Windows 8 Unveiled for Public
The eagerly awaited and one of the most talked about Operating System Windows 8 was unveiled today by Microsoft Corp. in Barcelona at the Mobile World Congress Trade Show. Microsoft has got lot in stake and much of the future of this Tech Giant is dependent on the launch of Windows 8. The present release of Windows 8 is the Consumer Preview of the OS while the market release is expected to be somewhere in September – October 2012.
Windows 8 Developer Preview Start Screen
“Microsoft’s future path is riding on Windows 8 and its success. This is a chance for Microsoft to re-establish itself in a market where it’s becoming increasingly irrelevant.”
— David Cearley (Gartner Inc.)
The Developer Preview of Windows 8 was launched in September last year included tools for building “metro style apps”, such as Microsoft Windows SDK for Metro style applications, Microsoft Visual Studio 11 Express, while the Consumer Preview at the Mobile World Conference is expected to see some major developments in the UI part. According to Microsoft, there were more than 500,000 downloads of the developer preview within the first 12 hours of its release.
Windows 8 will be the first operating system by Microsoft that will be compatible with low-power microprocessors designed by ARM Holdings Plc, and will run on tablets as well as desktops and laptops.
The stocks also seemed soaring on Tuesday as the stocks of Microsoft witnessed a good 52% rise in value, while the stock prices of Google dropped by 4%.
Windows 8 will be available in two versions, firstly the traditional x86 chips by Intel Corp mainly for desktops and laptops, and the second version for the ARM microprocessors that will be used for tablets, smartphones and other portable devices.
The new Windows will have a new user interface with real time tile-based Start screen similar to the Windows Phone.
source: wikipedia.org , economictimes.indiatimes.com
