Windows 8 Features and Release Date

 

Windows, being one of the most used OS, brings great challenges for Microsoft to keep its users impressed in the next version of windows.

Although windows 7 has done exceptionally well since its release, Microsoft has been constantly working to make the next version of windows a better one by further improving upon the existing features, and have added new impressive windows 8 features along with a stunning UI.

Microsoft released the early version of windows 8 on a prototype tablet last week. Those of you who would like to taste and experience the all new windows 8, you can download the  developer preview, which is currently in pre-beta version. The developer version shows off the current stage of the OS. It is available for free download and comes in three different packages:

• 64-bit version - only the OS
• 32-bit version - only the OS
• 64-bit version with developer tools

Windows 8 Features

Windows 8 offers a number of new windows 8 features from its all new UI to windows App Store and improvised security features. 

• Faster boot times. The demo showed a system cold boot--in eight seconds. 
• Syncable settings on any Windows 8 device.
• Native support for Windows 7 applications.
• Built-in Hyper-V virtualization technology.
• Touch support, including the option to use thumbs to navigate on Windows 8 tablets.
• SkyDrive storage support to work with Windows Live, Hotmail and all other Microsoft cloud services.
• SkyDrive storage support for third-party services including Facebook, Flickr, and LinkedIn.
• Multi-monitor support built in, allowing the Windows 8 new Metro UI to operate on one monitor, while the basic Windows desktop UI shows on another.
• Enhanced security features, including an improved Windows Defender built into the OS. Sinofsky demonstrated how Windows 8 could not and would not boot from a rootkit-infected USB stick.
• Eventual availability of both Win32 apps and Metro apps for Windows 8 via Windows Store.
• Support for non-Intel CPUs by the time it ships commercially. That includes ARM, AMD, NVIDIA, Qualcomm, and Texas Instruments.
• NFC support allowing tap-to-share among users.
• Single-development platform. There is one Windows 8 API on both conventional computers and mobile devices such as tablets.  
 

Windows 8 Mock Illustration

Windows 8 Minimum System Requirements

It is reported that windows 8 is expected to have the same system requirements as windows 7, and will on existing PCs/laptops that run windows 7. Here are the following minimum system requirements to run windows 8:

Processor : 1GHz or faster 32-bit or 64-bit processor

RAM : 1GB (32-bit) or 2GB (64-bit)

HD Space : 16GB for 32-bit (or 20GB for 64-bit)

Windows 8 Release Date

We can expect windows 8 to be launched sometime in mid-late 2012, however, it's too early to predict the windows 8 release date, since it is still under development. Nevertheless, the only question that haunts each and every one of us - will windows 8 win the battle against Apple which it had lost several years back?