Archive for the ‘Windows 8’ Category

Over the course of the past week and a half, a couple of individuals from Microsoft have commented about Windows 8 in a rather excited manner. First, there was a blog entry on January 31, 2010 (which has since then been deleted) on an MSDN blog titled, “Whats in store for the next Windows?” It’s a great read from an obviously excited employee bursting at the seams to say SOMETHING about Windows 8 — or, as he referred to it as, “Windows.next.” Below is the article in its entirety prior to its deletion (which you can still find cached in Google here):

One of the great (or maybe not so great) things of being at Microsoft is that every other person wants to ask you why Windows works the way it does. Since I’m part of the Windows update team I get asked even more why does my machnie reboot everytime there is an update and why are there so many updates. So naturally once Windows 7 shipped, my friends, neighbours, relatives, and whoever else you can imagine started asking me So whats next?

 

Folks started asking me whats in Windows 8 – and the first thing I have to say is that I resonate Steven Sinofsky’s interview on who said we’re calling it Windows 8? I agree with Steven that till things are baked there is no point floating ideas since it leaves people frustrated when things don’t turn out the way they expected. The Windows team promised to deliver a smarter, faster and more user friendly OS with Windows 7 and they delivered just that – the latest quaterly results of Microsoft are a clear indication that Windows 7 has been a success and customers got what Microsoft had promised them! The plan is to use a similar approach for the next version of Windows and till things are finalized you’re not going to get a “marketing” name from us:)

 

So how am I referring to the next version of Windows without saying that many words – well simple – Windows.next:) This is definitely not the official version but a version that is becoming common along my circle. So what are our plans for this next version…

 

The minimum that folks can take for granted is that the next version will be something completly different from what folks usually expect of Windows – I am simply impressed with the process that Steven has setup to listen to our customers needs and wants and get a team together than can make it happen. To actually bring together dozens and dozens of teams across Microsoft to come up with a vision for Windows.next is a process that is surreal! The themes that have been floated truly reflect what people have been looking for years and it will change the way people think about PCs and the way they use them. It is the future of PCs…

 

Thats about it for this post for the time being – I know I’m not sharing much at this point but right now I can’t as we work towards finalizing that vision. Feel free to post your comments on what you think Windows.net should be like!

As if that wasn’t exciting enough, John Mangelaars, Regional VP of Consumer and Online at Microsoft EMEA, is quoted today on the website CIO as saying the following:

[Apple is] doing well on the PC side but Windows 7 is a blockbuster. We got it really right. For me, Windows 8 will be mind-blowing.

Hmm. It really makes you wonder just what in the heck Steven Sinofsky and crew are cooking up for Windows 8. With everything I’ve covered in regards to Windows 8 thus far, I would say it’s definitely shaping up to be an ambitious release. Past rumored plans were for Windows 8 to be a 64-bit-only release and I’m inclined to believe that’s exactly where they’re going to go with it — especially with the latest post-Windows 7 build 7700 screen shots being 64-bit.

So, what do you think? Just a bunch of hype from excited employees or something potentially “mind-blowing” and “completely different?” With Sinofsky at the helm again and the success Windows 7 has seen, I’m inclined to think the latter.

*Hat tip to Softpedia for their article yesterday.

-Stephen
http://www.msftkitchen.com

Well, it’s about that time again, boys and girls! The most exciting time for me as a Windows enthusiast and Microsoft journalist is the beginning stages of the next version of Windows. Though I’m certainly interested in other Microsoft products, Windows is the product I’m the most passionate about. As a matter of fact, I just wish Microsoft would do us both a favor and hire me on the Windows team to do what Robert Scoble did, *hint, hint*.

But in all seriousness, our favorite Russian site WZor leaked to the web a number of post-RTM Windows 7 screen shots. The build is 7700 and — from what it looks like to me — could quite possibly mark the official beginning of Windows 8 development. For those of you unfamiliar with the process, Microsoft typically keeps the current version of Windows tagging in the early builds of the next version. The build string usually changes to reflect the next version prior to anything else (wallpapers are infamously changed throughout Milestone progressions during development), but if this is indeed the start of Windows 8 development, even the string has remained unchanged.

