Giant Awakes: Microsoft Reinvents OS with Windows 8

Four years ago, Apple said that it had reinvented phones with the release of its first generation iPhone, which made Apple once again set the bar for others to follow and be five years ahead of rivals with its software. Just like Apple’s former CEO Steve Jobs said, Microsoft had a lot to learn from Apple in creating usable operating systems and user interfaces. iPhone, together with its successor iPad and Apple’s App Store took Apple to the peak which had passed Microsoft’s market value last May which was considered as the end of an era. However, could Microsoft fades like that? Now, the software giant returns with one of its Hallows—Windows 8.

On Windows Build Conference keynote Tuesday, Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft Windows Division President showed an audience of developers a full preview of its imminent Windows 8 operating system, giving an in-depth look at the cool things that Windows 8 will be able to do. Its upcoming Windows 8 together with Windows Phone operating system, is expected to be the competitors this year and early next year for Apple.

Windows 8 is an ALL-IN-ONE operation system. Windows 8 breaks down the operating system walls that divide our devices. It works on tablets, laptops, desktops and even smartphones. It is a bold new take on computing, unifying tablets, desktops, laptops, the Internet, and smartphones under one Windows roof. That may be the biggest difference between Windows 8 and its predecessors. Microsoft is introducing the Metro interface it popularized with Windows Phone into Windows 8. Users can access the Metro view or the familiar desktop view with a simple click or tap.

The touch keyboard on Windows 8 looks and sounds like a supersized version of what you’ll find on Windows Phone devices. To work well on tablets, Windows 8 has been designed for touchscreens. More importantly, it has been designed to work on ARM-based processors, which means Windows 8 will work on almost any device put it on. It works with keyboards and touchscreens, and it doesn’t matter if a device has an Intel, AMD or ARM processor.

With Windows 8, Microsoft wants an Everywhere Operating System, offering access to all information and services across all your Windows 8 devices. This makes Windows 8 a versatile OS in a world where the desktop no longer dominates.

Windows 8 will have an app store. With the rise of Apple's iOS App Store, a wave of app store obsession has been developed across the user base. Microsoft also gave away its intent to launch an app store in a leaked slide deck last year. Windows Store offers new business opportunities for developers. It creates an incentive for developers to build Metro-style apps that could potentially sell well on the world’s most popular OS. Users will have the availability of both Win32 apps and Metro apps for Windows 8 via Windows Store. And it’s a clear indication that Microsoft doesn’t intend to give up any ground to Apple and its App Store.

Windows 8 has Five Charms which includes Search, Share, Start, Devices, and Settings…(five menu options that Microsoft calls Charms ) IE 10 will enable users search either their desktops or the web through Microsoft's Bing search engine. Share allows users to share items with social networking friends or followers. Windows 8 will make its sharing APIs available to developers of all sorts of apps. Start is as simple as it sounds. Pressing this icon will bring users back to the Start screen at any time. The Devices option will show the devices that are available to users at any given time. Settings will show settings related to the app users have open but also provide one-touch access to network settings, volume, brightness, notifications, power, and even changing the language.

Windows 8 has super-fast booting. Beside boasts vast performance improvements over its predecessor, the boot time have been decreased which boots up in less than eight seconds. Windows 8 achieves such super-fast booting because it doesn't quite shut down in the traditional sense.