We now know that Windows 8 will launch in October, in both its X86 and ARM Windows RT flavours. And we expect Windows Phone 8 and the Microsoft Surface tablet to launch at around the same time.
If you are looking to upgrade your smartphone or tablet, then, Windows 8 will offer a very different alternative to Android, iOS and the rest. But what about the majority of the world's one billion Windows users, who are running X86 Windows PCs and laptops?
The most immediate and fundamental difference between Windows 7 and Windows 8 is the main interface. Although the Desktop view is similar to traditional Windows, most of the time you'll be interacting with Windows 8's Metro interface - and boy will you notice the difference. The Metro interface is the default home screen for Windows 8, and features a series of colourful tiles, each offering access to a discrete application. Each offers live information, so you can see how many emails are in your inbox, for example, without having to open an application. You can customize your device's Metro interface, adding for instance access apps, web pages, images and even people - or at least their picture, contact details and your combined communication.
The Metro interface looks and feels like a smartphone or tablet OS, and following that theme is the inclusion of the Windows Store in Windows 8. This online shopfront is stuffed full of Windows apps - each designed to run on x86 Windows PCs, laptops and tablets, as well as ARM tablets and smartphones. Windows 8 apps follow the same design principle as Metro - being constructed of cascading live tiles of information, in primary colours. They all have social networking capabilities baked in as standard, and follow the same principles of interface, so that there is no real learning curve when starting to use a new app.
Read more: Windows 7 vs Windows 8: what's the difference between Windows 8 & Windows 7? - PC Advisor
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