Build String: 7700.winmain.100122-1900

I certainly hope WZor decides to leak the build as I would love to begin my longtime tradition of dual-booting the latest leaked build along with my main OS! Should you decide to begin such a tradition yourself — or even more daring, decide to replace your main OS with the latest leaks — be aware that there may be consequences to contend with. Easily, the most detrimental consequence during Windows 7’s development was the bug that corrupted MP3s… and that was in an officially-released beta build, too! But I’m putting the cart just a little bit ahead of the horse as all we have at the moment are these screen shots (which may actually not be the official beginning of Windows 8, but since they’re from the winmain lab and don’t have SP1 in the string, I feel I’m making a fairly safe assumption). Oh, and to add to it, the “beta fish” wallpaper that hasn’t been seen since earlier beta builds of Windows 7 is back in this build (thanks for pointing that out @Gilly2468!). Make of that what you will!

I have divided all of these screen shots into 3 separate sections: Client, Server, and Client w/Office 2010 RTM screen shots (WZor posted all of these in separate posts but for the sake of concision, I’m putting them all in this one post).

Build 7700 Client

 

Build 7700 Server

 

Build 7700 Client with Office 2010 RTM

Just to delve a bit deeper into the specifics of a build string, I want to shine a light on this really simple concept for those of you who aren’t quite sure what it means when you see one. This example is going to use the following build string: 7700.winmain.100122-1900

7700: This is the build number. It goes up incrementally with every build compiled. Sometimes, to mark a new milestone, Microsoft may skip a certain range of build numbers, i.e. moving from 7700 to 7710 without any builds compiled in-between.

 

winmain: This is the lab the build was compiled in. There are various labs where individuals, teams and branches can compile builds, but winmain is the main lab where all teams check their code in to have it all compiled into a more widely-distributed build.

 

100122: This is the date in format yyyy/mm/dd. So, in this string, the compile date is January 22, 2010.

 

1900: This is the time in military format. 1900 = 7:00 PM.

Altogether, the build string reads like a perfect little sentence: This is build 7700 and it was compiled in the winmain lab on January 22, 2010 at 7:00 PM.

Well, that does it for this extensive write-up. If you have any further questions regarding build strings or just some thoughts in general, please feel free to comment!

-Stephen
http://www.msftkitchen.com

With the latest news of estimated Windows 8, Windows Server 2012 and Office 2012 RTM dates, I was reminded of something I ran across a while back but never posted about. The Microsoft Windows 7 blog, Engineering 7, gained quite the following during its tenure. It was a way for Microsoft to be transparent about some of their thinking for Windows 7 and to gain valuable feedback from customers the world around. Well, thanks to an apparent placeholder page on MSDN, it appears Microsoft is going to do it again with Windows 8!

Engineering 8

Personally, I’m excited that Microsoft is choosing to go this route again with the development of Windows and for those of you who are also excited about it, be sure to add their blog feed so that if/when they start posting, you’ll be the first to know:

RSS 2.0: Click Here
Atom 1.0: Click Here

And I don’t know if the following form is connected to a live email address, but why not go ahead and show your interest for Windows 8 and the Engineering 8 blog by sending them a message? Who knows, maybe one of us will actually hear back from someone (doubtful, but you never know).

Engineering 8 Placeholder: TBD…

*It appears blog.prabir.me made this same observation back in October of 2009, so kudos to him for the initial find!

-Stephen
http://www.msftkitchen.com

*Thanks to Charon, a friend of mine from the Ma-Config.com blog, for sending me a note of this interesting find of his.

Chris Green, a Microsoft employee who appears to use his MSDN blog here-and-there, posted a rather telling product support lifecycle update on December 2, 2009. In it, he details not only the public information found on Microsoft’s product support lifecycle site, but he boldly goes where no one has gone before by mentioning not only Windows 8, but Windows Server “2012″ (Windows 8 Server) and Office “2012″ (Office 15)… with dates. Now, before I post these dates, it’s important to note two caveats that this information comes with. First, from Chris’ blog, found in his sidebar:

The content of this site are my own personal opinions and are not intended to represent my employer’s view. These postings are provided “AS IS” with no warranties, and confer no rights.

Likewise, at the bottom of every page of the PDF, it says the following:

This information is provided as a guide only and is likely to contain errors.

So, as is typically the case with information like this, treat with a grain of salt. With that said, here are the dates:

Windows 8:

 

RTM: Friday, July 1, 2011
Mainstream Support: Friday, July 1, 2011 – Thursday, July 1, 2016
Extended Support: Friday, July 1, 2016 – Thursday, July 1, 2021

Windows Server 2012 (Windows 8 Server):

 

RTM: Monday, July 2, 2012
Mainstream Support: Monday, July 2, 2012 – Friday, June 30, 2017
Extended Support: Monday, July 3, 2017 – Friday, July 1, 2022

Office 2012 (Office 15):

 

RTM: Monday, July 2, 2012
Mainstream Support: Monday, July 2, 2012 – Friday, June 30, 2017
Extended Support: Monday, July 3, 2017 – Tuesday, July 5, 2022

He also lists dates for some additional products, such as Exchange 2013, SharePoint Server 2013, SQL Server 2011, and more.

