Microsoft demonstrates new Windows 8 operating system

Company official says Win8 is a single device for business, pleasure.

KARACHI:

Whether you are a die-hard fan and want to try new touch screen devices or a traditional user who is satisfied with tried and tested desktop computers, Windows 8 operating system (Win8 OS) will not disappoint you in either case, at least this was what was apparent in Microsoft’s (MS) media briefing of this highly anticipated OS on Tuesday.

Win8 is a re-imagination of the PC phase, an OS built in line with the latest consumer trends and on the solid foundation of Win7 – the most successful operating system by MS so far, according to Sherif Morsi, Windows Client Business Group Lead, North Africa, Middle East and Pakistan.

“With Win8, you will need one device for business and pleasure without compromising on speed,” Morsi said while talking to a select group of journalists during the product’s demonstration.

The Redmond-based software giant launched Windows 8 globally on October 26 along with its much-anticipated tablet, Windows Surface.

MS is launching three versions of the software – Win8, Win8 Pro and Win RT, according to Morsi who is visiting Pakistan to attend Win8 Summit and associated events as well as brief the media about the relevance of the operating system to the local market.

The most exciting features of the product are Modern User Interface (MUI) for touch screen lovers and a desktop interface for desktop users as they can switch to the Win7 desktop anytime to run desktop applications. The desktop interface can be accessed through desktop tile on the MUI. The OS runs on both touch and non-touch devices.

One can personalise the lock screen by using picture password, a newly introduced feature, according to Morsi, that becomes the reflection of user’s own personality. The feature enables the user to select a picture and then apply a password by drawing lines, curves, circles and dots, something that allows the user to make the device more personalised.

One can also personalise the start screen, which is a set of tiles (apps), by customising each tile and changing their positions to suit him. This will help both heavy users and light users to use the space more efficiently. Switching between the tiles is smooth and very fast. Some of the tiles such as mail tile and news tile offer real time updates while messaging tile helps connect with social media contacts.

Though Win8 certainly offers exciting features, it may not be perfectly suited to every user.

“The messaging application, for example, can exhibit slight delays in messaging Facebook contacts,” Noman Ansari, who recently purchased Win8, wrote in his blog post on The Express Tribune blogs.

Ansari also experienced a lack of customisation on some of the tiles. Importing pictures to the Modern UI, he wrote, is a bit of a nightmare in terms of navigation with the options in the ‘pictures’ tile frustratingly limited.

While the new product may have some limitations, system requirements to run this OS are not very high.

The basic requirements to run Win8, Morsi said, include 1GB of RAM, 1GHz processor and 16GB of hard drive and basic video graphic hardware.

One can upgrade any previous version of Windows OS to Win8 against a payment of $15, a limited offer valid from June 2 up to January 1. “We didn’t want to penalise our customers who recently bought Windows 7,” Morsi said while talking about their promotional offer. Win8 Pro can be bought for $40, he said.

When it comes to hardware, users have a variety of options. The new product comes in all-in-ones, ultra books, convertibles, slates and other computing devices.

Excited about the product’s launch, Morsi said the feedback from customers is extremely positive and they are getting great reviews.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 14^th, 2012.