can be solved, that will be far sooner than any Linux distribution maintainer would want.)  There is also the issue that Android development can actually make money - that largely isn't the case with Linux development.  If Linux fails to address the DE squabbling, Android minus the extant OGL woes - and especially on x86 - can make a lot more hay than it does right now in an ARM-dominant marketplace. And after shooting up Android, who is left?

 

The reason why MDL (Modern Design Language) has poor support from AAA developers is twofold - it's new AND it's connected to Microsoft; those are two major strikes.  MDL is still being fleshed out - it has support in multiple APIs (not merely WinRT, but even Win32 and .NET).  However, other than .NET, there is no way to write to MDL outside of Windows - and the support for it outside of Windows is low compared to within Windows (and I'm referring to non-Microsoft tools, such as Xamarin).  Worse, Windows DOES have a nasty reputation of being native-code-reliant to a very large degree - which is why it still gets short shrift.

[PGHammer]

The big question is whether the promises made when they talked about OpenGL NG [link] which is supposed to unify OpenGL 'Desktop' and 'Embedded' into a single modern API set or whether it ends up like 'Long Peaks' but then again developers don't really have much of a choice - either put up with OpenGL and its issues or use Direct X and tie yourself to the Windows wagon and hope that everything works out for the best. As for Windows Phone 8.1, from what I understand it is based on Windows RT and now has the complete WinRT framework available which provides compatibility from the desktop to the laptop, tablet and the phone but there is still the issue about Microsoft being behind the 8th ball when it comes to supporting standards compliant C++, the compiler is still pretty behind the time even if the saving grace of the development tools has been Visual Studio - there was a recent comparison of LLVM/Clang and GCC to Microsoft's own compiler toolchain and it wasn't a pretty sight. I sometimes wonder whether it would be easier for Microsoft just to start using the LLVM libc++ library, Clang and add .NET/MSIL support to the tool chain given that even as of today their developer tools are trailing behind when it comes to standards support.

That's exactly what I meant by the squabbling, Mr. N - any attempt to create a unifying OGL standard, even one just for a Linux DE (Wayland, anyone?) devolves rather quickly and messily.  The issue with non-standard tools has always been about performance - as opposed to being standards-compliant just to be standards-compliant.  Standards-compliant code - in any programming language - does nobody any good if it runs like a snail compared to optimized-but-non-standard code.  But the need is there for a truly-impartial referee or standardization body - right now, there isn't one.  (Yes, I am not merely including ISO, but specifically referring to it - ISO has gotten as political as ANSI was before it.)

[HawkMan]

You guys REALLY have a problem letting the OT discussion go....

[Guest]

Thank God, this thread is now back to track with new login screen post.

 

Well, that didn't last long.

[+Zlip792 MVC]

Does someone know why Brad Sams article related to Spartan New look uncovered by BGR got removed?

 

BGR link - http://bgr.com/2015/01/06/microsoft-spartan-pictures-release-internet-browser/

[Studio384]

Does someone know why Brad Sams article related to Spartan New look uncovered by BGR got removed?

 

BGR link - http://bgr.com/2015/01/06/microsoft-spartan-pictures-release-internet-browser/

Because BGR is a source that one shouldn't use as a source. Their "exclusive" was BS, just like their previous reports.

[Guest]

Does someone know why Brad Sams article related to Spartan New look uncovered by BGR got removed?

 

BGR link - http://bgr.com/2015/01/06/microsoft-spartan-pictures-release-internet-browser/

 

Surely that cannot be real?

[HawkMan]

Surely that cannot be real?

 

Seems unlikely.

[George P Global Moderator]

Does someone know why Brad Sams article related to Spartan New look uncovered by BGR got removed?

 

BGR link - http://bgr.com/2015/01/06/microsoft-spartan-pictures-release-internet-browser/

Those in the know say it's fake, that's what I've seen tweeted so I guess they pulled it.

[Wakers]

How's font rendering in Windows 10? Still crap for IE and metro?

[+Zlip792 MVC]

How's font rendering in Windows 10? Still crap for IE and metro?

 

You mean all "Grey Scale" vs "Sub Pixel" Anti-aliasing issue?

[Wakers]

You mean all "Grey Scale" vs "Sub Pixel" Anti-aliasing issue?

 

Yea.

[LittleNeutrino Veteran]

Just popping by to make a statement for folks to try to stay on topic. I know with threads this long sometimes things can get a bit off tangent for a while. I wont be cleaning things but just making a statement.