Random Screen Shot of the PDF

One thing to note is that he doesn’t specifically note RTM dates for those above, just an “estimated” full product support lifecycle. That said, much of what is publicly contained on that list has a mainstream support date that coincides exactly with the RTM date. An assumption, yes, but rather interesting to see these dates, none-the-less.

Now, rather odd is how he has the Office 2012 and Windows Server 2012 dates corresponding almost exactly — both contain the same RTM/Mainstream Support beginning date — while Windows 8’s dates are off by a full year. This observation lends to the notion that he didn’t simply jump ahead 2-3 years to the day of each current products’ RTM dates, i.e. Windows Server 2008 R2 and Windows 7 hit RTM status on the same date, yet Windows Server 2012 and Windows 8 are out-of-sync by a year per Chris’ “estimates.”

Personally, I’m not going to invest too much into this but I will certainly keep my eyes opened to the possibility of these dates being a current goal internally. Realistically, I can see them hitting the Windows 8 RTM date (the earliest of the 3 I detailed above)… especially given the time frame of Windows 7’s development. Of course, the tell-all sign will be if the document and/or MSDN post are mysteriously removed or altered within the next few days or so. If that happens, there there may just be more to these dates than simply estimation after all!

Source: Ma-Config.com Blog
Chris Green’s MSDN Blog: Click Here
Product Support Lifecycle Document: Click Here
Microsoft’s Product Support Lifecycle Site: Click Here

-Stephen
http://www.msftkitchen.com

It’s been a minute or two since any Windows 8 news hit the wire, but I just stumbled upon a rather old-yet-casual mention of a feature considered for Windows 8: System Restore. Now, before you say, “but System Restore has been around forever,” not a single Server version of Windows has come with System Restore implemented! XP’s System Restore could be ported to Windows Server 2003 (and presumably higher, perhaps), but aside from that, though it’s hard to believe, but it’s true. Anyway, the mention comes from a TAP Summit event that took place back in May of 2009 (like I said, a rather old mention). It seems the mention slipped through the cracks of the news media, but feel free to correct me if I’m wrong.

Customer: Thanks to Microsoft for driver isolation. System restore on a print server would have been great because print servers put drivers everywhere and there’s no uninstall.

 

Microsoft: System restore dates back to Windows ME but has never been in server. However, it’s under consideration for Windows 8.

We all know what “it’s under consideration” means, so don’t get your hopes up too high as of yet. Last I’ve heard, Windows 8 is still in its planning phase with no builds having been compiled yet, but that status may have changed. Thanks to Rafael’s crafty haxory, we now know Microsoft is about to go external with its Windows 7 SP1 testing, so things appear to be moving along rather smoothly.

To any of you system administrators who run Windows on your servers, would you find the inclusion of System Restore to be a much-needed addition or are you indifferent about it? Your opinions are the ones that really count where this is concerned, so I’d be interested in the feedback any of you would be willing to share.

Source: platformvision.com

-Stephen
http://www.msftkitchen.com

For those of you who aren’t familiar, Ron George is one of the UX talents on the Windows 8 planning team within Microsoft. That, in and of itself, is reason enough for this blog to keep up with his. Never mind the fact that he’s an innovator in his field. Today, Ron announced his paradigm shift in the world of UX: OCGM

Pronounced “Occam” as in, “Occam’s Razor,” the acronym stands for the following:

Objects: Objects are the core of the experience. They can have a direct correlation with something physical, or they can just be objects in the interface.

Containers: Containers will be the “grouping” of the objects. This can manifest itself in whatever the system sees fit to better organize or instruct the user on interactions. They do not have to be, nor should they be, windows. They can be any sort of method of presentation or relationship gathering as seen fit.

Gestures: Gestures are actions performed by the user that initiate a function after its completion and recognition by the system. This is an indirect action on the system because it needs to be completed before the system will react to it.

Manipulations: Manipulations are the direct influences on an object or a container by the user. These are immediate and responsive. They are generally intuitive and mimic the physical world in some manner. The results are expected and should be non-destructive. These are easily performed and accidental activations should be expected and frequent.

