Microsoft works to prevent Windows 8 leaks as details of build 8064 emerge

By Tom Warren, on 17th Aug 11 1:28 pm with 56 Comments

Microsoft has reportedly locked down a number of Milestone 3 builds.

The company is preparing to release a Windows 8 Developer Preview at its BUILD conference next month and is reportedly taking steps to prevent leaks. Details of build 8064 emerged earlier this week but workers at Intel are reporting the following changes:

“IntelDistrib would like to announce the immediate availability of Windows 8 x86 Client Build 8039 for testing at Intel.

NOTE:
There are two changes to the EEAP builds starting with this EEAP that you should be aware of:

  • All OS installations using these builds will now require the unique key for the Windows Developer Preview. Installation with previous generic keys will no longer be supported. PRODKEY.TXT files containing generic keys will no longer be included in the build packages. You will have to get the New Product Key provided on the product site. This is a special key as part of the partnership Intel has with Microsoft.
  • The name of the EEAP builds in this package contain “FBL_EEAP” instead of “WINMAIN”. This change is a name change only, and will not affect your ability to download or use these builds in your testing.”

The introduction of unique product keys will assist Microsoft with any potential leaks but the lock down goes deeper. Posters at the My Digital Life forum have revealed that Microsoft is preventing typical DLL hacks that allow builds to unlock hidden features. The steps have likely been implemented to combat any further leaks of Windows 8 details before BUILD. One poster has revealed the following unofficial change list for build 8064:

  • A new wallpaper (5th generation)
  • A new BSOD (2nd generation) (back to blue with a smiley : ( )
  • A new bootscreen (2nd generation) (betta fish is gone)
  • A new installprep and WinPE look. (5th generation)
  • Internet Explorer 10 Developer Preview (pre release version) (with Internet Explorer 10 splashscreen)
  • A new colored “Windows” splashscreen during installprep loading file.
  • Immersive Remote Desktop (old)
  • Immersive Control Panel (old)
  • WinStore (old)
  • Windows 7 wallpaper deleted
  • New WiFi/Ethernet icons (old)
  • New Touch Keyboard icon
  • New genuine center (old)
  • Windows DVD Maker gone
  • Windows Media Center gone
  • New User avatar
  • New Advanced Security Setting tab (old)

OLD = Present in 80xx build

  • http://twitter.com/alexwilks88 Alex Wilks

    Windows Media Center gone

    This is pretty significant and, I’d imagine, a permanant change. Is Media Center as we know it completely dead (and Microsoft’s inbuilt TV tuner support) or are they gonna take the core features and add them into some Zune/Xbox branded 10ft interface package on the OS?

    • Anonymous

      If this is true, then that is a major bummer. I use WMC Extender for music and video every day with my Xbox without fail. I wonder if it is more due to the fact that Intel doesn’t need WMC for their testing purposes?

    • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/6G3ZZJCHOLYP3S5CRCIHQ7WDSE MVIM

      I’m thinking/hoping that maybe they’ve removed it because the eHome group might be working on an update to WMC for Windows 8. The WMC UI is already touch-friendly, but maybe they are looking at better integration with other MS products, as has been suggested. If that’s the case, maybe it’ll make a reappearance once alpha builds (or Microsoft’s equivalent of) start churning out.

    • http://twitter.com/ondraster Ondra Moravek

      I bet that WMP will be gone in W8 too and we will be left with Zune only – I myself don’t start WMP at all anymore, I use Zune all the time only.

    • http://twitter.com/ondraster Ondra Moravek

      I bet that WMP will be gone in W8 too and we will be left with Zune only – I myself don’t start WMP at all anymore, I use Zune all the time only.

    • http://twitter.com/ondraster Ondra Moravek

      I bet that WMP will be gone in W8 too and we will be left with Zune only – I myself don’t start WMP at all anymore, I use Zune all the time only.

    • President Baltar

      As would i if it had the same video playback capabilities, but sadly that’s not the case. I use Zune since the first UI revision (back then it was pretty much like the WMP with a Zune device-like skin) for music but WMP is my primary video player.

