Windows 8

[W1nTry]

Early I know but details none the less:

Microsoft mulling 128-bit versions of Windows 8, Windows 9

Microsoft is working on 128-bit architecture compatibility with the Windows 8 and Windows 9 kernels. Consequently, the company is also forming relationships with major partners, including Intel, AMD, HP, and IBM.
By Emil Protalinski | Last updated October 7, 2009 12:55 PM CT

Believe it or not, Windows 7's successor(s) have been in the planning and early development stages for a while now. We haven't posted anything about any of them yet, but we've been watching closely to see if anything really interesting turned up. Exactly two weeks ago, it did. A LinkedIn profile, which has already been taken down, for a Robert Morgan, Senior Research & Development at Microsoft, has shone a sliver of light on the possibility of 128-bit support coming to Windows 8. Morgan has been with the software giant since January 2002, but we're more intrigued with what his profile (first paragraph) and his status (second paragraph) recently stated:

Working in high security department for research and development involving strategic planning for medium and longterm projects. Research & Development projects including 128bit architecture compatibility with the Windows 8 kernel and Windows 9 project plan. Forming relationships with major partners: Intel, AMD, HP, and IBM.

Robert Morgan is working to get IA-128 working backwards with full binary compatibility on the existing IA-64 instructions in the hardware simulation to work for Windows 8 and definitely Windows 9.

Windows 8 News found Morgan's profile first and immediately started trying to get in contact with him over LinkedIn. When we saw this, we leaned back and waited to see if they could get a response from him. They did. The site claims it has managed to get an exclusive interview with Morgan and is letting its readers to ask questions. The deadline is October 11, 2009 so head on over and post your queries.

This news is interesting because we always thought Windows 7 would be the last release that had 32-bit and 64-bit versions. This was brought on by the fact that Windows Server 2008 R2, the server version of Windows 7, was the first Windows Server release to be 64-bit only. The next client version of Windows should therefore follow suit, but apparently Microsoft is going to prepare it for 128-bit as well. We're not saying Windows 8 will definitely come in 64-bit and 128-bit flavors, but Microsoft is moving down that path, and at the very least, Windows 9 will.

While this little tidbit is news on its own, we feel it's necessary to look at what we've heard about Windows 8 so far. In April 2009, Codename Windows spotted a Microsoft job posting for a Lead Software Development Engineer in Test with this interesting description:

DFSR is Microsoft's premier file replication engine and is an integral part of our branch office strategy and File Server role. It can scale to thousands of servers and replicate hundreds of terabytes of data. We have shipped the technology that powers file sharing in Windows Live Messenger, Windows Meeting Spaces (Vista) and Branch Office replication in Windows Server 2008 which has strong customer deployment. DFSR technology saves MS-IT and our customers more than 80% WAN bandwidth by using advanced On-The-Wire differential compression.

For the upcoming version of Windows, new critical features are being worked on including cluster support and support for one way replication. The core engine is also being reworked to provide dramatic performance improvements. We will also soon be starting major improvements for Windows 8 where we will be including innovative features which will revolutionize file access in branch offices.

That same month, ZDNet found another job posting that also described some interesting details:

In Windows Server 2008 R2 release, the Server UX Test team (under the File Server Management organization) is finalizing the MMC [Microsoft Management Console] based User eXperience (UX)/Interfaces for the File Server Role. Currently the team owns DFS [Distributed File System] Management, Share and Storage Management, FSRM [File Server Resource Manager] & Classification UI, Disk Management, SMFS. For Windows 8, the SSD organization is working on the next version of the file server.

As the team moved to Windows 8, you will have 2 main responsibilities - (i) put on the customer/design critique hat as we plan our next version file server management experience (i) participating in the architectural design, and development and driving automated testing for managing the next generation file server. Our current automation does not meet the multi-machine paradigm requirement and so you will contribute significantly in the development of test automation to validate setup/configuration of the new server, managing configuration changes, performing diagnostics and reporting using Power Shell, Command line, Object Model, UI.

In September 2009, msftkitchen found a couple of résumés for Microsoft employees that reference possible features for Windows 8.

Bo Qin:

Researched new algorithms and programming methods to build Hibernate/Resume Integration API that can integrate and utilize the new TLZ file compression engine for the Hibernate/Resume component of new Windows 8 Operating System.

