Eventually Windows 8 came to life
on October 25th. Microsoft introduced its latest version of operating system
amidst much jubilation putting an end to a yearlong anxious wait. The
stupendous OS has started reaching the hands of eagerly waiting Windows-lovers a
day after its launch. Microsoft hopes Windows 8 to be its most efficient and
capable ammo in its fiery battle to upkeep and somewhat give new lease of life
to the software giant’s computer market.
The world’s largest software
maker has given a face-lift to the latest version of Windows OS. The
appealing appearance of Windows 8 is definitely to allure tech savvy chaps
around the globe. However, Microsoft is well aware that looks alone cannot take
the game to its side. To warrant that the so must go on, the conglomerate has
introduced many outstanding features in Windows 8 than in its previous
versions. How about rushing through a few of them that I think will help in the
sales of Windows 8.
To begin with, eying high demand of touch-centric devices among young users across the world, Microsoft has made Windows 8 touch-enabled. Though Windows is quite popular among business customers, it is not the same case with college goers and trendy youths. Apple is their first choice for its unconventional features. Now Microsoft wants to cut into it though in my view it seems tough at least for now.
Hope you remember, you had to unlock Windows 7 last time to check out the city temperature or latest headlines. But that is not the case anymore on Windows 8. A user can gather every information without even unlocking the OS. This becomes beneficial when you talk about accessing calendar, photos, e-mails, up-coming events and thumbnail images. Personally speaking, this feature sounds interesting, but does unlocking the OS to check these info kill that much time? If not, I don’t think this will work out much in favor of Microsoft.
But yes Windows 8 can cut short your time to search files, apps, and specific settings. All you need to do is to type the required file name in the specified column and Windows 8 will search that particular file for you within seconds. Apart from this innovative feature, another aspect that deserves applause in Windows 8 is the Refresh and Reset option that lets you refresh or reset your computer instantly that too without much hassle.
In my view the most interesting aspect about Windows 8 is that it lets you share everything including your posts with everyone over social networking sites or with other apps. This feature is sure to get positive response from the youth worldwide. Another exciting aspect of Windows 8 is that it allows pinning of specific websites and particular sections from apps on the Start screen. For instance, if you like specific sections of the Travel app, you can easily pin them; at least a frequent traveler like me would surely do that.
However, not all features are limited to the Start screen. Microsoft has also taken care to keep the Task Manager really sophisticated. The list of programs and processes now has separate headers—apps, background processes, and Windows processes. Not only this, you can also gauge the exact CPU usage by each app or process and moreover search more about it online by simply right-clicking on it.
On the security front, it is worth admitting here that Windows 8 is not invulnerable but is for sure much more secure than Windows 7. Being the first to utilize UEFI (Unified Extensible Firmware Interface), Windows 8 ensures that you only run applications with recognized, valid security certificates, thus preventing rootkits and other malware to load during boot up.
Secondly, Windows Defender gets a more powerful avatar. It is now a comprehensive malware removal tool unlike its previous version that could only clean off spyware. Wonder what will happen to all the security software makers?
Windows 8 do have several advanced features. There is no denial of that. But are these features really beneficial to a normal user? Can Windows 8 lead the game for Microsoft? Will the Redmond-based software tycoon succeed in curbing its rivals including Apple? Only time has all the answers.
