Windows 8 is a new operating system due to be released by Microsoft this year (2012). It's the next version up from Windows 7, an OS that took the world by storm and has proved to be very popular. However, can the new one take its place and add even more functionality to it? On this blog, I'm going to be doing a lot of talking about Windows 8. In this first article, I want to discuss some of the features that have been added that you might be interested in, so read on to learn more.
1. Faster boot-up times - One thing that people have complained about previously is slow boot-up times when they turn their computer on. It is considerably slower than competing systems such as Linux and Mac OS X and it seems that they've finally found a solution to the problem. A technique has been used where when you shut down, part of the system is placed into hibernation mode so that when you load it up, you're ready to get started straight away. Resources are also allocated much better than before to help with speeds.
2. Metro UI - Perhaps the biggest change of all is the Metro interface. Instead of a Start menu where you have to navigate through all of your programs and files in a cluttered way, you'll be using Metro which is a tile-based structure. Each application has its own tile where it can interactive with you and give you information. You can also see extra details here such as a list of your friends, connecting to social networks and other great things. It'll take a lot of time to get used to this so bare that in mind when you use it, but in the long run I think it can be very beneficial.
3. Windows To Go - Another feature that is very convenient for users is that you can use something called "Windows To Go". This is where you can export all of your settings, wallpapers, files and apps to a USB drive (providing the drive is of a big enough capacity for this). You can then insert this into any computer running Windows 8 and boot from it as if you were using your computer. This can be a great way of transporting everything you need without actually carrying around your desktop PC or laptop. It also means that you don't need to download software from sites such as AXT every time you want to use an app on a different computer.
In conclusion, there are many new features in Windows 8 that you should be aware of, I've just outlined three of the biggest. In reality, you're going to find much more such as improved search functionality allowing you to find data on your hard drive much quicker. Another exciting feature called Windows Live Syncing has also been added to allow you to sync your settings simply by entering your username and password, but further information on these haven't been announced yet, nor has the official release date of the operating system. We're going to have to wait a bit longer to find out everything else.