Using C and C++ programming languages in SourceInsight, developed a 100% functional C wrapper for C++ functions and the Hibernate/Resume Integration API, which will be used in Windows 8 replacing Windows Vista's Xpress compression engine.

Maryrita Steinhour:
Led working group to make a recommendation on a PatchGuard follow-on. Wrote a summary white paper and presented the results of the working group to the executive team. Recommendation of tabling the function until Windows 8 was accepted and it is now a Windows 8 feature candidate.

Ramaswamy Ranganathan
Working on feature development, enhancements and bug fixing activities for Win7 and Win8's Remote Desktop client. Involved in bug fixes and improvements for Remote Application and Server Tools as well.

The following descriptions on LinkedIn pages were also found by msftkitchen but have since been removed:

Hold multiple patents related to SAN infrastructure, hard drive technology, and security aspects within the datacenter space one which one of which is already generating royalties and another is slated for inclusion in Windows8. Integrate well into standards organizations such as the FCIA, T10, T10, SNIA, and T13.

Authored DA setup guide, a complete guide for setting up DA that was used by several customers and other teams internal to Microsoft for configuring their DA environments. This guide was also the foundation for the DA test automation that will be created for Windows 8, and provided the foundation for the publicly available DA setup guide.

Working Group - For Win 8 download experience, researched security user mental models to inform design.

Managing and Improving software usability for over 10 years, designing, researching, and developing multi-tier distributed applications for Windows 8 focusing on customers using ecommerce, general consumers, and banking companies.

Remember that all this talk is very early in the game. We won't see Windows 8 released until 2011 at the earliest, and 2012 is more likely. What do you want to see in Windows 7's and Windows Server 2008 R2's successors?

http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2009/10/microsoft-mulling-128-bit-versions-of-windows-8-windows-9.ars

[MessiaaH]

Latest news in what shaping up to be some very nice compition for d ipad.

http://microsoft-news.com/windows-8-will-feature-deep-windows-live-and-skydrive-integration/

http://microsoft-news.com/windows-8-to-feature-metro-style-built-in-pdf-viewer/

http://microsoft-news.com/first-look-at-a-windows-8-finger-friendly-appinternet-explorer/

[Mobscene]

Windows 8: Updating list of features to date

With screenshots and leaks galore — though, not on the scale of Windows 7’s post-Vista transformation — there is an ongoing stream of information coming out of the web, from ordinary bloggers to broadsheet newspapers, regarding the next-generation operating system.

19th April 2011: Updates appended to the end.
21st April 2011: Update on ‘Streaming Manager’
23rd April 2011: Pattern and facial recognition login
27th April 2011: New build (7955), new features



This post will update as and when new features are discovered, and will include descriptions, any pertinent information and a picture in the corresponding screenshot gallery too, wherever possible.

Each new feature will be verified as accurately as possible. While none of the features here can be verified to one hundred percent, this updating feature set will allow both consumers and enterprises to gauge what may be coming next in the upcoming release, set for next year.


New Welcome screen
A new ‘Metro UI’ (the user interface for Windows Phone 7 devices) has been seen in the latest builds of Windows 8. Featuring the date and time, another video showed the leaked Windows 8 default wallpaper as discovered by fellow ZDNet colleague Stephens Chapman, where users are shown a list of users on the local machine to click on and enter their password.


‘Modern’ Task Manager
A new task manager emerged in one of the latest builds, redesigning how programs and system-critical applications are displayed. Frankly, for task manager veterans, the entire feel of the application has changed entirely. However, it is more in-tune with the look and feel of Windows 8, though devoid of a Ribbon bar — for now, at least. It also includes a more ‘advanced’ task manager for those who still require seeing extensive statistics of their hardware.


Portable Workspaces
One of the most highly anticipated features, discovered in an early build of Windows 8 — the portable workspace, allowing you to effectively put Windows on a USB stick. On the other hand, it looks more likely to become an enterprise only feature, and further limited to those with a USB stick or external hard drive that is at least 16GB in size. However, already this could give an early indication of the final hard drive memory footprint of the upcoming operating system.




Aero auto-colourisation
A new feature that reacts to the most prominent colour of the Windows wallpaper. This already exists under Windows 7, where the icons in the taskbar ‘reflect’ the brightest or most dominant colour in the icon. However, this will be ported to reflect the entire desktop, including Start menu and taskbar, depending on the colour of the wallpaper.



