Microsoft Support & Discussions

By Paul Thurrott In the first in a series of articles about new keyboard shortcuts in Windows 8, I’ll examine a new class of keyboard shortcuts that involve the Windows key, since this key is gaining new importance in this release. Source: Win Super Site

By Paul Thurrott Microsoft has also overhauled its central management console, Server Manager, in Windows Server "8," and dramatically so. This screenshot gallery focuses on the key admin interfaces in the Developer Preview of this release, shows off the new integrated Active Directory domain controller install and promotion process, and provides a peek at a coming Windows Server feature: Windows Server Online Backup. Source: Win Super Site

By Paul Thurrott In the latest episode of the Windows Weekly podcast, Mary Jo and I are joined by special guests Stephen Chapman, Travis Lowdermilk, Rafael Rivera, Sandro Villinger, Tom Warren, and Long Zheng live from the Expo show floor at BUILD in Anaheim, California. We discuss the Windows 8 Developer Preview, and shenanigans ensue. Source: Win Super Site

By Paul Thurrott As Rafael Rivera and I previously revealed, Windows 8 includes a new Aero auto-colorization feature that automatically configures the color of Aero glass elements--like Windows Explorer windows and the taskbar--based on the desktop wallpaper. Here’s what it looks like. Source: Win Super Site

By Paul Thurrott Where Windows 7 includes the software-based virtualization solution called Windows Virtual PC, Windows 8 will usher in a new era with a true hypervisor-based virtualization platform called Client Hyper-V. Client Hyper-V utilizes the same Hyper-V Manager user experience as Hyper-V on Windows Server and offers dramatic performance, scalability, and compatibility improvements over Windows Virtual PC. Source: Win Super Site

By Paul Thurrott Despite focusing quite heavily on the future with the new Windows shell and its Start screen and tailored, Metro-style apps in Windows 8, Microsoft is also investing in the classic and depreciated Windows desktop. This includes a new version of Windows Explorer. Source: Win Super Site

By Paul Thurrott Here’s a screenshot gallery showing off each of the screens in the Windows 8 Developer Preview Control Panel. Source: Win Super Site

By Paul Thurrott Here’s a screenshot gallery showing off the process of interactively installing the Windows Server "8" Developer Preview. Source: Win Super Site

Microsoft is eliminating the “Senior Vice President” title across the company. Here’s why, according to company officials. Source: All About Microsoft

Microsoft released a new developer preview of IE 10 this week for Windows 8 testers only. The new platform preview can work as a plug-in-free “Metro-style” app, or a Desktop app that still supports plug-ins. Source: All About Microsoft

By Paul Thurrott An often irreverent look at some of this week’s other BUILD news, including Windows 8’s fast start, the Windows 8 schedule, my top two Windows 8 questions (that I can answer) and the single most confusing thing about Windows 8, Microsoft’s stand on Flash in Windows 8, Microsoft’s new billion dollar business and a potentially huge ad partnership between AOL, Microsoft, and Yahoo. Source: Win Super Site

By Paul Thurrott One of the confusing bits about WinRT is, well, everything. But after conferring with others and studying Microsoft’s documentation, I can make the following general statement: WinRT (the new Windows Run Time) is not a replacement for Silverlight or .NET, it’s a replacement for Win32. And that means that it’s the new native runtime for Windows, and not a managed code layer that sits higher on the stack. Source: Win Super Site

Sessions at the Microsoft Build conference are yielding interesting tidbits on the coming Windows 8 store, the Windows To Go feature, WinRT programming interface, security, and Xbox Live support. Source: All About Microsoft

The Web gets richer and developers are more creative when sites and services can communicate and send notifications in real-time. WebSockets technology has made significant progress over the last nine months. The standards around WebSockets have converged substantially, to the point that developers and consumers can now take advantage of them across different implementations, including IE10 in Windows 8. You can try out a WebSockets test drive that shows real time, multiuser drawing

By Paul Thurrott In town for his company’s annual meeting with financial analysts, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer surprised the crowd at the BUILD Conference this week in Anaheim, California, by closing out the day-two keynote on Wednesday. Source: Win Super Site

By Paul Thurrott As expected, enterprising tech enthusiasts have uncovered a way to enable the Windows 7-style Start Menu in Windows 8, meaning that you can now access this interface from the classic Windows desktop, or what Microsoft is now calling the Desktop environment. And sure enough, it works. Still, I recommend not using this workaround. Source: Win Super Site

Microsoft Financial Analyst Meeting is being held at its Windows 8 Build conference. Surprisingly, the line-up doesn’t have any Windows, Phone or Xbox execs. Source: All About Microsoft

Here’s a live feed of the Build Blogger Bash, with lots of special guests. Join in if you’re not in Anaheim! Source: All About Microsoft

By Paul Thurrott They say that comedy is tragedy plus time, but Microsoft is apparently going for some immediate gratification with the new Windows 8 Blue Screen of Death (BSOD), which pops up when the system crashes. Source: Win Super Site

By Paul Thurrott Today at 5pm PT (8pm PT), I’ll be joining Ed Bott, Mary Jo Foley, Kip Kniskern, Marques Lyons, Ryan and Travis Lowdermilk, Rafael Rivera, Paul Thurrott, Tom Warren, Long Zheng, and many others to celebrate Microsoft’s first BUILD Conference and the launch of the Windows 8 Developer Preview. If you can’t join us at Bar Louie Tavern & Grill in Anaheim, CA for the party, please join us virtually, courtesy of the Windows Phone Dev Podcast. See you there! Source: Win Super Site

By Paul Thurrott I’m attending a BUILD session on Windows Store, but it looks like they won’t be answering the key question everyone has: Will Microsoft be charging developers a percentage on each app sold through the store as Apple does in its own App Store? Source: Win Super Site