      I would be more than happy to use Zune for all media playback i do on my rig but for that Zune needs to evolve… and it needs to allow external codec installation.

    • President Baltar

      As would i if it had the same video playback capabilities, but sadly that’s not the case. I use Zune since the first UI revision (back then it was pretty much like the WMP with a Zune device-like skin) for music but WMP is my primary video player.

      I would be more than happy to use Zune for all media playback i do on my rig but for that Zune needs to evolve… and it needs to allow external codec installation.

    • President Baltar

      As would i if it had the same video playback capabilities, but sadly that’s not the case. I use Zune since the first UI revision (back then it was pretty much like the WMP with a Zune device-like skin) for music but WMP is my primary video player.

      I would be more than happy to use Zune for all media playback i do on my rig but for that Zune needs to evolve… and it needs to allow external codec installation.

    • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/6G3ZZJCHOLYP3S5CRCIHQ7WDSE MVIM

      True. That’s a deal breaker for me. I use Windows Media Center every day to record and watch TV. I was even thinking about throwing a second tuner in my “TV server” so that I could record two shows at once. But if Microsoft is going to remove WMC from Windows 8, I will be running Windows 7 for the foreseeable future.

    • President Baltar

      Really, no one in right mind can think that media center features will be absent in (the appropriate edition of) any future Windows.

      They might merge it with Zune, rebrand or redesign it, might just update it and continue under the same name but we all can be sure that WMC functionality will remain (and presumably extended).

    • Guest

      I sincerely hope so.  The trouble is Microsoft don’t make much in the way of revenue from WMC.  Live TV via XBOX is seen as the method for this and that can generate revenue.  If anything we may see a removal of OTA broadcast recording with Windows PCs (other than 3rd party products like Sage TV) and if Microsoft are going to provide anything, I suspect it will be the same service being offered to XBOX via IPTV based protocols.

    • http://profiles.yahoo.com/u/6G3ZZJCHOLYP3S5CRCIHQ7WDSE MVIM

      True. That’s a deal breaker for me. I use Windows Media Center every day to record and watch TV. I was even thinking about throwing a second tuner in my “TV server” so that I could record two shows at once. But if Microsoft is going to remove WMC from Windows 8, I will be running Windows 7 for the foreseeable future.

    • http://twitter.com/laserfloyd Lewis McCrary

      Thinking about it and it makes more sense to have one central media player.  We have WMP, WMC and Zune now.  Making an all-in-one solution would be ideal.  One that works in Win8 and talks to XBox.  So while it’s going away, I like to think something better is coming in to replacement.  As you mentioned, it’s so very laggy.  Great idea but argh… a pain at times.

    • http://twitter.com/laserfloyd Lewis McCrary

      Thinking about it and it makes more sense to have one central media player.  We have WMP, WMC and Zune now.  Making an all-in-one solution would be ideal.  One that works in Win8 and talks to XBox.  So while it’s going away, I like to think something better is coming in to replacement.  As you mentioned, it’s so very laggy.  Great idea but argh… a pain at times.

    • Anonymous

      no doubt XBOX is the new WMC and if they had a tv tunner, then it would be the final nail.

  • http://twitter.com/laserfloyd Lewis McCrary

    Wonder if that means WMC on XBox will be replaced as well?  It’s decent enough but it could stand to be improved a good bit.  I hope that’s in the works. :)

    • http://twitter.com/alexwilks88 Alex Wilks

      I don’t think they will. In my experience it was always a shoddy implementation of an excellent product; it took forever for even an experienced user like me to get working and then lagged like hell.

      The biggest problem though was that it was essentially a seperate UI and ‘portal’ which duplicated a lot of the functionality already built into the Xbox. I’m assuming and hoping that the next Xbox update will simply consolidate the Media Center Extender functionality into the standard UI as Microsoft seem to be moving towards a WebTV/streaming paradigm rather than network media access.

