Microsoft has officially announced the name of its next operating system. The new product will actually be called by the very name it has been referred to by everyone – Windows 8. Aside from this announcement, the company has also revealed that it will be releasing three variants of Windows 8.
The first product, to be called “Windows 8” is geared towards the general consumer. “Windows 8 Pro”, on the other hand, is aimed at the business market. The third version is going to be one that is compatible with ARM processors and will be officially called “Windows RT”. This last version of Windows 8 will come pre-installed in Windows on ARM devices, or WOA.
For consumers, Windows 8 will be the version for you. It will come with Internet Explorer 10, picture password (which will only be used on touchscreen devices), and an updated Windows Explorer. There are other new features that you should expect from the new OS.
Windows 8 Pro will carry all of the new features of Windows 8 but will add in a few business-specific features. Among these are a file encryption feature, group policy, remote desktop, and Bitlocker.
Both versions will come in 32 and 64 bit variants.
Windows RT (Run Time) is going to be exclusive to touchscreen devices and is said to be a different animal altogether from its desktop versions. Microsoft looks like it is going to follow the Apple policy with Windows RT – which is to exert a high level of control over the OS.
Originally posted on April 17, 2012 @ 9:22 pm
Will be really interesting to see how the whole touch thing plays into some businesses. Like stock brokers or writers. Many of these folks just want an old fashioned desktop type of interface and the concept of working like their cell phone is a lot different. The video here is almost so fast that it is scary… http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/consumer-preview?SignedIn=1