Windows 8 for IT

When the first public preview of Windows 8 was released,most of the media reaction focused on end-user features such as the new touch-enhanced user interface. But there are just as many changes under the hood of Windows 8 that desktop managers should pay attention to for potential deployment and management. Because the operating system's release is still some time away, the specific changes are still something of a moving target. Microsoft has released enough information about Windows 8, however, to give us an idea of what challenges and opportunities the new OS presents to IT administrators. The interface Few features in Windows 8 have been given as much attention -- or as much argument -- as the new Metro interface. Derived from the touch-centric interface for Windows Phone 7,it replaces the Windows 7/Vista Start menu with a horizontally scrollable set of tiles representing various applications. Windows 8 is obviously being positioned very aggressively as a touch-oriented OS, but that brings up several questions. What about those of us who aren't using touch-based systems? There are still far more conventional notebooks and desktop systems in the average enterprise than there are computers that use touch input (barring phones). Does this mean that Microsoft is insisting that nontouch systems be replaced? It's a legitimate concern for a number of reasons. The Metro interface isn't as efficient with a mouse and keyboard as it is with touch input. Also, the common test platform (CTP) of Windows 8 has no obvious way to disable the Metro menus and uses only the legacy Windows Start menu. Some IT pros might interpret this as a message that Windows 8 is for touch-enabled devices to the near-exclusion of other things. But keep in mind that the CTP isn't intended to provide a sense of how the finished product will behave. It's aimed mainly at developers and programmers, to kick-start the creation of apps specifically for Windows 8 and Metro. Also, there are hints that the new OS will be able to revert to its older appearance. There is a Registry hack that turns off the Metro tiles, and a few standalone programs will toggle Metro on and off for you. The best solution, of course, would be a setup option (via the installation interface or the unattended setup script) that disables Metro by default for machines that don't need it. Even if that doesn't appear, IT managers should be able to make that change manually without doing excessive heavy lifting.