In other words, OCGM is Ron’s solution to the ever-growing problems present in today’s WIMP-dominated (Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointing Devices) world of human-computer interaction. To quote:

The WIMP interface is a slow dying breed as our demands on user experience and the demands of user’s keep inflating. It’s time to start thinking in a new direction. A direction that sheds many of the harnesses of the old acronym and begins to explain the building blocks of the future. It will be simple, concise, and cover all of the bases we need. There is no need to rely on pointing devices, menus, or windows anymore. It’s time to let the experience be the interface, and the user to be in total control. The interface will begin to blend in with the experience and the experience will be the interface.

I’d like to once again point out the fact that this guy is on the Windows 8 planning team. These are the types of people who drive true innovation, and when you can get them to apply their game-changing ideas to your product(s), good great incredible things can happen. It’s just nice to know that people like this are working on my favorite OS of choice. Feel free to go to Ron’s blog and let him know what you think. Give him your opinions and be honest. Sure, he might be a 6′6″ ex-Marine, but he welcomes feedback of all types with open arms.

Link: OCGM (pronounced Occam['s Razor]) is the replacement for WIMP

-Stephen
http://www.msftkitchen.com

Some of you may recall the leaking of several Windows 7 SP1 (Service Pack 1) builds prior to the final release of Windows 7. Naturally, those leaks — some as far back as June 2009 — sparked a lot of speculation as to the quality bar Windows 7 would RTM at. I mean, just prior to Windows 7’s final build, you start seeing SP1 builds and you can’t help but wonder if they’re in preparation to fix things they knew would be off-center in the final build, right? Well, sort of.

In light of an entry I recently stumbled upon on LinkedIn, I believe I’ve found the missing link which makes sense of the whole thing. And now that I’ve seen it, I can’t help but think to myself, “duh!” Okay, for starters, look at the build string in the following image:

Long story short, there were no crazy bug fixes starting to happen that Windows 7 RTM wouldn’t see. Those SP1 builds were compiled simply to test Windows 7’s service pack technologies and experience! I and so many others like me really looked waaaay too far ahead into what those builds could have possibly meant — only to miss the simplest (and most likely, I might add) of possibilities: Microsoft preparing and testing service pack technologies and processes.

In addition to the revelation above, there are farther-reaching implications this person on LinkedIn has made us privy to. To quote:

Efforts lead to an unprecedented state of servicing readiness for Windows. Windows 7 Service Pack technologies, processes & builds were ready over a year before release compared to Vista and previous OSes which did not reach that state of servicing readiness and quality for months after release.

Aside from stating the obvious, with the time it took to complete Windows 7, I suppose Windows 7 SP1 will also exceed expectations. And that’s a good thing.

Finally, there is also mention of Windows 8 planning:

Planning servicing quality goals, metrics, processes, and tools & technologies for Windows 8.

Good comedy would be to see a Windows 8 SP1 build leak prior to even a Windows 8 Milestone 1 build! At that point, I would have to say they were getting a bit *too* far ahead of the game, wouldn’t you? Anyway, I just thought I would share my findings and attempt to explain away some of the confusion created by those SP1 builds previously.

-Stephen
http://www.msftkitchen.com

Alright, it’s time for another trip down LinkedIn! This time, we’re heading back to the land of Windows 8 to see if there is anything new for us to dig up. Luckily, there appears to be plenty. Now, before I go into all of this, I’d like to remind all of you of the caveat that goes along with these LinkedIn posts: It’s very easy to create a fake LinkedIn profile and make it look genuine, so while most of what’s to follow is probably genuine, the potential is there for all of it to be fabricated. With that said, below are quoted passages from people’s profiles where Windows 8 is a point of mention. Below the quoted passages are links to the source profiles they’re derivative of.

Though some of the mentions below are ridiculously generic (I included them simply for the sake of including them), there are a couple of interesting mentions, such as the Windows 8 Runtime Experience Team and the Windows Desktop Graphics Team. Check ‘em out:

Worked as a Program Manager on the Desktop Graphics Team in the Windows Group. Responsible for documenting and analyzing a vast set of products and their interactions with each other. Also, analyzed these connections and how the products worked in order to determine problem areas and investigated how to correct these problems over a Windows 8 timeframe.

Source: Windows 8 on LinkedIn

Working in Windows Core Operating System Division. Design, develop and maintain automation for Windows Resource Monitor, Task Manager, System Monitor, MSConfig in Windows 7 and Windows 8 to ensure shipping product with high quality.

Source: Windows 8 on LinkedIn

Design and develop of several Windows 7 core libraries for the Font Managment System (C++ and C#). Currently participating on the Windows 8 planning process. Investigating, evaluating and proposing new features and prototypes.

