WinUnleaked the newest build for Windows 8 has the feature back once again. This likely meant that Microsoft didn’t want to release this feature on the WDP either because it was unready or they just didn’t want to deliver this tool into the hands of consumers until the BETA or even the final release. This seems reasonable as many features were cut from the Developer Preview such as Windows Media Center, and yet we can pretty much guarantee we will see them in the BETA. With BETAs a company tries to give the user an experience as close to the commercial product as possible, in contrast the WDP was simply a ‘taste’ of Windows 8 to make us crave more. It is also notable that Windows To Go is being targeted at IT professionals and not so much for regular individuals. The Win8 USB devices that IT professionals get to use will not only feature Windows 8 but also their data, personalized settings, and tools and applications needed for IT purposes. I can see a ton of potential in this especially for troubleshooting hardware by allowing another way in when Windows 8 is damaged on a PC’s hard drive, etc. This could really simply a lot of IT tasks, and is a very good idea. Of course this isn’t an original idea, as similar devices have existed in the Linux/Unix world for many years in the form of bootable CDs and flash drives. The biggest difference is that with Windows 8 you can customize the settings and experience on the drive, something you certainly can’t do with a LIVE CD of Linux. So how does Windows To Go work when hooking it up to various machines? Basically WTG ties a bootable copy of Windows to an encrypted USB device. This device can be hooked up to any machine and run the platform but once the device is removed there is no trace left behind that the USB drive was even hooked up to the hardware at all. I could be wrong but imagine this as a hacker tool, you use the drive to hook up to a computer that you wish to steal data from and it provides a backdoor into the machine, though I’m sure there is security parameters that make that impossible but who knows for sure. What do you think of Windows to Go? If you are in the IT field is this a new feature that has you excited? Share your thoughts below.]]>
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