Re: Torrent Windows 8 Consumer Preview Activator V10 13
Tanesha Prately
Windows 11 features major changes to the Windows shell influenced by the canceled Windows 10X, including a redesigned Start menu, the replacement of its "live tiles" with a separate "Widgets" panel on the taskbar, the ability to create tiled sets of windows that can be minimized and restored from the taskbar as a group, and new gaming technologies inherited from Xbox Series X and Series S such as Auto HDR and DirectStorage on compatible hardware. Internet Explorer (IE) has been replaced by the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge as the default web browser, like its predecessor, Windows 10, and Microsoft Teams is integrated into the Windows shell. Microsoft also announced plans to allow more flexibility in software that can be distributed via the Microsoft Store and to support Android apps on Windows 11 (including a partnership with Amazon to make its app store available for the function).
Citing security considerations, the system requirements for Windows 11 were increased over Windows 10. Microsoft only officially supports the operating system on devices using an eighth-generation Intel Core CPU or newer (with some minor exceptions), a second-generation AMD Ryzen CPU or newer, or a Qualcomm Snapdragon 850 ARM system-on-chip or newer, with UEFI and Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 supported and enabled (although Microsoft may provide exceptions to the TPM 2.0 requirement for OEMs). While the OS can be installed on devices with unsupported processors, Microsoft does not guarantee the availability of updates. Windows 11 removed support for 32-bit x86 and ARM CPUs, and devices that use BIOS firmware.
Windows 11 has received a mostly positive reception. Pre-release coverage of the operating system focused on its stricter hardware requirements, with discussions over whether they were legitimately intended to improve the security of Windows or as a ploy to upsell customers to newer devices, and over the e-waste associated with the changes. Upon release, it was praised for its improved visual design, window management, and stronger focus on security, but was criticized for various modifications to aspects of its user interface that were seen as worse than its predecessor; some were seen as an attempt to dissuade users from switching to competing applications.[17]
As of May 2024[update], Windows 11, at 25.65% worldwide,[18] is the second most popular Windows version in use, with its predecessor Windows 10 at 2.5 times the market share. Windows 11 has an estimated 19.75% share of all PCs (the rest being other Windows editions and other operating systems such as macOS and Linux), and an estimated 7.8% share of all devices (including mobile, tablet and console)[19] are running Windows 11.
To comply with the Digital Markets Act, Microsoft is allowing users in the European Economic Area to remove the Edge browser, Bing search engine, and advertisements to comply with users' interests.[20][21][22]
At the 2015 Ignite conference, Microsoft employee Jerry Nixon stated that Windows 10 would be the "last version of Windows".[23][24] The operating system was considered to be a service, with new builds and updates to be released over time.[25] PC World argued that the widely reported comment was however taken out of context, noting that the official event transcript marks it only as a segue rather than a core part of the talk. It argues that Nixon was referring to the fact that he could talk freely at the event because 10 was the last version in current development.[26]
In October 2019, Microsoft announced "Windows 10X", a future edition of Windows 10 designed exclusively for dual-touchscreen devices such as the then-upcoming Surface Neo. It featured a modified user interface designed around context-sensitive "postures" for different screen configurations and usage scenarios, and changes such as a centered taskbar and updated Start menu without Windows 10's "live tiles". Legacy Windows applications would also be required to run in "containers" to ensure performance and power optimization. Microsoft stated that it planned to release Windows 10X devices by the end of 2020.[27][28][29]
In May 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, Panos Panay, Microsoft's chief product officer for Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office, stated that "as we continue to put customers' needs at the forefront, we need to focus on meeting customers where they are now", and announced that Windows 10X would only launch on single-screen devices at first, and that Microsoft would "continue to look for the right moment, in conjunction with our OEM partners, to bring dual-screen devices to market".[30][31]
In October 2020, reports emerged that Microsoft was working on a user interface refresh for Windows 10 codenamed "Sun Valley", scheduled to be included in a late-2021 feature update codenamed "Cobalt". Internal documentation stated that the aim for "Sun Valley" was to "reinvigorat[e]" the Windows user interface and make it more "fluid", with a more consistent application of WinUI, while reports suggested Microsoft planned to adapt UI elements seen in Windows 10X.[32] In January 2021, it was reported that a job listing referring to a "sweeping visual rejuvenation of Windows" had been posted by Microsoft.[33]
