[Daniel's Intro] (Subtitles made by: Chaimann)
Hello there!
What do you know about Windows 8? Its failure because of a new Start menu, despite being advertised so much?
Did you ever know that Windows 8 was originally different in terms of overall design?
And that it could keep using Windows Aero, while Microsoft decided to throw this idea to the trash?
No?
In this video we will take a look at the Windows 8 development history: check out some honorable moments, experience it during the advertisement campaign and find out why this system failed in first place.
Without further ado, let's get right into it.
The development of a new Windows version began not too long before Microsoft released Windows 7, the system that I was talking about in one of my previous video, ...
...and nobody had a clue there on a Future Windows concept, how will it look in general.
Steven Sinofsky, a former Windows CEO, has demonstrated an early Windows 8 concept back in 2010, and not so long ago - uploaded these very footages to the internet, so other people could also look at them.
There were some rumors about the next Windows version dropping a 32-bit computer support, and a NT kernel getting a new major version - NT 7.0
The first leaks, however, proved these rumors wrong.
It was clear that Microsoft was building both 32-bit and 64-bit systems, based off some leaked images.
It was once again proved at the CES 2011, where Microsoft were showing people something called like "Windows 8", running it on an ARM-based computer.
These computers were running a version of Windows (or a build, to be more precise) with a following number: 6.2.7867.
You can clearly see the message here - "this is kernel 6" (linux users meme reference) [Windows 7, for example, is using the same major number in its kernel]
But for what reason?
A possible answer for that was Microsoft itself willing to keep supporting older software that was working perfectly on a previous Windows versions.
[overused jokes moment] Honestly, I wonder if they're still willing to do this? :D
Apart from the Milestones, that were the development progress markers, Microsoft was also giving people a chance to try a beta version of Windows 8 publically.
These so-called Milestones were called Developer, Consumer and Release Preview respectively.
And so, we will take a look at it and find out what Microsoft was doing with it in general.
Windows 8 Milestone 1.
The first build we will look at is the build 7777.
This build was released in 2010 and does not differ much from Windows 7, but we can understand that - the development was only taking shape back then.
Same Setup design, same Boot Screen, same OOBE and a Login Screen.
Welp, you'll see a roughly same situation with every OS during its development.
This build comes with an Internet Explorer version 9, an out-of-the-box USB 3.0 controller support; ...
...and a new desktop background, that quietly whispers us a message "let's not leak our hard work...".
...with a message at the bottom right corner that clearly says that we'll get puninshed if we actually leak this build to someone.
Apart from all of that, we got some new features, that are requiring us to be connected to the internet: a synchronization system between your account and devices, a Windows Store and a push-notification system.
We can't really test them now because we can't connect to a Microsoft servers, because it's been so long since the authorization system (and an API) got some big changes.
I remember my friend installing a Microsoft Office 2013 on his new PC.
And when he was trying to log into his account, he was able to do that, however it didn't load some of the data, because of the changes in the API.
This build also comes with a new twinapi.dll and a twinui.dll files - these are just the placeholders now, but in the future they'll be responsible for a whole Metro UI used in the system.
We got some first mentions about Windows 8 in the EULA, as well as the "Help and Support" getting a slight redesign.
Now it's time for the build 7973. This marks the 3rd Milestone during the development.
It was released on 30th March 2011.
As you can already notice, the difference between this and the previous build is a whole year - because we will take a look only at those who have some significant changes.
It makes no sense to look at every build that does not differ much from a previous one with a "Cancel" being moved to one pixel backwards.
Alright, let's take a look.
You can already see that this particular build looks different from a previously reviewed one.
More specifically, we got a new Boot Screen. And a Bootloader as well.
The Setup program remains the same, but you can't say the same thing about the OOBE: it still maintains the charm of a Windows 7 one, but this time we see a "Microsoft Confidential" text instead of a Windows logo.
И здесь теперь по умолчанию включено Windows Aero, а последовательность этапов была переделана.
Now all we have to do is to enter a name for our PC, select a network type, and most importantly, create an account.
But in general, no differences from the original.
The Login Screen also got a change - no more Windows 7 logo at the bottom.
Here comes the desktop.
As you can already see, we got a new button at the bottom right corner, that looks like our profile picture, and if we click on it, ...
...we will be presented with a menu that enables you to open your Account Settings, open the Control Panel, change your Profile Picture and, of course, log out of your account.
The Start menu is no longer watching your recent activity (at least here - it didn't add anything to this menu while I was testing this beta), as well as moving the Window Title to the center.
"And that's it?", - you might be thinking. Actually, no. Some features are actually hidden and locked. Like usually.
And while Bluepill is being used to unlock such features on Windows 7, the Redlock program is here to help us do the same trick, but on Windows 8.
