With Windows 8 on the horizon and all the "Good Press" that preceded and followed the release of Windows 7, it is a sure bet that upgrading will be a serious consideration.
Why?
With all the "cloud" apps today that are revolutionary to decades old server style application delivery, phone technology, tablets (IPAD, Kindle etc) and all the touch apps that are now available, "TOUCH" Windows will sure to be a main feature. Of course, your monitor will have to support that, but it is much cheaper than a new computer – assuming your hardware requirement are at or above the minimum re3quirements for Windows 8.
Versions
Steven Sinofsky, the head of Microsoft’s Windows business
Microsoft has revealed that there will be just three versions of Windows 8 when it is released and has finally explained just what's happening with Arm-based devices.
On its official blog the computing giant revealed that it wanted to make things simple for consumers and that is why there will be only three variations of the software.
Two of these variants will be for PCs sporting x86 processors – both 32 bit and 64 bit. These versions will simply be called Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro.
Microsoft continued: "Windows RT will include touch-optimized desktop versions of the new Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.
"For new apps, the focus for Windows RT is development on the new Windows runtime, or WinRT, which we unveiled in September and forms the foundation of a new generation of cloud-enabled, touch-enabled, web-connected apps of all kinds."
Speaking about Windows 8, Microsoft said: "Windows 8 has the flexibility you need – whether you're on an x86/64 or a WOA PC. You can use a touch screen or a keyboard and mouse – and switch anytime. It's beautiful, fast, and fluid design is perfect for a wide range of hardware."
So there you have it. Microsoft have gone for a very 'keep it simple, stupid' approach to its latest OS, presumably looking at the five versions of Windows 7 and deciding that streamlining was the way to go.
A WOA PC is a version of the forthcoming Windows 8 operating system that will work on new hardware using cellphone-style chips licensed by ARM Holdings
A WOA machines will be very different. A laptop or tablet running the new operating system along with ARM chips, for example, can remain switched on all the time–like a smartphone–in a low-power mode that allows them to perform tasks such as constantly downloading email for weeks without a battery charge.
Unlike Windows 8 on Intel or AMD chips–and every prior version of Windows–there will be no version of the WOA software that users can buy separate from computers. Nor can users install apps in any way but by downloading them from Microsoft’s app store (they will be able to upgrade the OS through that mechanism, too).
Such a regime is common to buyers of Apple iPhones and iPads, but quote foreign to the world of Windows.
Yet WOA machines will also be much the same as systems that use Windows 8 on chips from Intel or Advanced Micro Devices. (Sinofsky abbreviates that technology as x86/64). For one thing, new apps designed to take advantage of the new touch-based interface in Windows 8 should be available for both kinds of system.
“Using WOA “out of the box” will feel just like using Windows 8 on x86/64,” he writes. WOA systems will ship along with a version of its Office suite of applications, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote (Outlook is not mentioned). This is a major departure for Microsoft, which would likely never have considered bundling Office apps when it was under antitrust scrutiny for bundling products such as Internet Explorer with Windows.
More on this as information becomes available.....
