Today, Microsoft officially launched Windows 8. Many in the media have compared the significance of the Windows 8 launch with the release of Windows 95 – seventeen years ago!
So, what’s the hype? And, should you care? So much has been newly introduced or changed in Windows 8 that I can’t possibly touch on it all in this blog, but let me give you some of the highlights of Windows 8.
New Modern-Style Apps (also known as Metro-Style Apps). These apps are full-screen, immersive, beautiful apps that are designed to be used with touch, keyboard, and mouse. The design principles for these apps come from the Swiss Metro graphic design. These apps are designed for wide screen displays and can even be “snapped” for side-by-side viewing. The Modern-Style Apps are also designed to be safer and more secure with their “sandboxing” design.
New Start Screen. The classic Windows Start Menu is gone! A new full-screen menu, called the Start Screen, is the first screen you’ll see when Windows loads. Old-style icons have been replaced with “live-tiles.” These tiles display helpful information, even when the app is not running.
New Charms Menu. Swipe your finger in from the right-edge of your monitor/tablet or press Windows+C on your keyboard to open the new Charms Menu. The Charms Menu is used to access search, share, settings, and device information.
ARM Support. A special version of Windows 8, called Windows RT, can now run on ARM-based processors, allowing Windows to be used on smaller, lighter, and longer-battery life tablets.
Touch Support. Windows 8 is designed to take advantage of new touched-based tablets, monitors, and all-in-one PCs.
Windows Store. A new easy-to-use store has been introduced to download the new Modern-Style Apps as well traditional desktop-style apps.
USB 3.0. Support has been added for USB 3.0, which is 10 times faster than traditional USB 2.0, saving countless hours for those image transfers.
Multiple-monitors. Improved support for multiple monitors has been added.
File Explorer. The traditional Windows Explorer has been renamed as File Explorer and now incorporates a ribbon toolbar, making commonly used functions easier to use, especially on touch devices.
Internet Explorer 10. A new version of Microsoft’s Internet Explorer is included.
Family Security. Setting user restrictions, web filtering, and usage limits is now built in to Windows 8.
File History. By simply turning on this new feature, Windows 8 will automatically back up and keep version history of all files stored in commonly used folders.
Sky Drive. Every Windows user receives 7 GB of free cloud-based storage using Microsoft’s Sky Drive service. Through the Sky Drive service, all user documents, images, and other media can automatically be synchronized between all your Windows 7 and Windows 8 devices.
As a company, we’ve been running Windows 8 internally for over a year now, making sure that our applications will be fully compatible with the new operating system. We’ve been pleasantly surprised at the stability and performance of Windows 8. In fact, due to the performance tuning performed by Microsoft, Windows 8 actually boots faster and runs faster on older hardware than both Windows 7 and Windows XP.
Many of you have been asking whether or not you should upgrade your existing PCs to Windows 8. Whether you choose to upgrade now or wait until next year, we definitely recommend that you upgrade. Choosing NOT to upgrade will leave you and your business behind, not only with an old operating system, but also with an entirely old and obsolete platform that Microsoft is moving away from. As you consider how and when you’ll upgrade, keep in mind that there is a price advantage to purchasing your upgrade soon. Microsoft has announced a very aggressive upgrade price of only $39.99 for existing Windows XP, Windows Vista, and Windows 7 systems between now and January 31, 2013. So purchase your upgrade soon.
On Monday, I’ll discuss some of the new Windows 8 hardware hitting the market.
