Windows 8 - Built for Connectivity
One of the touted features of Windows 8 is its ability to handle connectivity seamlessly, be it at a Wi-Fi network or over a mobile broadband connection. Group program manager Billy Anders has published an official blog post that outlines steps taken to improve the wireless connectivity experience.
According to Billy Anders, a group program manager on the Windows 8 devices and networking team, the new OS from Microsoft will make it easier for users to manage Wi-Fi and mobile broadband connections. The team has re-engineered the wireless networking stack to optimize it for both mobile broadband and Wi-Fi networks.
In order to do so, Microsoft worked with mobile broadband hardware partners to develop a universal driver that will work with all mobile devices, eliminating the need for additional drivers or software. This will allow users of Windows 8 to enjoy similar connectivity with their computing devices as their smartphones.
(Source: Microsoft)
The team has also developed a new networks settings menu that allows the user to easily pick his choice of connectivity. This menu is also able to store the user's network preferences over time. Windows 8 also has a default behavior to prioritize Wi-Fi networks over mobile broadband. The operating system maintains an ordered list of the user's preferred networks based on his explicit connect and disconnect actions, as well as the network type.
Besides exhibiting such intuitive behavior, Windows 8 is able to reconnect the user's PC from standby mode by optimizing operations in the networking stack, and providing appropriate network connectivity information to the user's Wi-Fi adapter.
Hence, Windows 8 looks set to provide seamless connectivity for its users for speedy connection to a Wi-Fi network from standby mode to doing away with additional drivers for mobile broadband devices.
Source: Microsoft
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