Hybrid Booting
Seen in the latest builds, Hybrid Boot is a cross between hibernation and sleep mode, and more of an evolution of the existing hibernation function. Core operating system files are ‘put to sleep’ which enables the startup time to be significantly reduced.



Simple system ‘reset’
Found in an early build of Windows 8, the functionality exists to allow a user or system administrator to ‘reset’ the operating system back to the default settings. As so many applications and settings are expected to be cloud based, this would in theory allow you to get back up and running in minutes as opposed to hours. From the screenshots, it appears to be a quick and simple process, with user accounts and personal files kept in backup space, before your default Windows settings are restored.



Ribbons in Windows Explorer
The Ribbon bar features heavily in the Office 2007 and Office 2010 suite of applications, and since ported to Windows 7 in basic applications, from Wordpad to Paint. This was to open up the functionality to touch users, but will be capitalised upon further in Windows 8, as seen in recent builds leaked to the web. Seen already in Windows Explorer, it will be key to replacing the ‘old’ interface that Windows has had up until now.


ARM processor ‘tablet support’
Windows 8 will have ARM support, a low-power processor which allows devices to run longer on batteries. As seen during an Internet Explorer 10 preview, one of the devices was running an ARM processor, and it is expected to launch with full ARM support making tablets a more likely option.



Genuine center
This new center will control and organise your Windows licences. Seen in the most recent builds of Windows 8, the Genuine Center will allow you to manage the license of Windows on your computer, and perhaps even control other Microsoft products, like Office too. If you have a computer not activated or without a product key, you will not only be able to buy one straight from your desktop, but also purchase a key for another machine, too.


Push notifications
Part of Microsoft’s tablet and mobile device strategy, it appears push notifications will allow content to be displayed on screen similar to that of Windows Phone 7. Little is known about this functionality as of yet, however.
Improved disk cleanup
In Windows 8, there will be an overhaul of the disk cleanup facility, designed to clear the junk out of your operating system, like temporary files and the Recycle Bin. More options are given, and better categorising of file types corresponding to their size.


‘Modern Reader’ PDF support
‘Modern Reader’ is the name of the PDF reading application designed and built using AppX technology, which bridge between the mobile and the desktop workspace gap. According to one, as the application packages are very similar to phone application packages, making applications easier to port across from the desktop to the mobile, including tablets.

Internet Explorer 10
There is all but no doubt that Windows 8 will come with a pre-installed version of Internet Explorer, probably IE10, but may not be set to ‘as default’ depending on your user location. It is not unlike Microsoft to bundle in a beta of Internet Explorer with a beta of Windows, and including the browser with the operating system seems entirely “logical”.

Internet Explorer ‘Immersive’
A slimmed down version of the browser, using a new user interface codenamed ‘Immersive’, will feel and look like the phone version, but will have all the rendering of the desktop version. Using a new platform for developing applications that scale up and down from the desktop to the phone and vice versa, it will allow many more applications to be scalable and adaptable to their environments.


SmartScreen file filter
Previously only seen in the Windows Live suite of products, SmartScreen filters out spam or bad links based on community responses. In Windows 8, however, an option has been seen to check files downloaded by a browser, not just Internet Explorer, to ensure that the download source is safe and verified. It simply adds an extra layer of security protection to the operating system.

Windows App Store
Likened to Apple’s App Store for iOS and Mac devices, Microsoft is set to include its own application web store in the next version of Windows. Dubbed the Windows App Store, unsurprisingly, it has yet to turn up in a leaked build, though screenshots seem to confirm its existence.


Step-by-step install
Windows 8 from the word go should be simple to use, and the setup process appears to show exactly that. With easy run through steps to guide even the most novice of users through the daunting task of installing an operating system, the process should be a breeze. The ‘Metro UI’ of the Windows Phone 7 operating system is clear in the setup, too, with fonts and user experience looking clean and sharp.

ISO mounting
ISO images are files which contain the exact coding, files and folders of the contents on a CD or DVD. Windows 8 will include functionality, as see in more recent builds, to not only mount images to read and deal with, but also the functionality to burn them. This could negate many image burning applications out there on the market already.

