From the Editor Release day for Windows 8 Consumer Preview finally arrived! In this issue we highlight the new hardware kits, tools, samples, content, and services provided in association with Windows 8 Consumer Preview. We've been appreciating and responding to your feedback so far and we look forward to more! ~The Windows Dev Center - Hardware Team
Top Stories Latest Pre-Release Windows Hardware Kits and Tools Are Available You can now download the latest pre-release versions of: All of these kits and tools are designed to work together to help you develop, test, certify, and maintain quality hardware and drivers for Windows. Discover all pre-release hardware kits and tools: http://msdn.microsoft.com/windows/hardware/br259105
Winqual Reimagined: Check Out the New Hardware/Desktop Dashboard If you already are registered with Winqual, you can now sign in to the new Windows Dev Center Hardware/Desktop Dashboard. The new Hardware/Desktop Dashboard is located on the Dashboard tab of the Hardware Development or Desktop Development site. Use the Hardware/Desktop Dashboard to submit your hardware, drivers, and applications for Windows 7 certification; distribute certified drivers by using Windows Update; get telemetric data reports about your products; submit metadata for your system or device; and use the remote debugging tool. The Hardware/Desktop Dashboard replaces Windows Quality Online Services, or Winqual. Note: All of your Winqual account credentials, certification and metadata submissions, roles, permissions, legal agreements, and other settings have been migrated moved to the new Hardware/Desktop Dashboard. See the Winqual Retirement FAQ for more information. Learn more: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/windows/hardware/hh770506.aspx
Windows Driver Kit (WDK) 8 Consumer Preview Samples Available Online In response to your feedback, we'd like to clarify that the WDK 8 Consumer Preview code samples are available on the Windows Dev Center - Hardware site on the Samples tab. These samples are not available in the WDK 8 Consumer Preview download itself. We hope you will find that the online samples gallery provides useful features for sorting, filtering, browsing the code, adding your ratings and comments, sharing, downloading the samples, and more. Get WDK 8 Consumer Preview samples: http://code.msdn.microsoft.com/windowshardware
News for Hardware Developers Request for Windows Driver Frameworks (WDF) Compatibility Testing The WDF team is working to ensure that the current version of WDF, version 1.11, is backwards compatible with previous versions. You can help by testing your existing drivers with WDF 1.11 on Windows 7 and Windows Vista with SP2. If you find compatibility issues, please let us know at wdfinfo@microsoft.com. You can use the VerifyDownlevel setting with WdfVerifier to aid in this compatibility testing. If you don't have WdfVerifier installed, you can manually make the necessary registry settings as follows. For KMDF: REG ADD "HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\\Parameters\Wdf" /v "VerifyDownLevel" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f For UMDF: REG ADD "HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Wudf\Services\\Parameters\Wdf" /v "VerifyDownLevel" /t REG_DWORD /d 1 /f Details of these verifier options can be found at the following locations: Important: WDF 1.11 isn't released yet, so you cannot ship drivers linked to WDF 1.11 at this time. Drivers linked to WDF 1.11 also will not pass WHCK certification. Learn more: http://msdn.microsoft.com/windows/hardware/br259104
Recently Published for Hardware Developers New and Revised Content Released on Windows Dev Center - Hardware In association with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview release last week, we published significant updates to the content on the Hardware Development area of the Windows Dev Center. With key home page announcements, new and revised white papers, and more than 100 new or revised Windows Driver Kit (WDK) code samples, there should be something new for just about everyone: You can find links to other recently published content in the articles below.
Windows Driver Development Content Refresh Aligned with Windows 8 Consumer Preview, we've updated the documentation for many technologies in the Windows Driver Kit (WDK). To see what's new, visit the following link. Read more: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/windows/hardware/hh451220
Windows 8 Device Experience: Metro style Device Apps Metro style device apps drive the new device experience for Windows 8. These apps enable device manufacturers to deliver compelling content and services directly to customers. Metro style device apps are associated with a device using device metadata and are automatically acquired from the Windows Store. Learn more about this powerful new feature for Windows 8 at the links below:
New for Windows Hardware Certification If you create hardware products or drivers, we strongly encourage you to learn more about Hardware Certification, its benefits to you and your customers, and to use the new requirements and policies for Windows 8. Read more: http://msdn.microsoft.com/library/windows/hardware/gg463010
What's New in Blogs for Hardware and Driver Developers Compilation of Hardware-Related Posts from "Building Windows 8" Blog by Steven Sinofsky and Others, August 2011-February 2012 After reading Steven's recent post about Windows 8 on ARM, we thought it might be useful to pull together a listing of the "Building Windows 8" blog posts most relevant to our hardware development audience. We hope you find this compilation interesting and handy:
Industry News Windows 8 Consumer Preview Coverage With millions of downloads within the first week, Windows 8 Consumer Preview generated a lot of industry coverage. Here is a very small sampling:
Microsoft Boosts Support for Small OEMs IDG News Service, March 6, 2012 Microsoft has launched a software installation tool and a support website for small original equipment manufacturer (OEM) resellers. Read more: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/251390/microsoft_boosts_support_for_small_oems.html
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