    • http://twitter.com/laserfloyd Lewis McCrary

      That’s how I felt about it.  Wondered why I needed to load up a whole other UI to run media from my PC.  Implementing it into the existing UI makes much more sense.  So, not a replacement as much as getting rid of it and making XBox capable of playing all the file formats (.avi, .mp4, .wmv, .mpg, etc) natively.

    • http://twitter.com/laserfloyd Lewis McCrary

      That’s how I felt about it.  Wondered why I needed to load up a whole other UI to run media from my PC.  Implementing it into the existing UI makes much more sense.  So, not a replacement as much as getting rid of it and making XBox capable of playing all the file formats (.avi, .mp4, .wmv, .mpg, etc) natively.

  • J A

    Its about time they start securing their development and partner OS access process. I must admit that even though it may be exciting to see these things before they are intended for public release, it must not be good in general for competition-sake.

    • Jinge

      I totally agree.Showing new functionalities allow competitors to get a 6 months dev than what they should have had.

    • Anonymous

      yes, specially when apple will then claim it was theirs first as the did with a lot of the vista stuff. microsoft was showing a hardware accelerated UI before apple did. then apple took the credit when they released it first.

    • Anonymous

      When did Microsoft unveil their window compositing stuff? I recall a presentation showing the wobbly windows thing but I thought that was from 2004 or so at the very earliest. OS X has had a composited UI since 2000 when Cheetah came out.

    • Anonymous

      Nope.  Go through ArsTechnica’s wonderful overview of OS X.  Heck one sec…let me dig up the link: http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2002/09/macosx-10-2.ars/8#qe Hardware acceleration didn’t really start (Apple had a rudimentary version of QE in 10.2) until 10.3 for some of OS X’s undercarriage.  But it was really 10.4 http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2005/04/macosx-10-4.ars/13 when things really took off.  Basically Apple gradually implemented what MS did in one OS release. Now whether that was smart to do that in one hit….no idea.  But its what happened.

    • Anonymous

      Well, it seems I was right in saying that OS X has had compositing since 2000 then — but I wasn’t correct to assume that it had made use of GPU acceleration since day one, so thanks for clearing that up. I’d forgotten that OS X is capable of doing compositing in software.

    • Anonymous

      Nope.  Go through ArsTechnica’s wonderful overview of OS X.  Heck one sec…let me dig up the link: http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2002/09/macosx-10-2.ars/8#qe Hardware acceleration didn’t really start (Apple had a rudimentary version of QE in 10.2) until 10.3 for some of OS X’s undercarriage.  But it was really 10.4 http://arstechnica.com/apple/reviews/2005/04/macosx-10-4.ars/13 when things really took off.  Basically Apple gradually implemented what MS did in one OS release. Now whether that was smart to do that in one hit….no idea.  But its what happened.

    • Anonymous

      Sorry dude I hate Apple but Apple started using GPU accelerated aspects of of UI back in 10.3 and more so in 10.4 which came out in 2005 well before Vista came out.  Apple WAS first.

    • Jinge

      I totally agree.Showing new functionalities allow competitors to get a 6 months dev than what they should have had.

  • http://twitter.com/surilamin surilamin

    I think microsoft has realized that you’re not going to have a dedicated computer hooked up to a tv.  Taking Win Media Center out of Windows is a good idea, and I hope it allows them to iterate more quickly.

    • Guest

      What makes you think that? Thousands of people have a dedicated PC hooked to their TV (ever heard of an HTPC??)

    • Anonymous

      Thousands as contrasted by hundreds of millions, doesn’t make for such a solid sales pitch.

    • Anonymous

      Thousands as contrasted by hundreds of millions, doesn’t make for such a solid sales pitch.

    • Anonymous

      % wise isn’t much. thus the killing of the feature. all that stuff just holds back windows.

    • Aaron

      I can understand removing it for the sake of space.  But if that is the case, then they should offer it as a free download because a lot of people love using MC.  I myself plan on converting my wife’s old desktop that she doesn’t use anymore into an HTPC.  I just wish they would update the netflix interface a little bit to more match their xbox version, since that is what we are use to.