Native wake on LAN
If a computer is turned off or hibernating and it has enabled the ‘wake on LAN’ feature, Windows 8 will be able to push a network request through to turn it back on again, to perform the functions that it needs to.

Webcam application
A new application seemingly based on the ‘Metro UI’ user experience, has appeared in early builds of Windows 8, allowing users to start and stop video capture, and capture images immediately and after a short delay.

See a screenshot here.
Codename ‘Redhawk’
‘Redhawk’ is the creation of a managed code execution environment, relating to or incorporating as part of the .NET Framework 5. However, whether this is a ‘feature’ or a platform remains to be seen, exactly. My ZDNet colleague Mary Jo Foley has more on the All About Microsoft column.

Streaming Manager
It has emerged that in a seemingly similar way to how Office 2010 is delivered to some customers, a Streaming Manager will be part of Windows 8 to allow other programs to be streamed to the desktop. It will allow applications to be run before they are fully downloaded, provided they are provisioned to do so. If a feature is needed, it will be downloaded as and when it is needed.

Pattern login
From another leaked video — this one, though is not necessarily safe for work — users will be able to login using an Android-like pattern match. This will presumably for those who are using tablets or slate devices and are lacking a keyboard. Another image has emerged of the Control Panel setting to administer the first pattern login, which you can find here.


Facial recognition login
In similar sync to the pattern login, those with a Kinect or a webcam may be able to login through facial recognition, some are reporting. A setting was detected in one of the latest builds of Windows 8’s application libraries which suggests that when Windows 8 detects a particular user has sat down at the computer, their face alone will be enough proof to allow the desktop to open up with all their user files and settings. Who needs a password nowadays, anyway?

(Updated) History Vault
This feature could be seen as the competing ‘product’ to the Time Machine in Mac OS X. Acting as a backup facility, it will replace the Backup and Restore feature in Windows 7, while giving users the option to create regular, automatic backups. Users will be able to restore individual files from way back into the past, while offering a ‘new user interface’ similar to that of the Time Machine.


(Updated) Cloud-based roaming profiles
Roaming profiles have yet been semi-mythical, but have been uncovered in the latest build. Your personalisation settings (Aero and colour settings) all the way through to language settings and wireless credentials will be stored in the cloud, or cloud-accessible, so you can take your ‘computer’ on the go with you. Linked accounts will be accessible through Windows Live, but can be turned off if you are on a bandwidth-restricted network. Whether files and folders will be synced also, should be subject to extreme caution, however.


(New) Black Screen of Death
In Metro UI style, the ‘traditional’ “Blue Screen of Death” will be replaced by a perhaps more ‘friendly’ “Black Screen of Death”. The error detail will be given still for troubleshooting purposes, but will already occur when the computer has effectively shut down.


(New) ‘Metro UI style’ settings
More Metro UI integration in Windows 8, in which we are not entirely sure in what capacity, exactly, but it is most likely to be mostly accessible and available for tablet users of Windows 8. Bridging the gap between the mobile and the desktop, these settings will emulate many of those already seen in previous versions of Windows, but in a modern, mobile style.


See a screenshot here
(New) Out-of-box experience (post-setup)
The ‘out-of-box experience’ will be one of the first things you see on your new Windows 8 installation. From the looks of it, it will also follow a similar feel to the rest of the Metro UI settings.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/igeneration/windows-8-updating-list-of-features-to-date/9511

[rassmatic]

[Spazosaurus]

How absolutely vomit inducing. I see they have the classic interface there still. If they know whats good for them, they'll include an option to disable that tile nonsense. Those who like that, fine they can go nuts but for the love of GOD, please allow us to disable.

I like some of the other features i'm seeing though. Built in ISO mounting, pdf reading and web store are good ideas. Hope they dont region block the latter like the rest of their LIVE services.

[W1nTry]

It's like Windows phone 7 meets windows 7... I think they have the right idea considering they want to make it 'touch' centric, but i'm sure they'll have a 'classic' mode as they've had for all the versions since win 2000. We're tech heads awesome and like the none gui 'nerds' of the Unix world who don't even believe in the UI save the console, we have grown accustomed to a keyboard and mouse and think and are comfortable with what we know. Give it a chance, it may surprise you.