Source: Windows 8 on LinkedIn

Windows 8 Test Sign-off Project Manager

Source: Windows 8 on LinkedIn

Windows 8 Planning.

Source: Windows 8 on LinkedIn

Working in the Deployment group of the Windows Core Operating Systems Division, I lead a team of SDETs working on a key technology used by a number of the deployment platforms (Setup, Windows Update, etc.). I manage the day-to-day assignments, strategic direction, and career development of the individuals on my team. I have 4 developers working here in Redmond and 2 additional at the Microsoft Canada Development Center in Richmond, British Columbia.

I am presently working on the Windows 7 release and expect to be working on Windows 8 as soon as this release is complete.

Source: Windows 8 on LinkedIn

I have joined the Windows 8 Runtime Experience team.

Source: Windows 8 on LinkedIn

Windows 8, Windows User Experience — Live Social and Media Experience

Source: Windows 8 on LinkedIn

Sept 2009 – Now: Windows 8 security
Oct 2007-Aug 2009: Driving and conducting Windows 7 Security Pentest for SDL Compliance

Source: Windows 8 on LinkedIn

Working with the Managed Services Development (MSD) team in support of the Microsoft Update (MU), Windows Update (WU) and Windows 8.

Source: Windows 8 on LinkedIn

Product Management and Marketing duties for Windows 7 and Windows Genuine brand. Product planning and market research Windows 8. Also helped launch Microsoft incubation product – SLPS (Software Licensing and Protection Services).

Source: Windows 8 on LinkedIn

Worked on possible Windows 8 features.

Source: Windows 8 on LinkedIn

Overall, nothing too terribly exciting, but it’s more than nothing, I suppose…

-Stephen
http://www.msftkitchen.com

Update: Thanks to Arnav for letting us know that the text has been removed from the article on Microsoft China’s website!

First and foremost, this post isn’t what I would call “news-worthy,” but it serves its purpose in my quest to gather every little tidbit of information that I can regarding Windows 8. I want to know what they’re going to focus on, what their overall goals are, how they’re going to meet those goals, and just what their plans are in general. With Microsoft still in the Windows 8 planning phase, all of these little references and casual mentions are like gold to me.

I recently stumbled upon a news entry regarding Windows 8 on Microsoft China’s website. The thing about it is that I have no idea what it’s getting at. I mean, I’ve done the whole Microsoft Translator and Google Translate, but even with comparing the differences, I can’t quite figure out what their 3,000 figure represents. Does it represent 3,000 peripherals that are being focused on? Does it represent 3,000 people who – in the end – provided some type of statistical/marketing data for the Windows team? Their reason for collecting the data for Windows 8 planning that they’ve mentioned is self-evident, but it’s that 3,000 figure that I just can’t quite put my finger on.

If any of you out there happen to speak Chinese fluently, I would love your input on exactly what this is all in reference to. Otherwise, what I’ve done here is provide screen shots of the original article, Microsoft’s translation, and Google’s translation. Discuss amongst yourselves!

Original Windows 8 Mention on Microsoft China

 

Microsoft’s Translation of Windows 8 Mention on Microsoft China

 

Google’s Translation of Windows 8 Mention on Microsoft China

 

Source: Microsoft China

-Stephen
http://www.msftkitchen.com

PS – Thanks to Long Zheng for initially taking a stab at the original article.

NOTE: Although I’ve been putting this post together for the past couple of weeks, I noticed (today, via thevista.ru) that ArsTechnica posted a few of these already, so credit where credit’s due; I don’t want anyone to feel that I’ve ripped their content/idea.

True to form, I’ve been whittling my time away scanning through resumes and job listings to find any interesting bits of information I can on Windows 8. Interestingly enough, the Windows 8 jobs on Microsoft’s career site are fruitful! If you want to be a part of the next version of Windows, you may just want to have a look at some of these job listings to see if you qualify. But if you’re like me, all you’re really interested in is any and every little piece of information that can be extracted from things like this. I’ll just post the whole job description and you can then visit the links below them should you be interested in viewing the qualifications. A few of these aren’t listed on the Microsoft Careers site any longer, so I’ve linked to their Google cache pages. Let’s dig in!

