A new logo for Windows 8 was doing the rounds last week, and many people considered it to be a fake.  It transpires however that this new logo is in fact the real deal, as Microsoft have officially unveiled it today on their Windows blog.

The new logo, which is reminiscent of Microsoft’s new Metro interface, is apparently a window, not a flag (as per previous versions of the Windows logo).  In their blog post the company said…

With Windows 8, we approached the logo redesign with a few key goals on mind.

1. We wanted the new logo to be both modern and classic by echoing the International Typographic Style (or Swiss design) that has been a great influence on our Metro style design philosophy. Using bold flat colors and clean lines and shapes, the new logo has the characteristics of way-finding design systems seen in airports and subways.

2. It was important that the new logo carries our Metro principle of being “Authentically Digital”. By that, we mean it does not try to emulate faux-industrial design characteristics such as materiality (glass, wood, plastic, etc.). It has motion – aligning with the fast and fluid style you’ll find throughout Windows 8.

3. Our final goal was for the new logo to be humble, yet confident. Welcoming you in with a slight tilt in perspective and when you change your color, the logo changes to reflect you. It is a “Personal” Computer after all.

The blog provides a commentary on the evolution of the Windows logo.  The new logo, similar to the logo for the company’s Windows Phone operating system, will be available in any colour and is much simpler than the logo that has come before and that we’ve been using in one for or another for decades.

This is the most significant change to the Windows logo in all that time, but it could be argued that Windows 8 is also the most significant change to the operating system in just as long.  The Windows logo however is one of the most recognised logos on the planet, and it remains to be seen how easily people will recognise the new one.  The full logo is below.  So what do you think of the new logo?  Why not tell us in the comments below.

Windows Gets a New Logo was posted on Everything Microsoft - Latest Microsoft News, Guides, Reviews & Themes. If you are not reading this content in an email newsletter, it is being used without permission.

A new Windows 8 logo has apparently been spotted in both a leaked build of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview (beta) and also on a new tablet.  The logo, which is a Metro’fied version of the standard Windows squares is seen on the new Charms menu and seems quite fitting for Metro.  The new images come from Chinese site cnbeta.

It is also reported that the existing Windows logo remains on the boot screen for the operating system, which implies that either Microsoft are trying to create a distinct identity for metro or that the build the images were taken from wasn’t complete.

NeoWin has had a crack at deciphering the Chinese text and it appears the Charms bar image is a rendering of what the Charms bar could look like with the new logo.  This it’s impossible at this stage to determine the authenticity of this logo or its use with Windows 8.

The Windows logo that we are all familiar with has been with us for several decades and is easily identified around the world.  It is unlikely then that Microsoft would move away from it completely or even partially.  If however the company wants to create a completely separate identity for either Metro or Windows tablets then such a move is possible.  It would be a good way to differentiate Windows running on ARM from its desktop counterpart.

We will have to wait another week or two to know whether this new logo is real or just a hoax, and if and where it will be associated with Windows 8 and Metro.  Why not tell us what you expect Microsoft to do, or also what you think of the alternate logo design.  You can leave your comments below.

UPDATE:

It doesn’t take much digging to discover a hoax!  See below…

Could Windows 8 ‘Metro’ Get its own New Logo? [Updated: No!] was posted on Everything Microsoft - Latest Microsoft News, Guides, Reviews & Themes. If you are not reading this content in an email newsletter, it is being used without permission.

It’s one of those changes that, when you first see it, might look a little odd.  Afterwards though you might find yourself wondering why they didn’t do this to begin with.  Windows Phone now has a new logo based on the live tiles from within the operating system itself.

The change is relatively minor, simply putting the Windows logo on top of a coloured square.  The logo is now in several colours, and presumably the colour of the logo, so long as it matches a colour available for a live tile, doesn’t really matter.  You can see the new logo below.  This will probably roll out to all Windows Phones with the ‘Mango’ update replacing the current logo when handsets are switched on.