  • Anonymous

    Windows Media Center = gone?!?!? Does this mean no more DVR?  If so, this blows hard.  That is the best DVR available!

    • http://twitter.com/mcakins McAkins Online

      Yes, sadly enough, the best is the least known. I have seen all the DVRs out there, they are all wannabees. Why do people hate Microsoft so much that even they avoid the most useful products emerging from MS Campus?

    • http://twitter.com/mcakins McAkins Online

      Yes, sadly enough, the best is the least known. I have seen all the DVRs out there, they are all wannabees. Why do people hate Microsoft so much that even they avoid the most useful products emerging from MS Campus?

    • Joe

      whAt?! This is awful news! I love WMC, its always been one of my favorite features of Windows. I hope they were looking at a tablet version or something, because if they release a full version with no WMC, it’ll be extremely intollerable 

    • Anonymous

      Crap.  Just setup a WMC box with a Ceton quad-tuner card this year.  I hope it’s just present in this specific build (perhaps a business version being used by Intel?). 

      Here’s hoping WMC is being improved, not killed, for Windows 8.  If it’s dead, that will really f-ing suck.

    • http://twitter.com/apseymour Andrew Seymour

      Personally, I think Zune will somehow become what was Media Center, I think it’s pretty shitty that they’ve built up the Media Center brand to an extent and all of a sudden are changing it. Would have been nice to see it evolve under that brand to the next stage.

    • Anonymous

      keep using the old one. it isn’t going ot decompile.

    • Anonymous

      true, but if it is missing then that means no further development. Besides, I like to keep my computers upgraded with the latest OS.

  • http://twitter.com/mcakins McAkins Online

    What most of you complaining about WMC removal don’t know is that the whole Windows8 UI is an evolution of the Mediacenter UI. It may be that Win8 has evolved to the point that there is no distinction anymore between its UI and WMC UI. You just need to add a tuner and out pops you Recorded TV sub-menu in the Player screen etc. We’ll see.

    • Peter

      Exactly, if the immersive interface has all the features of WMC right there, why would you want an extra app to do those things? TV Tile, DVD Tile, Pictures Tile etc. 
      Maybe you can navigate the Immersive interface with a remote too, maybe also with Kinect (the same interface on Xbox will have both navigation options, why not on Win 8)

    • http://twitter.com/laserfloyd Lewis McCrary

      I’m not concerned with it going away.  To me that means something better is coming to takes it’s place. :)

  • http://www.facebook.com/soundtweaker Dan Menapace

    Well they did announce WMC embedded coming in devices so Xbox is probably going to be one of them.

  • http://www.jeffkibuule.com Jeff Kibuule

    It doesn’t make sense to port the current WMC app when they’ve got a new development environment for Windows 8 apps. And there’s no way in hell Microsoft wants stuff like that to leak before they want to show it off (hence it not showing up in any leaked builds).

    • Anonymous

      besides who da heck wants old UI in the new windows. didn’t we have enough of this when you could still find windows 9x UI in vista. so long old UI.

  • tman

    God no, please. DE gone from WHS2011, and if WMC disappears from Win8, that will be it for me. Everything I record/watch and playback from static media is through WMC7. It’s probably one of the best, and most underrated, features of Windows. 

    Still, if MS can ignore tens of thousands of irate WHS users, then I guess they can ignore WMC users as well… (but lets hope not)

  • Anonymous

    Windows 8 build 8064 and changelog leak [screenshots] http://bit.ly/ndZYKE

  • Nawzil
  • Anonymous

    What’s “New Advanced Security Settings”? The permissions UI is being improved?

  • http://twitter.com/Zenun95 Zenun

    http://youtu.be/25WNlpo5wIIhere is a video of windows 8 build 8064 

  • http://jamesmsingleton.com/computerappcrash.html jimsing59

    I like it. I like the Windows Media Center UI but takes a few seconds to start up in Windows 7. With Windows 8, this is not an issue. Over the air TV via Media Center gives you the smartest TV around. I know some areas this might not work for you but cable is too expensive for the junk programs they show.

  • Anonymous

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