Windows 8 : The new definition of Innovation

It’s been more than a year, since Microsoft Windows 8 was doing the rounds. On September 13, 2011, Microsoft released the Developer Preview of Windows 8, which was followed by The Consumer Preview, launched on February 29, 2012, and then on June 1, 2012, came out the Windows 8 Release Preview. But now the wait, which exceeded a year, is over as the all new Windows 8 is officially out for sale in the market.

With the introduction of Windows 8, the Microsoft has played its trump card to stay in the competition and dominate the tech podium. Once you see the Windows 8 in front of you, the first word that comes out of your mouth is ‘Incredible’! Yes, Windows 8 has got an incredible design to brag about, it has even got the ‘Charm’ (the menu bar) hidden on the right hand side of your computer screen.

In terms of speed, Windows 8 is like Usain Bolt as it lets you play your favorite music, enjoy apps, access the internet, check your emails, browse through your photos within milliseconds, all thanks to the ‘Live tiles’ or the ‘Start Screen’.

Once you get into the groove with Microsoft Windows 8, you will start feeling that it’s more like operating a Smartphone and Tablets, and that is what Microsoft exactly wants. With the newest version of Windows, Microsoft wants to change the era of computing, and make people friendlier with the latest technology. However, it may face some criticism from the not so tech-savvy people, but still that is a big step forward, which had to be taken someday. Now let’s move on to, ‘What Windows 8 is all about’, for which you might have been waiting for the last 5 minutes or so.

What Windows 8 is all about?

Windows 8 is all about Incredible Creativity. With Windows 8, the era of old fashioned Microsoft’s Windows Operating Systems is over, and there are plenty of things to talk about. The first and foremost change you will notice as soon as you try your hands on the fabulous OS is the removal of the ‘Start’ button. In Windows 8, the ‘Start’ button has been replaced by the stylish ‘Start Screen’ which is full of ‘live tiles’, identical to what you may have already seen in the Windows Phone.

Touch-enabled Computing

Another good thing about Windows 8 is that it is Touch-enabled, which lets you access it in a new way like never before. However, for gliding through the Start Screen with your fingers, you need to have a PC that supports the multi-touch. The new interface comes with a function called ‘Semantic Zoom’, where you can Zoom In or Zoom Out just like the way you do it on a Smartphone by a pinch.

Picture Password

Now, with Windows 8 just like the era of the old fashioned Windows is gone forever, the era of text password is gone too. As in Windows 8 you have got the power to set a picture password for your profile, where you just need to choose and set your favorite picture and then draw certain gestures on it, which could be anything like circles, straight lines, or just the tap of your finger. Again, to set the picture password, you need to find the option ‘Settings’ in the ‘Charm’.

Access your files wherever you are

With Windows 8 comes the SkyDrive. SkyDrive is a Microsoft’s Cloud Storage technology, which lets you store your important data, be it your photos, music, documents, apps, etc. The maximum capacity of SkyDrive for a single user is up to 7GB, which is far more than Apple iCloud, Google Drive and Dropbox, the leading cloud storage services. The best thing about the SkyDrive is that you can access it from a non-Windows PC too.

New Web Browsing Experience

Along with this latest Windows, you also get to use the Internet Explorer 10, which has got the capability to turn around your browsing experience. IE 10 has a fluid responsive nature and that is something new about the web browsers. Every action you want to perform on the internet is just a swipe, tap, or click away. What’s even more cool about the IE 10 is that it supports the HTML5, which means the Web Developers have also got something to cheer about, unlike the haunting days of IE 6.

Lucky You!

If you have bought a new PC operating on Windows OS on or after June 2, 2012, and now want to upgrade your OS to the charming Windows 8, you can get it only for $14.99. This offer is valid for all the PCs bought within a time frame of June 2, 2012 to January 31, 2013. However, if you want to upgrade an old machine that operates on Windows 7 or even XP (in some cases), you need to shell-out $39.99, which is still quite manageable.