It works the same as the abovementioned Bluepill - unlocking the hidden beta features.
And after actually using it on our system - we get into a whole new world.
We get to see a Metro development, a new Start Menu (which is going to be permanent in a future Windows 8) and much more.
The Metro UI was not a new thing for Microsoft - it was previously used in a Windows Phone and a Zune Media Player.
Apart from a new Start Menu, we also got some apps that are using Metro: the Control Panel, that helps you set up only basic functionality and a broken MS Help, but we don't really care about that one...
This build also features a new Auto-start window design; the system itself is getting ready to adopt a "fast boot" method; ...
...a new version of the Explorer (introducing the Ribbon UI) (we will talk about it later) and a new unlocking method - you can now set a pattern to unlock your computer.
But wait! There's more.
We also got a new Task Manager and the first Charms Bar implementation.
You can open it by pressing the Win+C key combination.
You can open the Start Menu, check out your Recent Apps, "Share" some content with someone, connect to a monitor or a projector or open Quick Settings from this bar.
Despite it being so heavy on resources, the bar itself did not get heavy modifications up to the actual Windows 8 release.
Now, let's talk a bit about the Explorer. We got a new Ribbon UI after some Redlock magic, which was previously used in Paint and the Notepad.
So we clearly see this design being used in the Explorer now. We now have a Home, a Share and a View tabs - with some orange circles being there instead of the actual icons.
The icones themselves were not ready at this point, so these placeholders were playing a temporary replacement role for them. These buttons were already programmed, though.
To conclude this build's review, I'm going to show you a new death screen that this build has.
It is black-colored, with a plain text containing your error and a message that your computer needs to be restarted.
And now, let's move onto the next build.
While this version of Windows was still in development, Microsoft showed the so-called Windows 8 Developer Preview during its "build//2011" conference.
The presentation was held by Steven Sinofsky, the Windows CEO at Microsoft.
He once again mentioned about a "Windows reimagination" in an upcoming OS, giving the user "a set of newest possibilities with zero compromises".
So the next build we're gonna look at is the Windows 8 Build 8102, which is "Developer Preview"-related.
This "Milestone" is the first to have a newer installer: the background got changed to a solid color background, with no "7" in the "Windows" logo.
The first-time setup here is no longer using the Windows 7 style, it is rather new - a Metro-styled one.
This first-time setup (also known as "Out-of-Box Experience") will remain almost the same in the actual Windows 8 release.
The setup is now divided by 4 steps: Personalize, Wireless, Settings and a Log on.
The first step is giving our PC a name, the second one is for choosing the network type, the third one is for setting some Privacy/Update settings, ...
...and the fourth one is the one where you can either log in or create a Microsoft Account - which is known as Windows Live ID back then.
But it's a good thing that we are allowed to create outselves a local account.
After we're done with the setup, a new Login Screen is appearing and we finally get to see a new Metro-styled Start Menu.
It is now enabled by default, even though you can still bring back the older one (via editing values in the registry), it was completely cut-off in the later Beta builds.
Most of the changes in this build are related to the Metro design.
Especially the apps: the system comes with a set of system applications, as well as some third-party ones for demonstrative purposes.
For example, the Settings are finally able to set up your system; there are now some MSN services like Weather, Finances or News; ...
...and a Windows Store, though it still wasn't available back then.
As for the third-party software, the system is packed with lots of games, drawing apps, unofficial Social Media clients and other tools.
You can tell already that some of them won't work because the servers are down.
So, is there more?
Of course. For example, the Metro-styled Internet Explorer; a redesigned Charms Bar that can be called from the Start Button on the left; ...
...a new Lock Screen that can be triggered by pressing Win+L; a new Aero Theme with boxy shapes; a new desktop background; ...
...adding back icons to the Ribbon UI used in the Explorer; as well as no more standard games here starting from this build (which are the Solitaire, Minesweeper and others, by the way), marking their end in the Windows history as a part of a default system bundle.
That marks the end of changes in this build, and since this build of Windows was officially published, ...
...that means that the whole world got to see a new Start Menu alongside the new simplified style while keeping the original idea: same window controls, same taskbar and same system tray.
February, 2012.
A new step in the Windows 8 development has finally been achieved, which was mentioned in a new Windows 8 Build: 8250, which was released under the name of "Consumer Preview".
When talking about the significant changes, it is impossible to not mention the new Windows logo, which is to be official soon; ...
...a new desktop background featuring the "Betta" fish, drawn in the Metro style; ...
...another Charms Bar redesign, as well as preparing it for the release state; ...
...and a big Metro apps library expansion: ...
..."Messages", "People", "Travels", "Maps", various music and video players, the "Xbox LIVE Games", "Photos", "Camera", "Calendar" and a working Windows Store.
