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| Windows 8 |
After the successful launch of Windows 7 in 2009, the company continues to rule the desktop.
This is the top 8 features Windows 8:
Touch-Friendly User Interface
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Touch-friendly user interface
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Microsoft has demoed a flashy new user interface filled with touch-friendly live tiles that show everything from the news to your social media updates. Windows 8 also supports full-screen HTML 5 applications on the desktop and the ability to switch between apps with a single swipe to the left or right.
“Tiles are better than icons,” Jensen Harris, director of PM: Windows User Experience, said in a demo video. “They have a little more space for the app to show its personality. Despite the slickness of the new OS, Microsoft may have a hard time convincing users that an interface that looks more like Windows Phone 7 than Windows 7 will work well on non-touch devices.
Fortunately, a traditional-style Windows desktop will be available for apps that require it.
Snap for Multitasking
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| Multitasking |
By default, Windows 8 won't even have traditional windows as native apps will run full screen without title bars or minimize/maximize widgets. Microsoft's Harris demoed Snap in this Microsoft video.
Improved file copy feature
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| Improved File Copy |
Windows' obtuse file copying function has been a minor annoyance for years. With Windows 8, Microsoft puts all current copy operations into a single dialog box where you can check their progress and pause/resume them.
ARM Processor Support
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| ARM Processor Support |
Windows 8 will be the first Microsoft operating system to run on ARM-based processors in addition to traditional x86 chips from Intel and AMD. At Computex Taipei, Microsoft VP of Windows Planning Mike Angiulo showed that both an ARM device and a standard x86 PC could run the same piano playing application. He also demoed a notebook based Nvidia’s quad core Kal El CPU that could run Microsoft Office and print documents to a standard printer
Web Apps On The Desktop
Like HP with its WebOS and RIM with BlackBerry Tablet OS, Microsoft plans to
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| Wb Apps on The Desktop |
support a new class of programs called “Tailored Apps” that will use standard web languages such as HTML 5 and JavaScript, but be able to interact with the hardware and file system. By supporting these well-known languages, Microsoft can attract an army of additional developers and, since these they run through a browser engine, compatibility across both ARM and x86 hardware platforms is assured.
However, we don’t know exactly how developers using Microsoft’s .NET framework and other popular programming languages will be able to build apps that work on both the ARM and x86 flavors of Windows 8.
Windows 8 App Store
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| Windows 8 App Store |
With Apple adding a Mac App Store for to OS X and everyone from Amazon to Lenovo getting into the app store game on mobile, a Windows 8 app store seems like a no-brainer. Given the windowed appearance of this picture, we can only guess that this is either a fake, an early version or a version designed for Windows 7 users. We suspect that the final Windows 8 app store will have the same kind of tiled interface as other native Win 8 apps.
Native USB 3.0 Support
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| USB 3.0 |
Though USB 3.0 controllers and devices will work under Windows 7 with third-party drivers, Microsoft is building native drivers into Windows 8 and developing an efficient new USB software stack. Your blazing fast external SSD should work better than ever!
Kinect gesture control and other input methods
Microsoft hasn't announced support for Kinect-style gesture control, but long-time
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| Kinect Gesture Control |
observers feel confident that when Windows 8 launches in 2012, it will be there. Windows Supersite's Paul Thurott told us he expects Microsoft to not only support gestures but all kinds of new input methods, including voice control and facial recognition.
