Group Policy Settings Reference for Windows Server "8" Beta and Windows "8" Consumer Preview: This spreadsheet lists the policy settings for computer and user configurations included in the Administrative template files (admx/adml) delivered with Windows Server® "8" Beta.

Two years ago, Microsoft declared that the future of video on the web would be powered by HTML 5. Today, however, a lot of web video content is still delivered via Adobe Flash technology. So, in a somewhat surprising move, Microsoft is integrating Flash directly into Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 8 and doing so in a way that does not undermine the safety and reliability of the Metro environment.

WoA (Windows on ARM) tablet PCs, based on estimated general BOM costs of US$300-350 for 10-inch tablet PCs and US$150-200 for 7-inch models, are struggling to meet vendors' price targets for competition against Apple and Amazon's tablet PC products because of the additional US$90-100 fee for Windows 8, according to Taiwan-based supply chain makers.<p>

The average price of tablet PCs has been dropping rapidly sine the launch of Amazon's Kindle Fire. But PC brand vendors, who are used to price wars, are nevertheless struggling to compete, because unlike Amazon they do not see additional revenues from post-purchase content sales.

Based on current progress of development, there will be 32 Windows 8 tablet PCs launched by Hewlett-Packard, Dell, Lenovo, Acer, Asustek Computer and Toshiba by the end of 2012, the sources indicated.</p><p> In particular, Lenovo and Acer plan to launch Windows 8 tablet PCs priced at US$300-1,000, with entry-level models to be sold at below US$300 for competition with Android tablet PCs and models offered by China-based white-box vendors, and models at over US$300 to challenge iPad, including the new iPad and a next-generation iPad, the sources claimed.

A Nomura analyst commented, “Meeting Tami Reller, the head of marketing and CFO of the Windows and Windows Live Division at Microsoft. Microsoft will not be adding back the Start Button. They will add a tutorial to show keyboard/mouse users the new commands that they need to orient themselves with in the new OS. We have not seen the controversy on the touch (Metro) side, and this is where all the industry growth will come. Our next look at the product will be the Release Candidate (RC), which we have expected by June, followed by the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) in late July or August, and finally the release to General Availability (GA) in September or October.”

Shut down, restart, and log-off used to be simple actions from the Start menu in Microsoft Windows, but in Windows 8, the <a href="http://www.infoworld.com/t/microsoft-windows/microsoft-keep-the-start-menu-in-windows-8-please-185785">Start menu sleeps with the fishes</a>, and turning off your PC from the legacy desktop involves several less-than-intuitive steps. Imagine my surprise then when I discovered, hidden in a dark corner of the company website, a couple of Microsoft-approved apps that do everything you might want.

A Google spokesperson told Mashable that the new version of Chrome would be based on the desktop browser (as opposed to the Android version).

“Our goal is to be able to offer our users a speedy, simple, secure Chrome experience across all platforms, which includes both the desktop and Metro versions of Windows 8,” the rep said. “To that end we’re in the process of building a Metro version of Chrome along with improving desktop Chrome in Windows 8 such as adding enhanced touch support.”

A common thread we’ve seen in the feedback so far about Windows 8, on this blog or elsewhere, positive or negative, is that people using Windows 8 for the first time might need a little help getting their bearings.

One of the biggest changes in the Windows 8 Consumer Preview is the Removal of Start Orb along with the Good o’l Start Menu with it,a move which was said to be necessary to emphasize on the Metro UI and the new Start Screen Page with Tiles making it more touch friendly.

But with many likings for the new Metro UI also come many dislikes as well.So for those who don’t like to use the Metro UI and those who want to bring back the Start Button along with the Start Menu,ViStart is the way to go.It was initially designed for bring the Windows Vista’s Start Menu to Windows XP,but it also works for the Windows 8 versions as well,thanks to the recent updates to the software.

I have a Kodak ESP 725o network printer, and was trying to set it up on Windows 8 Consumer Preview. The setup software detected the printer OK, then gave a strange error:

“The application called an interface that was marshalled for a different thread.” Hmm.

The solution is to run the installer in Windows 7 compatibility mode. Doing this in Windows 8 takes a few steps.

Is there any way to completely disable Metro, and bring back the Windows 7 start-menu? (or, even better, the XP start menu!) Either a setting or a hack or whatever... Anything..
I can understand why the interface needs to be updated/reworked for touchscreen devices but for a normal desktop computer some of these changes seem... how do I say this without getting banned from the forums... "somewhat annoying"..

First make sure that you have a back up of your Windows 8 Registry file so that it will be useful in case you face some problems.

Sinofsky also said that the Windows-on-ARM machines will come with several Office apps — Word, PowerPoint, Excel and OneNote — that have been tuned to run in a very battery-efficient manner. But Sinofsky said that, although those applications will run in the traditional Windows desktop, they will be the only programs allowed to do so, other than components of Windows itself.

“There are no other compiled dekstop apps that are available,” Sinofsky told AllThingsD. All of the other apps for Windows on ARM will be the new-style “Metro” apps.

Windows 8 for Intel and AMD chips, by contrast, will be able to run all of the kinds of programs that have traditionally run on Windows, inside a Windows 7-like desktop environment.

When the Windows 8 beta arrives at the end of February, it will have some widely requested features for killing Metro apps without going to the Task Manager, for navigating using a mouse rather than touch and for doing more with gestures.

You'll also be able to change that overpowering green background. But Windows 8 director of communications Chris Flores points out to TechRadar that you wouldn't want a photograph as the background of the Metro-style Start screen.