Job Category: Software Engineering: Program Management
Location: United States, WA, Redmond
Job ID: 706807 9435
Product: Windows
Division: Windows Division

Are you ready to get closer to Microsoft’s best customers and biggest partners while staying in a highly technical role? The new Ecosystem Fundamentals team in Windows is hiring a Senior PM to work closely with OEMs driving continued increases in performance and reliability while providing tools, testing, training and telemetry. The successful candidate for this critical role will ride the Windows 7 wave of success to enabling continued improvements into the ecosystem. This work includes Windows 8 planning, OEM tool and kit ownership, performance testing and analysis focused on improving the hardware/software ecosystem while working closely with OEMs, ODMs, ISVs, and IHVs in order to strengthen Windows partnerships. Now is the time to move into a great role centered in the Windows group and focused on customer satisfaction improvements based on solid engineering.

 

Source: Windows 8 Jobs on Microsoft Careers Site

Job Category: Operations
Location: United States, WA, Redmond
Job ID: 707521 9522
Division: Microsoft Business Division
Job Title: Sr. Manager, Partner Skills Development – Launch Lead
Group: Worldwide Partner Group (WPG)
Division: Small Medium Solutions and Partners (SMS&P)
Location(s): Redmond, WA

Do you want to work in a group that you know is strategic to Microsoft’s growth plans? Do you want to have impact on a global scale? Come join the Worldwide Partner Group. Partners generate more than 90% of Microsoft’s $40 billion in annual revenue, and at more than 650,000 partners strong, Microsoft has the largest, and best, channel in the industry. Be a part of the team that is driving significant business impact by evolving the Microsoft Partner Program (MSPP) to maximize the leverage of this strategic asset.

Job Purpose/Overview: Do you want to help ready the entire partner ecosystem on all the new Microsoft products and solutions? The Partner Skills Development Team is looking for a senior thought leader and skilled project/product manager to ensure the health of the partner ecosystem through the strategic evolution skills development framework (and its execution) for upcoming Microsoft product launches. For example, in Fy10, the focus will be on Windows Server R2, SQL Server R2, and Wave 14 (Office 2010, SharePoint 2010, and Exchange 2010) and, as we head into Fy11, the focus will quickly switch to Windows 8. In this role you will lead the execution of partner skills development BOMs – by partner type for the entire partner ecosystem – on a WW basis. This role with interact with and influence individuals from across Microsoft, including individuals within the Worldwide Partner Group, Microsoft Learning, SMSGR, the product groups (BGs), Operations, and partner segment teams with SMSG.

 

Source: Windows 8 Jobs on Microsoft Careers Site

Job Category: Software Engineering: Test
Location: United States, WA, Redmond
Job ID: 708266 9676
Product: Windows
Division: Windows Division

Do you want to be on the cutting edge of detecting the latest security threats in the wild? Are you passionate about improving customers’ perception of Windows reliability and performance? Do you want to help our ISVs better understand how they can make their software more secure and reliable? If so, the Detection, Control, and Measurement (DCM) team is for you! The DCM team is dedicated to improving the reliability, security, performance and privacy of Windows by helping to “Detect” inbox issues, “Control” failures, and “Measure” issues and relaying that information back to Microsoft so action can be taken. Some of the core technologies in this team include Windows Error Reporting clients (WER aka Watson/Kernel Crash), Reliability Analysis Component (RAC), Perftrack, and SQM.

The Windows Fundamentals Reliability, Security and Privacy (ReSP) team will improve the quality of Windows 8 

Source: Windows 8 Jobs on Microsoft Careers Site

The following job is no longer on the Microsoft Careers site as you will read it below, but then below it, I’ve linked to a revised version of the job where they removed the reference to Windows 8. What it has to offer via its description fits the bill for the other references I’ve noted regarding Windows 8 containing a new UI/UX framework. Check it out:

Job Category: Software Engineering: Development
Location: United States, WA, Redmond
Job ID: 705541 9266
Product: (Not Product Specific)
Division: Server & Tools Business

Windows Server is the top-selling server operating system and is growing share in a growing market. Central to the success of Windows Server is the experience of IT Professionals managing Windows Server. For our next release, we are taking that experience to the next level by helping to make IT Professionals more effective and more productive by shipping a product they will love to use.

We work closely with UX and a passionate PM & Test team to deliver world-beating user experiences for managing Windows Servers. For Windows 8 Server, we are planning, architecting and building a new UX framework around themes that are key to the success of the entire Server product line.

We are looking for a Software Development Engineer experienced in UI Design to help lead, architect, write code, and deliver the next generation of Server Management experiences. In this role, you will report directly to the Development Manager, oversee and help architect the new design, and work closely with many other teams delivering in Windows Server. You will take on the challenge of bridging the existing with the new and have an understanding and appreciation of both user interaction design and systems software. You will also have a record of technical leadership, good planning, and shipping world-class software.

