Windows has finally released the much hyped and very well marketed Windows 8. The official release date was October 26th 2012.
As compared to the previous version of Windows, Windows 7, there are significant improvements on this iteration of the operating soft ware. Some of these are:
Speed: The speed of Windows 8 has definitely got many fans enthusiastic. In tests conducted the average boot time, from Windows Logo to Desktop has improved significantly by about nine seconds. Windows 7 typically would boot in 27 seconds, while Windows 8 running on the same configuration and system typically would boot in 18 seconds. This is an important and time saving improvement that anyone who was frustrated with their boot cycle will appreciate.
Touch: While Windows 7 supported touch applications, the word clunky come to mind in describing the way the OS interacted. Windows 8 does away with that and is designed to work with touch screens. Touch screen support starts out better on the desktop and stays that way through the entire experience. The opening menu is a lot like that used on a Windows powered phone but has the familiar applications like the recycle bin and taskbar which are easily accessible via the touch applications.
Cloud Access: This is seamless on the new OS, with Windows 8 delivering a very pleasurable cloud experience. Integration was one of the key features in the development of this software which uses SkyDrive to sync data and save on the cloud server. The devices running Windows 8 will also have the ability to easily sync with each other, making transferring data from one device to another as simply as Apple.
Store, Apps and Social Media: With an eye on the future as applications become more and more popular, Windows 8 has a very user friendly store with a lot of applications to chose from. The addition of an easy to access Facebook, Twitter, and other social media applications will also help to enhance Windows 8 as the next generation, a caught up generation for Microsoft.
Finally the most interesting addition to Windows in Windows 8 is the Windows Charms which appears when a user mouse’s to the far right-hand of the screen or swipes in from the right on a touchscreen.Charms allow you to access the Start Screen on a touch device. The other buttons are Search, Share, Devices and Settings and provide quick access to these functions on touch and pointer-driven displays alike.
Overall Windows 8 has a great deal of promise with regard to being the next step in the Microsoft user evolution.