On an aesthetics level you’re either going to love of hate this one.  It can easily be argued that it’s not as pleasing as the previous round logo but that it is at the very least more fitting to the platform as a whole.

It does show that Microsoft are concerned about the image that Windows Phone has in the marketplace.  The company’s focus this year is to push the platform to consumers, especially teenagers and twenty-somethings (this is something Microsoft have told me themselves) and not to focus on business.

For a branding exercise aimed at the younger market, the square shape and bright colours might help bring the platform to the attention of potential customers who will probably be using either a Nokia, Apple or Google phone at the moment, and getting close to their contract renewal and upgrade.

So what do you think?  DO you like the new logo, did you prefer the older one and will the rebranding help Microsoft attract their target demographic in 2011 and 2012?

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I remember one of the first things that I noticed about Windows 7 was the nice new boot animation. It was simple yet beautiful at the same time, in fact I even wrote an article on how it came to be. Then today as I was browsing the web, I came across this article from Zdnet, which showcases all the Windows boot animations.

Right back to when dinosaurs still roamed the planet, Windows 1.01, and through the stone age with Windows 98, then into a new millennium with Windows ME and finally into the present with Windows 7. It proves to be an exciting journey.

God I even feel old looking back at these boot animations, and I’m young!

Which ones your favorite? Apart from Windows 7 of course, or is Windows 7 even your favorite?

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Source:

Zdnet

Windows Start Screens, From The Past To The Present was posted on Everything Microsoft - Latest Microsoft News, Guides, Reviews & Themes. If you are not reading this content in an email newsletter, it is being used without permission.

Those of you familiar with Windows 7 will have noticed the glowing Windows logo that pulsates when Windows 7 starts up. Well Microsoft hosted a questions and answer session with its designer Rolf Ebeling so we could find out a bit more about it.

Rolf Ebeling, a senior user experience lead for the User Experience Design and Research Team for Windows, Windows Live, and Internet Explorer, is the man who designed the 105-frame Windows 7 boot animation that millions of Windows users see every day. Have a look at some of the early sketches of it below.

Ebeling said he looked for inspiration every where for the new boot logo, including street lights in the rain, light reflecting off water, and fireflies. He wanted to reflect what the new feeling of operating system – light color and energy. He also claims to have an incurable addiction to indie rock—especially flavor-of-the-moment UK bands which helps him do his best work.

We never lost sight that we wanted the boot-up to be faster, but thought, ‘Well, if people are going to be there we should make it attractive and something that inspires confidence

The start up logo was first revealed in December 2008 in Windows 7 6950 + builds. He’s a self-taught designer with a degree in English literature, Ebeling was a creative director for Newsweek.com in New York before joining Microsoft in April 2008, his first software job. When asked what his biggest challenge facing the animation he said

Biggest challenge? Having only been with the company for four months and suddenly finding myself working on the first thing millions of people would see when they started up Windows 7. That was a peculiar realization to wake up to each morning

He also confirmed that he is working on the next Windows operating system, Windows 8

In February 2009, Microsoft confirmed that they would not confirm support for changing the Windows 7 boot animation for those who wanted to customize their systems further then themes. Why not have a look at our large collection of themes or wallpapers

httpvhd://www.youtube.com/watch?v=008eGp9FBbM

What do you think of the new Windows 7 boot logo? Do you like it? Let us know in the comments

How The Windows 7 Boot Animation Came To Be was posted on Everything Microsoft - Latest Microsoft News, Guides, Reviews & Themes. If you are not reading this content in an email newsletter, it is being used without permission.

You only have 2 days left to enter the $200 competition to design a new logo for Windows 7 News and Windows 8 News.  There’s 2 days left to go and we need to pick a winner from the 190 entries so far.

Because there have been so many entries we need your help selecting a winner.  Some of the entries are pretty awful, but some have potential.  I’ve added some of my favourites below, but all of the entries can be seen at logomyway.  If you’re a budding designer there’s still time to enter.

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$200 Logo Competition Ends In 2 Days was posted on Everything Microsoft - Latest Microsoft News, Guides, Reviews & Themes. If you are not reading this content in an email newsletter, it is being used without permission.