[+Zlip792 MVC]

Yea.

You can create your own Uservoice from Microsoft Feedback in Windows 10 or vote on this: https://wpdev.uservoice.com/forums/257854-internet-explorer-platform/suggestions/6513228-font-rendering

 

Just popping by to make a statement for folks to try to stay on topic. I know with threads this long sometimes things can get a bit off tangent for a while. I wont be cleaning things but just making a statement.

 

Trying as hard as I can to keep it on topic.

[Dot Matrix]

That "Spartan" screenshot is 100% bogus.

[George P Global Moderator]

Well now we have a better screenshot from brad that looks more legit.

[Knife Party]

Well now we have a better screenshot from brad that looks more legit.

No they aren't official, not from MS, so no. They were poor images stolen not meant for public display. 

 

"'ll make sure to pass it along once we verify the information." from Brads "article". So these may also be fake.

[+Zlip792 MVC]

No they aren't official, not from MS, so no. They were poor images stolen not meant for public display. 

 

"'ll make sure to pass it along once we verify the information." from Brads "article". So these may also be fake.

 

" if I hear anything more about the browser"

 

How can Brad talk about USAGE OF SPARTAN in ARTICLE without being using it. He was the first to tell about IE UI change and extension support since he has access to latest information somehow (Magic). So pictures are legit.

[Knife Party]

" if I hear anything more about the browser"

 

How can Brad talk about USAGE OF SPARTAN in ARTICLE without being using it. He was the first to tell about IE UI change and extension support since he has access to latest information somehow (Magic). So pictures are legit.

nope. Let's wait on MS to actually put this out officially (and not get ahead of ourselves..), before I listen to journalists and their "leaks".

[Ian S.]

nope. Let's wait on MS to actually put this out officially (and not get ahead of ourselves..), before I listen to journalists and their "leaks".

Why are you picking on Brad? Apple had tons of leaks not meant for public view all the time. You don't hear anyone complaining on the Mac sites. Plus Brad is well known within the Microsoft community up there with Tom, Mary Jo, and Thurrott. Most, if not all of his leaks are true as he has trusty sources and Neowin rarely posts their own leaks except from other sources. I certainly trust him over BGR who do not cover Microsoft for a living or those analysts.

[HawkMan]

Allof those has given as much if not mroe bad information as they've given good, so it's hardly picking on him, I don't trust any of their "confirmed" rumours untill MS themselves show it'

[Knife Party]

Why are you picking on Brad? Apple had tons of leaks not meant for public view all the time. You don't hear anyone complaining on the Mac sites. Plus Brad is well known within the Microsoft community up there with Tom, Mary Jo, and Thurrott. Most, if not all of his leaks are true as he has trusty sources and Neowin rarely posts their own leaks except from other sources. I certainly trust him over BGR who do not cover Microsoft for a living or those analysts.

i have no idea what you are attempting to blame me for doing. I have no part in that. All I'm saying is Brad himself said that he has to confirm officially with MS on the validity of the "leaked" info. Now when MS comes back and actually let's their reps release the info, thats what actually matters. This is not a game of he/she said, with blurry photos pics until confirmed by MS themselves.

[Kazama Levi]

Does this new Login Screen has been discussed already or not, I deleted my VM, so can't test here: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Windows-10-Build-9901-Features-New-Login-and-Lock-Screen-Design-468942.shtml

 

While I still think that those primitive monochromatic icons look absolutely awful, it's a good idea that we now have a little start menu with login screen related entries on the login screen

Looks like MS is really serious about bringing back the start menu in full force.

To put all rumors to rest, I found out the name of the software used for those icons (yes they are not official). It's called Ease Of Access Replacer v2

Could this icon replacer software also be used to replace the Metro Windows 1 icons with actually decent looking ones?

 

Nice, but there is a small issue with Softpedia, who doesn't have a great forum like we have, so they got the instructions wrong.

 

The Path is

HKEY_LOCAL_Machine\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Authentication\LogonUI\TestHooks

The DWORD (32 Bit) Value in the TestHooks Key is called Threshold with its value set to 0 by default, change that to 1 there is no field with a value of Threshold that you change to '1'. Rather There is a DWORD (32 Bit) Value called "Threshold" located under TestHooks which is under LogonUI that has its value set to 0 but needs to be changed to 1.

Neowin can be the first news site to get it right!

Does this only work on 9901 or also on 9879?