While dropped wireless links can be frustrating, what may also be even more traumatic is the method of trying to reconnect a pc or cellular device to a network after the sign is misplaced or whilst the host gadget is resuming from standby. to reduce some of that ache, Microsoft says it’s development applied sciences into home windows eight in order to get users onto a wi-fi community in as low as one 2d.
by contrast, it takes home windows 7 about 12 2ds on moderate to get customers again online, in line with Microsoft.
Windows 8 can “reconnect you faster to your preferred Wi-Fi networks by optimizing operations in the networking stack, and providing your network list, connection information, and hints to your Wi-Fi adapter,” said Billy Anders, a group program manager on Microsoft’s devices and networking team, in a blog post.
Windows 8 accomplishes speedy reconnections in part by more efficiently storing users’ preferences for certain networks, security, and speed settings, and feeding that data to connectivity hardware. “Now when your PC resumes from standby, your Wi-Fi adapter already has all the information it needs to connect to your preferred Wi-Fi networks,” said Anders.
Microsoft is also building other new features into Windows 8 that should make it easier for users to manage wireless networks. Many of the new features and settings, such as Airplane Mode, appear to be designed with tablets in mind. “The new Windows 8 network settings allow you to turn individual radios on and off (Wi-Fi, mobile broadband, or Bluetooth), as well as disable all radios at once with the new ‘airplane’ mode,'” said Anders.
Other new features that show Microsoft wants Windows 8 to be as at home on tablets as it is on laptops and PCs include tools that help users ensure that they don’t suffer from “bill shock” on their monthly statements from wireless carriers. “We assume that mobile broadband networks have restrictive data caps with higher overage costs (vs. Wi-Fi), and adjust networking behavior with these metered networks accordingly,” said Anders.
Among other things, Windows 8 will automatically disconnect users from a mobile broadband network and connect to a presumably less expensive Wi-Fi network when the latter is available.
It’s also providing tools that developers can use to build applications that can sense whether they’re on Wi-Fi or on a broadband network, and adjust their behavior accordingly. For instance, a video application could switch from high-definition to low-definition if it’s on a metered 3G or 4G network.
All Metro-style apps in the home windows store will have to put in force these APIs in the event that they use the network, said Anders.
Microsoft is reckoning on windows eight to in any case make it a participant within the tablet maker, which is recently dominated through Apple and Google and its OEM companions. To that finish, it’s delivered the contact-friendly Metro UI to home windows 8, and is development a version that runs on low-energy ARM-primarily based processors. a ship date for home windows eight has yet to be introduced.