[phoenix31tt]

yes wintry.. i like your approach... don't just judge it by looking @ it... actually try it before u hate it

but anyways... it most certainly is the right way to go for touch friendly devices such as tablets etc, but our PC's arent usually touch friendly so we'll see how it goes with a non touch friendly device

[W1nTry]

Well, here's an article from Ars, with some more insight

http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2011/06/microsoft-gives-the-first-official-look-of-windows-8-touch-interface.ars

However, this is not just a user interface for tablets: this is going to be the user interface for Windows. Windows 8 will still run Windows application—all of them, with pretty much the same system requirements as Windows 7. One of the application tiles is a full-blown Windows 7 desktop, and this is where legacy applications will run. The new-style interface and new-style applications will be clean and modern, but none of this extended to the traditional applications, which are stuck in their own little ghetto.

I LOLed at the last part.

And also some hardware stuff:
http://arstechnica.com/microsoft/news/2011/06/microsoft-details-specs-for-windows-8-tablets-shows-off-hardware.ars

Prototypes from three ARM partners, Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and NVIDIA, in conjunction with system builders Wistron, Foxconn, and Quanta, were shown off. The Qualcomm and TI devices were both tablets, the NVIDIA device a conventional clamshell laptop. An AMD Llano-powered laptop was also on display, as was an Intel-powered system. The ARM units all billed as development devices rather than anything that will reach the market, but show that the software is running on ARM-powered machines, and looks identical to its x86 counterpart.

The company also disclosed some of the hardware constraints that Windows 8 tablets will have to follow. To get the new interface, tablets will have to offer a resolution of at least 1024x768. Anything lower and they will be stuck with a derivative of the classic Windows 7 shell. Increasing the resolution from the 4:3 1024x768 to the 16:9 1366x768 will additionally enable the "snap" side-by-side multitasking view that was demonstrated.

Mention was also made of boot performance; UEFI systems with SSDs were described as being able to fully boot, from cold shutdown to the Start screen, in under six seconds. Wake from sleep will be instant.

[Spazosaurus]

I'm all for a nice touch friendly interface for the laptop, but i've used wp7 and words cannot describe how much I hate it. As win said, this seems to be wp7 meet w7. No amt of time will make me like it at all.

As long as there's a way to disable, i'm all good.

[MessiaaH]

I thinking d opposite, i want them to get rid of d traditional interface and migrate everything to metro. which will be d case as time moves on and ppl start coding things for windows 8. D original ui was left in for backward compatibility of apps.

Also, region blocked live services? which services in particular u talking about? d ones i use seem fine.

Also, epic winnage wtih d UI enhancements yes, slap dat on d a quad quallcom chip, and i can finally justify a tablet, but it have to be more powerful dan my netbook doh, i looking for a netbook replacement, not another device to lob around to check news.

Edit:

Capt Awesome, unfortunately i think you'll become d victim of microsoft monopoly.
Because obviously they going to phase out d windows 7 interface, and all apps will be running in tiles in windows 9. At which point you'll have no choice but to use it lolol, reguardless of how much u hate it.

Provided you still in gaming / i.t. field. We have no choice but to use windows.

[Arcmanov]

Definitely NOT a fan of that Metro UI.  Big, blocky and retarded...

I hope there's an option to turn that $#1t off.
Gimme my 'proper' desktop, thank you very much.  It aint that great just because Microsoft said so.

Other than that, seems like some big steps forward.

[W1nTry]

Provided you still in gaming / i.t. field. We have no choice but to use windows.

Not necessarily, he could become a budding Android programmer XD

[MessiaaH]

d entire world runs on windows, all business and compnaies, with a few macs mixed inbetween.
If you plan to be in dat field still, u have no choice but to use windows lol.

Also, games are built on xbox/ps3/wii/pc. If u want to stay in PC gaming, u have no choice but to use windows. or go stricktly console if u hate live tiles so much lol.

so as long as u want to remain in pc gaming / i.t. field (not android programming), u have no choice but to use windows.

[Spazosaurus]

The world does not revolve around windows, especially when you talking about the enterprise space. You may be shocked to see just how many enterprise systems run on unix based solutions.

But I don't see apps 'having' to adopt that interface style. Microsoft themselves develop the minority of apps that we all use today. They are going to have one hell of a fight to get EVERYONE to write apps to be friendly with that tile format. What are they then going to do with those apps/devs? Ban them?