For the last couple of weeks we’ve been running a $200 competition to design a new logo for Windows 7 News and Windows 8 News.  There’s 2 days left to go and we need to pick a winner from the 190 entries so far.

Because there have been so many entries we need your help selecting a winner.  I’ve added some of my favourites below, but all of the entries can be seen at logomyway.  If you’re a budding designer there’s still time to enter.

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Please Help Select Logo Competition Winner was posted on Everything Microsoft - Latest Microsoft News, Guides, Reviews & Themes. If you are not reading this content in an email newsletter, it is being used without permission.

I’m pleased to say that we have a winner for the $200 BeanBag Competition.   We had over 200 entries submitted via the forum in the end, which was fantastic.  Please say congratulations to Tim Brazer who will very shortly be the proud owner of a new beanbag!

If you didn’t win don’t worry, as I will be giving away a 2nd bag on Connected Internet later this week, so subscribe now to ensure you don’t miss the competition.  We are also running a $200 competition to find a new logo for Windows 7 News and Windows 8 News.

$200 BeanBag Competition Winner!! was posted on Everything Microsoft - Latest Microsoft News, Guides, Reviews & Themes. If you are not reading this content in an email newsletter, it is being used without permission.

To celebrate the launch of Windows 8 News we’ve decided to run another competition! We need two logos, one for Windows 7 News and one for Windows 8 News, that will look amazing in the header and also as a thumbnail image. The competition offers any budding designers not only an opportunity to win $200, but to also display their talents to a large base of users, as all entries will be displayed on the site because readers will choose the best logo and the winner.

Rules:

1. No limit to the number of entries
2. Entries to be submitted via logomyway
3. Thumbnail logo must be 120×120
4. Main logo must be no bigger than 250 x105
5. Must work on white background
6. Decision of the editors will be final

If you’re not a designer, then don’t forget you’ve still got a week to enter our competition to win a funky $200 beanbag.

Design A New Logo For Windows 8 News And Win $200 was posted on Everything Microsoft - Latest Microsoft News, Guides, Reviews & Themes. If you are not reading this content in an email newsletter, it is being used without permission.

Everton: I’m re-posting this as it got lost in the migration

The migration to a new server has gone successfully and the DNS is propagating nicely around the globe. Users should already be able to see much faster page loading times, which will be improved further as we’ve employed an expert to tweak the server and site.

The move was necessary because Windows 7 News continues to grow rapidly and is heading towards the magic 1 million unique users/month landmark, and we needed to add extra capacity to handle future growth. We also needed a host with better SLAs and a phone hotline, as our previous host were taking too long to respond when issues occurred. I’d like to thank WiredTree for delivering on their promises and for providing a great server (specs) at a low cost.

Also, hosted on the new server is Windows 8 News, which we’ve slowly been building up. It’s a bit light on content at the moment as there’s not a lot of news about Windows 8, but add the site to your favourite RSS reader now so you don’t miss out on Windows 8 News and Rumours as soon as they happen.

To celebrate the launch of Windows 8 News and the new server (and also because we can’t use the same logo on both sites!), we’ve decided to run another competition! We need two logos, one for Windows 7 News and one for Windows 8 News, that will look amazing in the header and also as a thumbnail image. The competition offers any budding designers not only an opportunity to win $100 $200, but to also display their talents to a large base of users, as all entries will be displayed on the site because readers will choose the best logo and the winner.

Rules:

1. No limit to the number of entries
2. Entries to be submitted via logomyway
3. Thumbnail logo must be 120×120
4. Main logo must be no bigger than 250 x105
5. Must work on white background
6. Decision of the editors will be final

If you’re not a designer, then don’t forget you’ve still got a week to enter our competition to win a funky $200 beanbag.

Design A New Logo For Windows 7 News And Win $200 was posted on Everything Microsoft - Latest Microsoft News, Guides, Reviews & Themes. If you are not reading this content in an email newsletter, it is being used without permission.