Windows 8 Update: The End of Adobe Flash?

Microsoft appears to be taking a page out of Apple's play book saying it will dump plug-ins such as Adobe Flash from Internet Explorer 10 in Windows 8. Well, sort of.

You'll still be able to view content requiring plug-ins in Windows 8, but you'll have to switch to the old fashioned Windows desktop to see it. Users who prefer to remain in the touch-centric, Metro-style interface, however, will have a plug-in free (and presumably Flash-free) experience. Instead, the new touch-centric IE 10 will rely on HTML5 technologies for online video and other functions.

"For the web to move forward and for consumers to get the most out of touch-first browsing, the Metro style browser in Windows 8 is as HTML5-only as possible, and plug-in free," said Dean Hachamovtich, who leads Microsoft's Internet Explorer team. "The experience that plug-ins provide today is not a good match with Metro style browsing and the modern HTML5 web."

The good news is that thanks to Apple's anti-Flash trailblazing with the iPhone and iPad, many websites now offer HTML5 video when the Flash plug-in is not present. YouTube, for example, will still run without Flash as will many other video sites.

Microsoft said it examined the plug-in requirements for the top 97,000 sites worldwide and discovered that 62 percent can already offer HTML5 video to non-Flash devices. Many of these sites can also serve non-Flash ads as well.

If you visit a site that still relies on ActiveX controls or other plug-in content, you will be prompted to tap a "Use Desktop View" notification. This will take you to the traditional desktop where you can view the content requiring a plug-in.

What Microsoft didn't mention is where this leaves the company's own Flash competitor, Silverlight. Will Silverlight compatibility be built into the Metro version of Internet Explorer 10 or is Silverlight on the Web gone too? The technology still has a life as a tool for developers, so Silverlight on the Web may not be a big loss for the Windows maker. Microsoft was unavailable for comment at the time of this writing.

Adobe FlashThere's also the question of whether Metro-style IE 10 will support add-ons (also known as extensions) or toolbars. Microsoft wasn't clear on this point. "In Windows 8, IE 10 is available as a Metro style app and as a desktop app," said Steven Sinofksy, president of Windows and Windows Live, on the Building Windows 8 blog. "The desktop app continues to fully support all plug-ins and extensions." Sinofsky didn't explicitly say that extensions won't be supported in the Metro interface, but his comments do suggest that extensions are out for Metro-style IE 10.

Admittedly, a lot of these add-ons wouldn't be missed (especially toolbars packaged with other downloads), and IE was never big on add-ons compared to competing browsers such as Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome. But some extensions might be missed in the touchable version of IE 10 such as identity managers that help you save passwords and automatically fill out Web forms.

Nevertheless, the lack of plug-ins and possibly extensions should make IE more responsive and faster when using the Metro UI.

This could also be a huge blow to Adobe since the Metro-style interface will be the first thing home users see when they fire up Windows 8 on their laptops and desktops. It's possible that Microsoft could adopt Google's strategy and build Flash right into IE, but that would technically be using a plug-in and thus not be as plug-in free as Microsoft is promising.

Microsoft's comments, while they don't explicitly say this, suggest that Flash will not be included in the Metro-style version of Windows 8. So unless PC users at home reject the Metro-style interface and stick with the traditional desktop in Windows 8 or Windows 7, Microsoft may effectively finish what Apple started and kill Flash on the Web.

Adobe was unavailable for comment at the time of this writing.

Windows 8 Preview Version Downloads rise over 500,000 copies

Microsoft Corp. said developers have downloaded 500,000 copies of the preview version of Windows 8 since its debut yesterday, evidence of interest in an operating system that will vie with Apple Inc. software.

“While it's clear we have a long way to go still with Windows 8, we've been gratified by the reactions and the interest,” Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer said today at a conference for developers in Anaheim, California. One area needing more work: a Windows 8 version that runs on chips with technology from ARM Holdings Plc, which is “very, very important to us,” Ballmer said.

Microsoft is rushing to complete Windows 8 because the company wants an operating system capable of running thinner, lighter tablet machines with battery power that can rival Apple's iPad. That need has led the world's largest software maker to make its Windows personal-computer operating system compatible with ARM-based chips for the first time. ARM processors typically run smartphones and other mobile gadgets.

At the conference, Microsoft gave attendees a prototype machine running an Intel Corp. chip rather than an ARM model, a sign that version is farther along. Microsoft hasn't said when Windows 8 devices will go on sale.

Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, rose 46 cents to $26.50 at 4 p.m. New York time on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The shares have lost 5.1 percent of their value this year.

While Microsoft Windows President Steven Sinofsky yesterday said that Windows 8 “re-imagines” what Windows can do, Ballmer today said that the effort -- as well as Microsoft's push into Internet-based cloud services and new types of hardware -- represent a “re-imagining” of the entire company.

Even as it focuses on tablets, phones and cloud computing, the company will keep Windows at the heart of its strategy, Ballmer said.

“Windows is at the center,” he said. “People question whether that is a good idea. I think it's an exceptionally good idea.”

Windows Phone, the mobile-phone software that Microsoft released last year, hasn't performed as well as Ballmer would have liked, he said. Still, positive reception from those who have bought the devices, as well as the support from handset makers, gives him hope for the future, he said.

“I'm not saying I love where we are, but I am very optimistic on where we can be,” Ballmer said.

When asked if Microsoft's Internet-search partnership with Yahoo was at risk, given the company's ouster of CEO Carol Bartz, Ballmer said he's not worried.

“The partnership will remain strong no matter where they want to take their business or whoever they happen to install next as CEO,” he said.

Windows 8 tablets to have 15% market share by 2014 says analyst

What a difference an “8” makes: Microsoft’s Windows 8 only broke cover properly earlier this week, and analysts are already declaring it a future sales success. RBC Capital Markets analyst Robert Breza is predicting Microsoft will hold a 15-percent share in the tablet segment by 2014, the Financial Post reports, praising the new OS’ Metro UI as borrowed from Windows Phone.

“Unlike traditional Windows 7, ‘Smart Tiles’ leverages multi-touch for a clever way to conveniently access most frequently used files and data” Breza points out, suggesting that this “leverages both desktop and mobile.” Microsoft’s existing installation base and strong position among enterprise users should also help it along the way, it’s predicted, although the company will need to focus on application momentum if it wants to challenge the iPad’s market lead.

The impact Windows 8 on tablets has on Microsoft’s stock price could mark an end to periodic calls for CEO Steve Ballmer to be toppled, something the company’s board has always resisted while denying that the outspoken exec is “stuck in the past.” Earlier this week, Ballmer admitted dissatisfaction with Windows Phone sales but argued that the platform would receive a significant boost once the first Nokia devices to run the OS went on sale.

“Windows 8 tablets could be a valuation catalyst for the stock if investors begin to see Microsoft regaining leadership in the post-PC era” Breza concludes. The company’s share price climbed to a high of 26.785 in the aftermath of BUILD, though with Windows 8 slates not expected to go on sale until next year the market is apparently still cautious.

Microsoft: Windows 8 Won't Require a New PC

Having learned its lesson the hard way with Windows Vista, Microsoft offered assurances Thursday that its upcoming Windows 8 operating system won't require users to buy a new PC.

"We've extended the trend we started with Windows 7, of keeping our system requirements either flat or reducing them over time. So Windows 8 will be able to run on a wide range of machines because it will have the same system requirements or lower" as Windows 7, said Michael Angiulo, the Microsoft executive who showed the new software at a press event in Taipei on Thursday.

"Another thing we did is build intelligence into Windows 8 to adapt the user interface based on what hardware you have. So whether you're upgrading or buying a new PC, Windows will adapt itself for your hardware," he said.

The new OS is designed to be touch-enabled, so people without touch screens obviously won't get all the benefits of the new OS. It will also work with a wider variety of sensors for detecting things like motion and proximity, and those sensors will not be present in existing PCs.

But Angiulo said the new interface, which has large colored icons and resembles Windows Phone 7, can still be navigated smoothly using a mouse and a keyboard. The page up and page down buttons can move through the application tiles on the screen, a mouse click will open applications, and the Windows shortcut key on a keyboard will take users back to the desktop.

To prove the point he showed Windows 8 running on a handful of existing PCs, including a Samsung Series 9 laptop and an L Series Sony Vaio.

"When you're reimagining a system that a billion people around the world use it's a big responsibility," Angiulo said. "Windows 8 is for hundreds of millions of computers with all different screen sizes, whether they're touch-enabled or not. Windows 8 is an upgrade for the entire ecosystem of PCs."

It's an important message for Microsoft to get across. If people believe they need to buy a new PC to run Windows 8 it would slow the transition to the new OS and hurt Microsoft's business.

Still, there are features in Windows 8 that won't work with existing hardware, and Microsoft is being more prescriptive than usual about how hardware makers should design their PCs for the new OS.

