(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Windows 8 In Action
Source: You must login or register to view this content.// You must login or register to view this content. // By: The Open Minded // Saturday, June 4th, 2011

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Microsoft released a new video showing off it's latest and greatest operating system codenamed Windows 8. What struck me about this OS is the fact that is something completely fresh and new. Vista and Win7 seemed to be an extension or a cleaned up version of XP, But Windows 8 has blown most of what we know in a Windows OS out of the water.

Windows 8 is being developed to revolutionize the way touchscreens are used for computing. The "Start Screen" Is the main interface which will greet you when you open Windows 8. You will be greeted with large, eye catching, app icons. These icons will display some basic information about the apps. Now at first glance these app icons may look very alien to the normal computing experience, it is my belief that, once mastered correctly, these apps can be used to make your computing experience very smooth and sleek.

This new OS has some very interesting and handy features that will make working on a Windows 8 computer very fast and easy. As demonstrated in the video, once you start an app there is a feature which will allow you to swipe across the screen to switch between all of your running apps very quickly and easily. This feature is much like the swiping motions used on an iPhone, but in my opinion the Windows developers have made this feature much more handy in this type of situation

Another feature, which is not necessarily new, is the ability to snap two apps on the screen at once. Once an app is snapped onto the screen, you can adjust the size of the two apps to your liking. Once snapped to the screen you will still have the ability to swipe between apps and quickly select what is on either side.

Windows 8 will feature Internet Explorer 10 which will support touch screen web browsing. Now in the video they don't show the actual use of IE 10. He simply opens it and switches between browser tabs. They didn't show him actually browsing through any pages, which tells me that the touch screen use of IE 10 may not be the smoothest experience yet.

One more thing that seemed to put me off a bit was the touch screen keyboard they showed. It looks quite similar to the touch keyboard on the iPad, but again it was not actually put into any practical sort of use in the demonstration. In my opinion the keyboard looked like it would be a bit awkward to use.

They showed the file system, which looked very similar to the file system in XP or Windows 7. Although there is no innovation in that area, that is not necessarily a bad thing.

All in all Windows 8 looks to be a very fresh and new computer experience. Windows 8 will be supported on all PCs, whether they be touch screen or mouse and keyboard, and will also likely be supported on many tablets.

Windows 8 is expected to be released in late 2012.

Watch the preview video here:

What are your opinions on the features shown here in this video? Do you like the new look and feel? Will you be using it when released or are you happy with the computing experience provided by Windows 7?

I hope it doesn't have anti-pirating bs.

Looks awesome totally gonna get it!

looks pretty cool to me. seems like a tablet phone. But lets just wait and see how it turns out.

Seems as W8 is perfect for my computer with touch, but I don't think I'll be upgrading any time soon when it's full released.

Same here man, thinking about how sweet it would look on my computer, but I'll stick with 7 for now.

People are saying they don't like it because it doesn't look like a normal windows OS. It's different. But hey, that's what people said when windows first came out.

I, myself much agree with IL--U--IK--IE`.

I like the freedom and easy use of a keyboard and mouse, although, with a mouse and keyboard sometimes the batteries they eat can be a pain. But, they both have their advantages and disadvantages in my opinion (touch screen VS keyboard+mouse).

So, from what I've picked up from this topic, Windows 8 will be the complete beginner of "Tablet PC's"?
-Will Windows 8 be runnable on Laptops/Desktops?
-Will there be a different version for Laptops/Desktops (if runnable + compatible) My reasoning, because if you have everything set up for touch screen -functionality, normal laptop/desktops are completely different?

Also, with the new application buttons, isn't that just like the Windows Mobile devices? My friend at school has one of these Windows Mobiles and the "start menu" if you like is just like the one shown in the video

It would be awsome if they put other os on xbox

Ima Stick with Vista Myself wont be upgrading to this when its released fully