development history of window 8
Windows 8 development started before Windows 7 had shipped in 2009.[18] At the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2011, it was announced that the next version of Windows would add support for ARM system-on-chips alongside the existing x86 processors produced by vendors, especially AMD and Intel. Windows division president Steven Sinofsky demonstrated an early build of the port on prototype devices, while Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer announced the company's goal for Windows to be "everywhere on every kind of device without compromise."[19][20][21][22] Details also began to surface about a new application framework for Windows 8 codenamed "Jupiter", which would be used to make "immersive" applications using XAML (similarly to Windows Phone and Silverlight) that could be distributed via a new packaging system and a rumored application store.[23]
The earliest build of Windows 8 is build 7700, compiled in January 2010.[24] The build was identical to Windows 7 except for the wallpaper being different - the same one from the
Beta and Release Candidate. In addition, there were references to Windows 8 in this build.
In late 2010, an optional 3D desktop user interface for high-end systems named "Wind" was rumored.[25]
Two milestone releases of Windows 8 and one of Windows Server 2012 leaked to the general public. Milestone 1, Build 7850, was leaked on April 12, 2011.[26] It was the first build where the text of a window was written centered instead of aligned to the left. It was also probably the first appearance of the Metro-style font, and its wallpaper had the text shhh. let's not leak our hard work. However, its detailed build number reveals that the build was created on September 22, 2010.[27] The leaked copy was Enterprise edition, with other editions leaking later. In 2020, it was discovered that Metro existed in this build, after enabling the 'Redpill'. The start screen was very primitive, being a white screen with gray tiles. The charms bar was also included, but was unusable. The OS still reads as "Windows 7". Milestone 2, Build 7955, was leaked on April 25, 2011. The traditional Blue Screen of Death (BSoD) was replaced by a new black screen,[28] although it was later reverted to a different blue color. This build introduced a new ribbon in Windows Explorer. The "Windows 7" logo was temporarily replaced with text displaying "Microsoft Confidential". Both builds 7850 and 7955 leaked alongside Windows Server 2012 build 7959. On June 17, 2011, build 7989 64-bit edition was leaked. It introduced a new boot screen featuring the same Betta fish as the default Windows 7 Beta wallpaper, which was later replaced, and the circling dots as featured in the final (although the final version comes with smaller circling dots throbber). It also had the text Welcome below them, although this was scrapped.[29] The boot screen was not new to this build though - it came from build 7973, a slightly earlier build. It is worth mentioning that most of these leaks "hid" the main Metro UI features that were to come in tweak known as Redlock in order to prevent relevant leaks. A patch named Redpill was necessary to reveal the new Metro UI as well as the redesigned Start Screen, Lock Screen and apps.[citation needed] Several applications have tried to replicate this patch as closely as possible, although one called Redlock is the most accurate, supporting the enabling of builds' Metro UI from 7850-8056. It also worked on the Developer Preview.
This build also leaked in the x86 architecture as a debug build, with the setup having a slight change - the theme was now Windows Basic in setup, rather than Classic.
Build 8008 was the first build to remove the User Tile. A new wallpaper was introduced and Metro was updated to be more like the final version of Windows 8.
On June 1, 2011, Microsoft unveiled Windows 8's new user interface, as well as additional features at both Computex Taipei and the D9: All Things Digital conference in California.[30][31]
The "Building Windows 8" blog launched on August 15, 2011, featuring details surrounding Windows 8's features and its development process.