The optimal screen will have 16:9 aspect ratio and minimum resolution of 1366 by 768 pixels, Angiulo said. A 1024x768 display will also be able to show the new interface, he said. But a netbook with a low-resolution screen will have to switch to the standard desktop mode, he said.

Microsoft learned its lesson about system requirements with Vista. Many PCs in use at the time wouldn't run the OS properly. People reported a lousy experience with the software and it became about the most unpopular OS in Microsoft's history. The company will be keen not to let that happen again.

First Look of New Released Internet Explorer 10 Platform Preview

Microsoft caught us entirely by surprise when it released the first platform preview of IE10 yesterday at MIX11. Let’s take a close first look at Microsoft’s new browser.

I recently speculated quite a bit what Microsoft might or might not do about Google and Mozilla’s upgrade pace. It has been no secret that fast updates, whether they deliver new features or not, translate into more market share. Microsoft repeatedly mentioned that it has no intentions to follow Google, as frequent updates do not necessarily deliver more value. That, of course, is only true in a legacy scenario, as those quick updates for have delivered more new browser features last year than Microsoft delivered over the past 10 years.

IE10 This & That

IE10 PP1 (download) arrives four weeks after the final release of IE9, or about 1 year after IE9 PP1. Also, Microsoft said that it will update the previews every 8 – 12 weeks, which is slower than Google and Mozilla – as Google delivers full new versions every 6 weeks and Mozilla delivers full new versions every 18 weeks. The IE10 release notes mention that there will be at least four platform previews. If our math is correct, then we will see IE10 PP4 in 32 weeks In November 2011 at the earliest and January 2012 at the latest. Add a beta and release candidate to the plan and you get a March 2012 release date of the final, if there will be just four PPs. This seems to be a reasonable assumption, as Microsoft appears to have cut its release schedule of 2 years for IE8 and IE9 in half .

The release notes of IE10 PP1, which, by the way, announces itself as version 9.0.6, also state that the software requires Windows 7 and it does not run with Vista. PP4 will even require an update for Windows 7 and we could speculate what update that may be. Our guess is as good as yours at this point, so we’ll stay away from that. But we do expect IE10 to be released in the time frame of Windows 8 to coincide with the launch of the Windows App Store, which is likely to target the hardware acceleration features of IE10.

If you want to try IE10 on Windows 7, please remember that this is a PP version and does not support many basic features of a browser – and does not include an URL bar. Microsoft also noted plenty of issues if the browser is run next to IE8. It may crash IE8 and show error messages. Expect this browser not to work in several scenarios and do not use it for critical tasks. From the perspective of Browserscope, IE10 PP1 has less features and less general support than IE9. It is a preview and should be treated as such.

New Features

The main changes are under the hood. This preview includes support for CSS3 flexbox, CSS3 grid alignment, CSS3 multi-column, CSS3 gradients on background-images and ECMAScript5 Strict Mode. If we were picky, we could say that the changes aren’t enough to justify a new version of IE10 and reflect exactly the criticism of Microsoft that those quick browser updates aren’t meaningful enough.

There are a bunch of new demonstrations on the IEtestdrive website that are designed to showcase the hardware acceleration capabilities in IE10 as well as the CSS3 features that only work in IE10 and not IE9. There is a good chance that you will be underwhelmed, even if Microsoft considers the changes as progress and “not just activity.”

We have looked quickly at some performance-relevant websites, but could not determine any meaningful differences to IE9. There is not a lot  to see. It is very much work in progress and we would expect to see more substantial feature updates later this year. For now, it is just an update.

Of course, our concern is Microsoft’s decision to drop Windows Vista support. here is a quote from the release blog post: “Browsers that compromise (by spreading across too many OSes and OS versions) face challenges. For example, building a new browser for the ten-year old version of Windows that came with IE6 didn’t make sense to us because of the limitations of its graphics and security architectures. Others have dropped support on Windows XP for functionality that we think is fundamental to performance. As Windows 7 usage exceeds Windows XP’s in more and more countries (link), the sense in building for the future of the Web rather than the past is clear.”

Our thought is that IE10 will deeply integrate with Windows 8 and attach to the Windows App store. If it does not, Microsoft will have to think about a bunch of other features to keep the development pace of IE9 going. By March 2012, we are expecting a totally different Chrome 20 and Firefox 8. the cloud computing race will largely be decided by the dominant browser maker and Microsoft needs a flexible and innovative browser to keep up with its rivals. A few CSS3 features just don’t cut it.

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