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Windows For Devices
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This mystifying behavior on the part of Windows 8 led this author to do several operating system reinstalls before searching for an answer to the problem online. As it turns out, many other testers reported, Metro-style apps just will not load if a device's real (or virtual) screen resolution isn't at least 1024 x 768 pixels.
Now, that limitation has been officially confirmed by Microsoft, via a Oct. 4 posting on the Building Windows 8 blog. Group Program Manager Alice Steinglass writes, "As a reminder, Windows 8 requires a 1024 x 768 minimum resolution for Metro-style apps."
"As long as your screen is at least 1366 pixels wide, you can use snap to show two apps at once," Steinglass adds. "We're aware of the feedback about lack of diagnostic information other than the published system requirements on the download page -- rest assured we are working on making this clearer."
Microsoft hasn't commented on why the "chromeless" Metro-style apps (such as the Internet Explorer browser, pictured above) couldn't be made to work in lower resolution. But from Steinglass' remarks, it appears the 1024 x 768 limitation will be baked into the final version of Windows 8, not just the Developer Preview.
Windows 8's resolution requirement for Metro-style apps means future designers of smaller tablets (and, potentially, even smartphones using the "desktop" OS) will have to make sure their devices pack enough pixels. But, it may also disappoint many users who've purchased Windows 7 netbooks or tablets they hoped would be upgradeable to Microsoft's successor operating system.
The problem arises from that fact that most netbooks still feature screens that are limited to 1024 x 600 pixels. Thus, while they're otherwise technically capable of running Windows 8, they won't run Metro-style apps.
And in order to realize manufacturing economies, many Windows tablets employed the same low-end panels. We wouldn't venture a complete list of those that are limited to 1024 x 600, but recent examples covered by WindowsForDevices.com include the revamped Archos 9, the Gigabyte S1080, and ruggedized professional devices such as the Handheld Algiz 7 or X2 X2372 (below).
Perhaps with its own restrictions in mind, Microsoft sells only Windows tablets that feature higher resolution in its own online store. Examples range from the $549 Acer Iconia Tab W500, with a resolution of 1280 x 800 pixels, to the $1,299 Samsung Series 7 Slate, with a resolution of 1366 x 768 pixels.
As for netbooks, some newer models do sport 1366 x 768 pixel screens, but most still don't. Caveat emptor.
Microsoft's note about the resolution requirement was just part of a lengthy posting by Steinglass -- mostly devoted to a defense of how the Start Menu (Windows 7 version pictured) has been altered in Windows 8.Namely, the list of programs that used to appear in a scrollable, text-based list has been replaced by the full-screen, Metro-style Start page pictured earlier in this story. (And, disconcertingly for some, that's the case even when Windows 8 is being used in traditional desktop mode, as seen below.)
In her posting, Steinglass wrote:
"After studying real world usage of the Start menu through a variety of techniques, we realized that it was serving mainly as the launcher for programs you rarely use. As more and more launching takes place from the task bar, the Start menu looks like a lot of user interface for programs you don't use very frequently. And the Start menu is not well-optimized for this purpose. It affords limited customization, provides virtually no useful information, and offers only a small space for search results."
And, she further added, "the average PC is cluttered with a large array of system tray notifications, a long list of folders and shortcuts for installed software, and applets in numerous places in the system, all begging for your attention."
Therefore, she writes, the Windows 8 Start screen is designed to be not only a customizable program launcher, but also "a connected dashboard that keeps you in touch with all the apps, activities, places, and people you care about." Cited advantages of the new design include the following:
When researching this story, we discovered that the latest release of Oracle's Virtual Box hypervisor -- updated to version 4.14 on Oct. 3 -- now provides "guest extensions" that are mostly compatible with Windows 8. These are drivers that improve mouse behavior within a virtual machine, allow cutting-and-pasting information to and from a host, and provide access to shared folders.
The extensions previously provided with VirtualBox were intended for Windows 7 and would not install into a Windows 8 Developer Preview guest. Oracle doesn't mention the expanded compatibility in its extensive VirtualBox 4.1 changelog, perhaps because some issues still remain.
We found, for example, that the Oracle-provided graphics driver still refuses to install in Windows 8. As a result, it's not yet possible to dynamically resize the screen of a Windows 8 guest, nor can a dual-monitor setup be created.
Jonathan Angel can be reached at jonathan.angel@ziffdavisenterprise.com and followed at www.twitter.com/gadgetsense.