By December 2020, Microsoft had begun to implement and announce some of these visual changes and other new features on Windows 10 Insider Preview builds, such as new system icons (which also included the replacement of shell resources dating back as far as Windows 95),[34] improvements to Task View to allow changing the wallpaper on each virtual desktop, x86-64 emulation on ARM, and adding the Auto HDR feature from Xbox Series X.[35][36][37]
On May 18, 2021, Head of Windows Servicing and Delivery John Cable stated that Windows 10X had been canceled and that Microsoft would be "accelerating the integration of key foundational 10X technology into other parts of Windows and products at the company".[38]
At the Microsoft Build 2021 developer conference, CEO and chairman Satya Nadella teased about the existence of the next generation of Windows during his keynote speech. According to Nadella, he had been self-hosting it for several months. He also teased that an official announcement would come very soon.[39] Just a week after Nadella's keynote, Microsoft started sending invitations for a dedicated Windows media event at 11:00 a.m. ET on June 24, 2021.[40][41] Microsoft also posted an 11-minute video of Windows start-up sounds to YouTube on June 10, 2021, with many people speculating both the time of the Microsoft event and the duration of the Windows start-up sound video to be a reference to the name of the operating system as Windows 11.[42][43]
On June 24, 2021, Windows 11 was officially announced at a virtual event hosted by Chief Product Officer Panos Panay.[41][44][45] According to Nadella, Windows 11 is "a re-imagining of the operating system".[46] Further details for developers such as updates to the Microsoft Store, the new Windows App SDK (code-named "Project Reunion"), new Fluent Design guidelines, and more were discussed during another developer-focused event on the same day.[47][48][49]
The Windows 11 name was accidentally released in an official Microsoft support document in June 2021.[50][51] Leaked images of a purported beta build of Windows 11's desktop surfaced online later on June 15, 2021,[52][53] which were followed by a leak of the aforementioned build on the same day.[54] The screenshots and leaked build show an interface resembling that of the canceled Windows 10X, alongside a redesigned out-of-box experience (OOBE) and Windows 11 branding.[55] Microsoft would later confirm the authenticity of the leaked beta, with Panay stating that it was an "early weird build".[56][57]
At the June 24 media event, Microsoft also announced that Windows 11 would be released in "Holiday 2021".[58][59] Its release will be accompanied by a free upgrade for compatible Windows 10 devices through Windows Update.[60] On June 28, Microsoft announced the release of the first preview build and SDK of Windows 11 to Windows Insiders.[61]
On August 31, 2021, Microsoft announced that Windows 11 was to be released on October 5, 2021.[62] The release would be phased, with newer eligible devices to be offered the upgrade first.[8] Since its predecessor Windows 10 was released on July 29, 2015, more than six years earlier, this is the longest time span between successive releases of Microsoft Windows operating systems, beating the time between Windows XP (released on October 25, 2001) and Windows Vista (released on January 30, 2007).[63]
The first television commercial for Windows 11 premiered during the 2021 NFL Kickoff Game on September 9, 2021; it was intended to showcase a "feeling of immersion and fluidity", with imagery of operating system features and Xbox Game Studios' Halo Infinite.[64] Other promotional campaigns on release day included the Burj Khalifa in Dubai being illuminated with imagery of the Windows 11 logo and default "Bloom" wallpaper,[65] and Mikey Likes It ice cream parlors in New York City distributing free cups of "Bloomberry" ice cream.[66][67]
Though a support document listed October 4, 2021, as the initial release date,[68] Microsoft officially released Windows 11 on October 5, 2021,[8][69] as an opt-in, in-place upgrade through either the Windows 11 Installation Assistant application (which can perform the upgrade, or generate an ISO image or USB install media), or via Windows Update in a phased rollout; Microsoft anticipated that Windows 11 would be available via Windows Update to all eligible devices by mid-2022.[70][71][72] New installations of Windows 10 on eligible hardware may present an option to upgrade during the OOBE.[73] Retail copies of Windows 11 (consisting of a license key and USB flash drive) were released on May 9, 2022,[74][75] and digital licenses became available via Microsoft Store on July 28, 2022.[76] As of October 11, 2023, around two years after the release date of Windows 11, users are no longer able to use Windows 7 or Windows 8/8.1 keys to activate Windows 11.[77]
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