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The Windows 8 Task Manager is due to receive an upgrade in the upcoming Windows 8, tuned at ‘both ends of the spectrum’ for ease of use and fine-grained control, the company said.
It seems that Microsoft is set to radically simplify the default Task Manager view in Windows 8 with a window that simply shows running applications with the option to ‘end task’. Fortunately a ‘more details’ button will open UI to the more comprehensive mode.
Thankfully the Windows 8 will no longer prompt the user twice after hitting ‘end task’. "We just kill the app, and quickly! (But be careful, because we also won’t prompt you to save!)," Microsoft program manager Ryan Haveson blogged on the Building Windows 8 blog.
Another interesting feature is a ‘heat map’ display whereby the processes colours processes that are using higher degrees of memory or CPU time.
Windows 8 is also set to introduce more descriptive naps for service host tasks and will offer a web lookup feature for any processes which are unknown to the user.
"Task Manager was a unique opportunity for user experience designers and researchers working together with technical program managers and engineers to create a clean, organized, and efficient design," write Haveson.
"We made it more streamlined for mainstream users, and more detailed for power users," he added.
