• Timeout: Your workplace can specify that if the device is left unused for a set period of time, it will be locked automatically.
• Device encryption: Your employer can require that any disks attached to the device be encrypted. This can include the primary storage device (the internal hard disk or SSD) as well as external storage. Windows RT provides this support with device encryption.
• Hardware device disabling: Your workplace can specify that certain devices in the Windows RT tablet be disabled, including the camera, Bluetooth, IrDA, and more.
• Software disabling: Your employer can specify that certain types of software be disabled, including consumer e-mail, POP3/IMAP e-mail, web browser, and more.
Second, Microsoft is providing a special Windows RT management client that will allow users to connect to a self-service portal on their employer’s servers and browse and install Metro-style line of business (LOB) apps that would otherwise require a domain connection, as well as perform other duties. Key among these is the ability of the employer to specify compliance around certain EAS-type policies such as device encryption, the enabling of Auto Updates, and the configuration of antivirus and anti-spyware solutions.
While these capabilities don’t quite amount to domain join, they do remove most of the pain with using a Windows RT-based device for work in a managed environment. It remains to be seen how many companies will be forward leaning enough to implement this in the years ahead, however.
Summary
There’s no doubt that Windows 8 is a huge upgrade for consumers, a revolutionary new version of Windows that will allow Microsoft’s most successful product line to enter new markets for touch-based portable devices. But Windows 8 isn’t just about fun and games. Like previous Windows versions, it comes well-stocked with an abundance of business-oriented features, including updated versions of many preexisting features like domain join and Group Policy support, EFS, BitLocker and BitLocker To Go, and more.
Windows 8 includes new business features, too. It picks up the powerful Hyper-V virtualization platform from Windows Server 2012, providing users with an astonishing new tool for managing virtual environments and resources. And Hyper-V is further bolstered by new VHD shell integration and a new Virtual Machine Connection client. Remote desktop users will find both Metro-style and desktop clients as well as a secure version of Remote Desktop Host that will allow you to access your own desktop PC remotely.
Those corporations that opt for Windows 8 Enterprise will see several other additional features. And even consumer-oriented Windows RT tablets can make their way into businesses thanks to Exchange ActiveSync compatibility and a unique management client.
Appendix A: Windows Key Keyboard Shortcuts
Table A-1: Windows Key Keyboard Shortcuts
| Winkey + | Command |
|---|---|
| C | Charms |
| D | Show desktop |
| E | New File Explorer window (desktop) |
| F | Search for files |
| H | Share charm |
| I | Settings charm |
| J | Switch focus between snapped and main apps |
| K | Devices charm |
| L | Lock computer |
| M | Minimize all desktop windows |
| O | Lock the screen orientation (on devices that support rotation) |
| P | Second screen (projection) |
| Q | Search charm |
| R | Run window (desktop) |
| T | Set focus to taskbar (desktop), tap repeatedly to select pinned applications |
| U | Ease of Access Center (desktop) |
| V | Cycle through notifications |
| W | Search for settings (and control panels) |
| X | Open power user menu (desktop) |
| Z | Open app bar |
| 1-9 | Open the app at the given position in the taskbar (desktop) |
| = | Magnifier (zoom in) (Magnifier must be running first) |
| - | Magnifier (zoom out) (Magnifier must be running first) |
| , (comma) | Peek at desktop |
| . (period) | Snap a Metro app to the right (Use Shift to snap to left) |
| Enter | Narrator |
| Spacebar | Switch input language and keyboard layout |
| Tab | Switcher (tap repeatedly to switch between running Metro-style apps) |
| Esc | Exit Magnifier (Magnifier must be running first) |
| Print Screen | Takes a screenshot and saves it to the Screenshots folder in Pictures |
| Home | Minimize non-active windows (desktop) |
| Page Up | Move Start screen to monitor on the left |
| Page Down | Move Start screen to monitor on the right |
| Break | System control panel |
| Left arrow | Snap window to the left (desktop) |
| Right arrow | Snap window to the right (desktop) |
| Up arrow | Maximize window (desktop) |
| Down arrow | Minimize window (desktop) |
| F1 | Windows Help and Support |
Note that some Windows key shortcuts can be used in tandem with the Shift key to cycle objects in the opposite direction.
Credits
Executive Editor: Carol Long
Senior Project Editor: Kevin Kent
Technical Editor: Todd Meister
Production Editor: Christine Mugnolo
Copy Editor: Mildred Sanchez
Editorial Manager: Mary Beth Wakefield
Freelancer Editorial Manager: Rosemarie Graham
Associate Director of Marketing: David Mayhew
Marketing Manager: Ashley Zurcher
Business Manager: Amy Knies
Production Manager: Tim Tate
Vice President and Executive Group Publisher: Richard Swadley
Vice President and Executive Publisher: Neil Edde
Associate Publisher: Jim Minatel
Project Coordinator, Cover: Katie Crocker
Compositor: Craig Woods, Happenstance Type-O-Rama
ProofreaderS: Sarah Kaikini and Scott Klemp, Word One New York
Indexer: Johnna VanHoose Dinse
Cover Image: © Chad Baker/Lifesize/Getty Images