So What’s New in Windows 8?
There’s a ton of new stuff in Windows 8, but the biggest change that
you’ll notice right away is the addition of the new tile-based Metro
interface, which you can see in the screenshot above. Keep in mind that
this is the developer preview release, which means it’s nowhere near
finished, and you should definitely not install this on your primary PC.
We’ll go into loads of detail about everything as you read further,
but first here’s a quick list of just some of the new features:
- Metro Interface – the new default interface in Windows 8, keep reading for everything about this.
- Faster Boot Times – Windows 8 will boot much
faster than Windows 7, thanks to a partial hibernation mode and a lot
of improvements in the loading process. On my old Dell laptop, it boots
in less than 10 seconds – on new machines, it’s crazy fast.
- Less Memory Usage than Windows 7. That’s right.
Microsoft is saying that not only will this version use less RAM than
Win7, it also uses less running processes.
- Windows Explorer overhauled, now has the Ribbon UI, Revamped File Copying, and ISO mounting.
- In-Place PC Refresh will reload Windows in just a couple of clicks, keeping your files intact.
- ARM processors are now supported, which will lead to an entirely new class of low-power, battery-efficient tablets.
- Hyper-V is now part of Windows – so now you can create virtual machines easily without installing anything extra.
- Taskbar can now span multiple monitors – this very simple feature has finally made it into Windows.
- Wallpaper can now span multiple monitors – yet another feature that should have been around 10 years ago.
- Universal Spell Check across Metro applications.
- Windows Live Integration for Sync, Mail, Skydrive
lets you sync all your settings across your PCs, including your files,
mail, and photos. The sync is available in the preview, but the
Skydrive and Mail are not yet.
- Windows Store will let you purchase Windows apps all in a single place.
- New Task Manager is completely revamped with much
better tools, including a way to disable startup applications, track
application resource usage over time, and even easily restart Windows
Explorer.
There’s way more changes all over the place, and we’ll try and cover
as much as possible, but there’s no way we can get everything. Not to
mention the fact that this is a preview, so there’s probably a whole
lot more coming in the beta.