 

Source: Windows 8 Jobs on Microsoft Careers Site

Same job, revised description:

Job Category: Software Engineering: Development
Location: United States, WA, Redmond
Job ID: 705541 9266
Product: (Not Product Specific)
Division: Server & Tools Business
Windows Server is the top-selling server operating system and is growing share in a growing market. Central to the success of Windows Server is the experience of IT Professionals managing Windows Server. For our next release, we are taking that experience to the next level by helping to make IT Professionals more effective and more productive by shipping a product they will love to use.

We work closely with UX and a passionate PM & Test team to deliver world-beating user experiences for managing Windows Servers. We are looking for a Software Development Engineer experienced in UI Design to help lead, architect, write code, and deliver the next generation of Windows Server Management experiences. In this role, you will oversee and help architect the design, and work closely with many other teams delivering in Windows Server. You will take on the challenge of bridging the existing with the new and have an understanding and appreciation of both user interaction design and systems software. You will also have a record of technical leadership, good planning, and shipping world-class software.

 

Source: Windows 8 Jobs on Microsoft Careers Site

Job Category: Software Engineering: Test
Location: United States, WA, Redmond
Job ID: 705576 8240
Product: Windows
Division: Windows Division

The Application Experience Bug Investigation Team, AEBit, is looking for passionate SDETs that want to make an impact on Windows 8. On the AEBit team you will get the unique opportunity to challenge and grow your debugging skills on issues that span the entire OS. You will have the opportunity to engage with software vendors, OEMs, as well as internal component teams. You will also be applying and enhancing your knowledge of system internals. As part of the AEBit team you will be responsible for driving and ensuring compatibility in Windows by engaging with component teams, root causing application bugs, and authoring mitigations. If you are a strong SDET looking for a challenge we would like to hear from you.

 

Source: Windows 8 Jobs on Microsoft Careers Site

Job Category: Software Engineering: Program Management
Location: United States, WA, Redmond
Job ID: 704634 7887
Division: Server & Tools Business

The Internet Information Services (IIS) team is redefining how the web technology stack is delivered to the customers. We are simplifying how developers, IT pros, and hosters consume our technology by managing the end-to-end experience from development to deployment. We build both technologies and solutions – whatever it takes to do the right thing for customers and Win The Web. Customer empathy is a deep core value at IIS. We are also an extremely agile team that frequently ships projects out-of-band to adapt to ever changing Internet environment.

IIS team is looking for an experienced PM to join our core platform team. Your role will span across driving key features into Windows 8 as well as owning several out-of-band modules, including web analytics that will bring business intelligence for the customers that host applications and contents on IIS. Your work will help differentiate IIS and Smooth Streaming from Apache and Flash. You should also be ready to work in a fast-paced environment and have a strong desire for quality, security, and performance. Your feature will be used by millions of customers.

 

Source: Windows 8 Jobs on Microsoft Careers Site

Job Category: Software Engineering: Development
Location: United States, WA, Redmond
Job ID: 701629 7857
Division: Server & Tools Business

This is a great time to join us. Our team owns the Windows Update Client and our code delivers software and updates to over 600 million computers. We just finished up work on Windows 7, and are pushing forth on Windows 8 planning and preparation. There are opportunities to work on a number of hard problems, including third-party application updating, updating virtual machines while they’re turned off (turns out this is pretty hard!), and delivering full applications, among others. To help us charge full steam on these fronts, we are looking for skilled and passionate software engineers.

As part of this team, you will help shape Windows 8. Components of our code include a core agent that runs as an NT service, an API layer and a UI application. We talk to the update servers using web services and we have special protocols in place to deal with the massive scale of the system.

 

Source: Windows 8 Jobs on Microsoft Careers Site

Categoría de puesto: Ingeniería de software: Administración de programas
Ubicación: Estados Unidos, WA, Redmond
Identificador de puesto: 704658 7918
Producto: Windows Live
División: Windows Division

The Windows Live Mail team is looking for a seasoned Lead Program Manager to drive our next generation Mail client, and manage five stellar PMs. Our client has over 40M users world-wide, and serves as a key component of our Windows Live “light up Windows” strategy. Our current release is centered on hot new consumer features & better synergies with Hotmail & Windows 7, and our future releases will likely be tightly designed to work best with new Windows 8 platform technologies. We will also work closely with the Outlook team on ways to bring Windows Live to Outlook. Mail is part of the WL Desktop Communications team, which also includes Messenger. Our team values user-centered design, technical and engineering excellence, and attention to detail.