The way I see it, ms have no choice but to retain the 'classic' interface for the foreseeable future of desktop computing (including laptops). They can go nuts with the tablets with that metro thing but they not mad enough to make that the only interface option across the board.

[MessiaaH]

no dey not mad enough right now, dey still need dey back catalog, but in d future, all it going to have is metro. Dey library juss to huge on win7 to do d same thign dey do on d phone, which is, ban dem. everybody had to code for d new environment.

and d tablet market is booming, apple rich becuase of it, developers would only naturally code for metro once tablets selling. in time when d library of metro apps get big enouhg, microsoft will remove everything else and go strictly metro. i not saying it going to happen tomorow. but it will happen. and every windows iteration that release after windows 8, go have more and more metro, and less and less classic.

And MS aim is to have a seemless expereince across desktops/laptops/tablets/phones.

Its only logical that's where d OS going, 1 across d board touch friendly os with services integrated.

[phoenix31tt]

@ capt...

1. we talking interface here... all those linux and unix systems you talking about are for webservers etc, anything on the Client side.. where UI is concerned is really Windows... we all know this... minority of companies (mainly designers) use Macs as their main clients

2. It seems that the majority of the programming world as well is loving the Metro UI, of course due to personal preferences not all users can be pleased... but developers love it because you can display so much more on tiles than icons etc, updates through tiles etc... its like and advanced version of widgets..

all in all... classic mode will not be like you want it.. because apps designed for Metro will not be able to function...
so u will have the option to go to classic to support legacy apps only.. whiles the new apps would use the Metro

[Spazosaurus]

Their idea of seamlessness may apply to some people but for the majority it will be a nuisance. They'd feel that this thing is being imposed upon them.

People were clamouring for a change in the winmo days hence they came out with wp7. No one is clamouring for change in the desktop arena. In enforcing that ui without the option of turning it off is going to alienate a lot of people.

For me, sure I HAVE to run windows for my gaming pc no question about it. But the possibility that I cannot turn that shit off WILL keep me up at night.

[W1nTry]

I agree and disagree with both sides, Capn could very well be a Unix/linux ONLY and make a hell of a living in the IT world, gaming as well, think of all the new developments in the gaming world with android and Apple OS. It's just a matter of degree, that's what yal seem to be forgetting, or rather you're only looking at it from the current main stay. NOT that Capn is/was/shal do what i'm saying, yal just sounding too iron clad XD

[MessiaaH]

i cannot believe, u call android and ios in d same sentence as gaming, dem shit is not games, dem is for d farmville croud. a real pc gamer, like capt awesome, not going to give dat up to play ah android or ios game, it is ludicrous. and u NOT! going to see A+ console/pc games showing up on dem platforms, im sure it have great games and gettin better, hell d unreal engine runs on d iphone. But hell, we talking bout proper games here lolol.
U just as well say, give up pc gaming and buy ah psp n or wahever d hell sony new handheld name. Which no true pc gamer going to do. when i say pc gamer i dont mean d solitere or farmville croud.

Also, as phoenix pointed out, on d client end, everybody using windows. Yuh have no choice but to use it too, or d client u servicing mite fix d shit faster than u, lolol.

And @ capt, yes, microsoft will force it on u, and it have nothing u can do about it. that is my point. ppl call for wp7 yes, as are ppl calling for windows 8, becuase dey want an alterantive to d ipad. so ppl ARE calling for this stuff. but d only way for d windows 8 slates to compete with d ipad seriously, is to take they library of apps with them. Having 2 OS, 1 for slate, 1 for desktop, makes no sense, as mac osx makes no sense. and MS deyself say dey looking for 1 platform across d board. in any event. becuase of microsfot monoploy, we just dont have ah dam choice. force fed and u have to eat it and hush lolol.

That sucks for ppl who dont like metro.
But d tons of ppl who do, couldnt be happier, im estatic at the new interface, and cant wait to totaly get rid of classic, and metro all d way!

[Spazosaurus]

One operating system with two different interfaces is very plausible as Google will demonstrate with Ice Cream Sandwhich in the coming months.

When installed on a tablet, win8 can look like the metro you all know and love because it is optimised for that form factor. Im saying it is dumb to make it the ONLY interface for desktop usage. Have it as ONE of them but make it switchable because for the ton of people who like metro, there's 10 tons that dont.