Because it is actually working now - no more placeholders since the servers were up back then.
We almost forgot about two new features: the first one is the Blue Screen of Death - yeah, another redesign, yet now it looks more like what we would see in the final version.
And the second thing is the old start menu. It is completely gone with the button that was used to open it.
The old Start Menu was completely removed because of the new one, so the button was actually transformed into a opening zone in the bottom left corner.
Spoiler alert: this will be a big mistake in the future. Alright, the next build we're gonna take a look at...
...is the Release Preview, another new step in the Windows 8 development history. We will take a look at the Windows 8 Build 8400.
It was released on 31th May 2012.
There are no significant changes here, despite having new desktop wallpapers; we can now choose a color for the Start Menu during the first-time setup ...
...as well as removing the effects from the Ribbon UI (at least in the explorer)...
Fun fact: the Windows 8 Release Preview is the last beta to use Windows Aero.
It was completely removed in build 8432 that was released on 11th June 2012: the windows lost their transparency as well as some animations that were present in Windows 7.
This version is also the first to introduce a new account login animation.
And, as you can see, this version lacks some Metro applications except for some essential ones, such as the Settings app.
The reason behind that is very simple, actually: this build is not for the public test, as it was made for use inside the company.
This build is the last one to have desktop gadgets - they'll be eventually removed because, as said by Microsoft themselves, ...
..."Gadgets will no longer be available on Windows because the Windows Sidebar platform in Windows 7 has serious vulnerabilities".
That's right. Even the Microsoft Learn, the official Microsoft learning site, has a special page for this, which tells us that ...
...“Vulnerabilities in Gadgets could allow remote code execution”.
That is what made Microsoft remove this feature completely, rather than fix all of this for every Windows version supported back then.
From this point, Windows 8 is getting close to a finish line. The only changes that can be done before releasing is some polishing touches in the interface itself, as well as fixing some new features.
And just like that, on 25th July 2012 we are getting a Build 9200, which will become a final version for both people and hardware manufacturers.
The Windows 8 Development has officially ended. All that's left was some finishing touches outside the system.
One of them is the company rebranding - Microsoft got a new design at the end of August 2012 (the previous one was being used for 25 years, by the way).
Now the company's logo was not just the name, but a set of colorful squares, and the colors themselves are taken directly from the previous Windows logo.
Each color represents a product developed by Misrosoft: Windows, Office, Xbox, and a Bing search engine.
As you can see, this rebranding was sure dedicated to a Windows 8 release.
Microsoft started a massive campaign after the Windows 8 release, and it was everywhere - in the internet, on a television in different countries - including Russia.
Do you think that they've just stopped on the abovementioned things? No way. How about promoting the system on a TV shows? Take a look.
These are the best examples I could ever find. But, we all know that promoting is one thing, but what about the users' reaction?
That's where things are starting to get interesting.
Those who tried the system were... umm... dissapointed, I guess?
Lots of them didn't like the new Start Menu. In fact, they couldn't even open it because no one knew where the Start button is.
The next thing was the Metro interface, which was made for not only mouse and keyboard, but the touch screen.
It's not like everyone were using their computer with such an accessory. Moreover, people were using tower PCs back then more than laptops.
You can say in general that it really was an unwelcoming experience because it was hard to get used to something new from the Windows XP era (Start Button-wise). People even took the courses to learn on how to work with such operating system.
Microsoft has noticed that (suprisingly) and found out that something was wrong with Windows 8 itself...
After a year of Windows 8 being around, Microsoft made a quick sequel to this system - called Windows 8.1.
And the original one was thrown to the trash and forgotten like a nightmare. A literal nightmare.
Mirosoft deleted every Windows 8 image possible after the end of the main system support. Even the Surface RT recovery images. Even now, it is rather hard to find a Windows 8 image on the internet, especially the MSDN ones.
Microsoft didn't even want to hear about Windows 8 Extended Support. It was quietly disconnected from a Windows Store in 2019.
Despite that decision, the Windows Server 2012 (which is basically Windows 8 made for servers) will still be supported until the end of 2023 and up to 2026 with the Extended Security Updates.
If you've seen my previous video about the Windows 7 history, then i'm sure that you've heard about the Extended Security Updates, so yeah - Windows 8 is also eligible for recieving updates.
But we've only covered the original Windows 8, when Windows 8.1 is a whole another story to talk about.
What it was in general, how usable it was compared to its failed predecessor and what was the overall rating for this system.
And that's about it! Give me a big thumbs-up and subscribe to my channel to not miss my new videos and help me get 50,000 subscribers.
I'm also very grateful for those who helped me make this video - from those who participated in creating this video to those who gave me a penny.
And you - thank you so much for watching!
But I'm not saying goodbye... yet...