 

Source: Windows 8 Jobs on Microsoft Careers Site

Job Category: Software Engineering: Test
Location: United States, WA, Redmond
Job ID: 706152 8921
Division: Windows Division

The Windows International Test OOB (Out of Band) team is handling a variety of International test projects including Windows Small Business Server (SBS), Home Server, stand-alone out of band releases for Windows 7/Windows 8, and down-level support packages requested by different business divisions by utilizing a state-of-the art vendor outsourcing model.

As a team member in this position, you will write test plans for World-Readiness- (Globalization & Localizability) as well as Localization Testing, and develop and manage test tools and guidelines. You will also perform globalization code reviews as part of the OOB process using tools and globalization guidelines. In addition, you will have to engage with Program Managers, Developers, International Project Managers and partner SDETs to collaborate on specification reviews, scheduling as well as budgeting and planning.

Test execution will be done by vendor test resources in Beijing, China, so management of remote vendor resource will also be required.

 

Source: Windows 8 Jobs on Microsoft Careers Site

Job Category: Software Engineering: Test
Location: United States, WA, Redmond
Job ID: 705477 8195
Division: Windows Division

The TAG team provides the foundation services and infrastructure to support a unified test and dev workflow. This team’s charter includes – developing and running a unified test submission and execution system for Windows 8, Automating Test pass scheduling & execution, results analysis & automated triage, Windows code coverage services, Developing and running the eBVT quality gate, supporting WinSE’s Windows 7 sustained engineering test needs.

This is an exciting time to join the Test Automation and Gates team and lead the next wave of foundation services and infrastructure to ensure delivery of a high quality product. With openings across the team, there’s sure to be the perfect opportunity suited to your specific passion and enthusiasm.

You’ll lead a team of highly talented SDETs and partner closely with members of both the development and program management teams to design and test new features, develop tools & automation, and enhance the overall test infrastructure. Your team will be responsible for writing test plans & test cases, performing ad hoc, manual, and automated testing, filing bug reports, and interacting with internal partners.

 

Source: Windows 8 Jobs on Microsoft Careers Site

Job Category: Software Engineering: Test
Location: United States, WA, Redmond
Job ID: 706479 8820
Division: Windows Division

Have you seen just how many people wrote, talked, chatted, or blogged about the User Interface of Windows 7 when it was released? Did you realize how exciting this new UX was for millions of Microsoft’s customers? Did you notice that most articles about Windows 7 covered mainly the User Interface features and performance, because they provide tremendous value, and are right in front of your eyes as soon as you boot your machine the very first time? Do you have ideas how to make this experience even more powerful, slick and cool? Now this is your opportunity to be part of the action! Join the Windows Serviceability UX test team to ensure that the growing customer base of Windows 7 will enjoy the highest possible quality and performance for all the Shell features and continues to have a robust UX.

The WinSE UX test team needs an strong SDET to develop new test automation, write robust test plans, designing test cases, debug reported issues across Windows Shell and related UX, help establish sound test engineering processes, and influence and contribute to the serviceability of Windows 8. As an SDET on this team, you’ll design, implement, and execute various types of test automation, including functional, integration and release tests. You will also have several opportunities to write test tools, and work on security bugs, and will be interacting with PM and Dev counterparts in a dev/test/pm trio, and various partner teams. In this team, you will have an opportunity to ship important updates for Windows to solve critical reliability, performance and security issues via the Windows Update mechanism. This position requires strong communication and collaboration skills, and a drive for results. Overall, this position is best suited for a strong SDET looking for an opportunity to showcase your skills and innovate.

 

Source: Windows 8 Jobs on Microsoft Careers Site

Job Category: Software Engineering: Test
Location: United States, WA, Redmond
Job ID: 706151 8640
Division: Windows Division

The Windows Engineering System Test Execution Services (TEX) team is looking for a passionate Software Operations Engineer who will help drive our charter of providing test execution services to the Windows organization. Our team is currently organized in a tiered structure. We need a dedicated professional who will manage the tier 1 vendor pool consisting of about 12 vendors evenly split between Redmond and China. The challenges are big (drive test execution to ship Windows 8) and so are the responsibilities.

 

Source: Windows 8 Jobs on Microsoft Careers Site

As you can see, there is no shortage of jobs regarding Windows 8 planning. If the past, in conjunction with this new post, are of any indication, the job posts are only just beginning. From everything I’ve read thus far, it sounds like Windows 8 is going to be a fairly large undertaking. I’m excited by the thought of what they may produce in this next major revision of Windows! With that said, that pretty much does it for this post. I have much more to post in the near future, so stay tuned!

-Stephen
http://www.msftkitchen.com