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Microsoft who stand to gain a big lift in tablet market share with the launch of their new Windows 8 operating system has launched a new preview version of their new OS.
Microsoft who stand to gain a big lift in tablet market share with the launch of their new Windows 8 operating system has launched a new preview version of the OS.
The company said that tens of thousands of improvements to the OS have been made since the release of the early beta version and that their latest offering is the most important redesign of its interface since Windows 95.
Consumers can now download the release preview of Windows 8, a system which Microsoft says is its most tested operating system ever.
The new OS is set to be launched in Australia later this year with several PC vendors looking to launch new tablets and 27″ touch screen all in one PC’s running the new Windows 8.
The new operating system is designed to work across smartphones, tablets and PC’s. Several PC vendors have told SmartHouse that the new OS could be a major threat to Android tablets due to 80% of desktops still being Windows.
“Windows users don’t want to move to an emulation mode to run Windows applications on an Android platform, they want to run the software in a native OS which is why Windows 8 on a tablet could appeal to a lot of business owners who use Windows applications in a mobile enviroment” said an Acer executive.
The new OS adopts the Metro interface of the company’s mobile operating system, Windows Phone 7.
Windows, which still dominates the desktop PC software market, has been much slower to make an impact on mobile phones and tablet computers.
The release preview has features not available in the last version, the consumer preview, launched in February.
The update abandons the Start menu button found on the bottom of previous versions’ screens
There will be new apps for the Bing search engine, news and sports, and improvements to the mail and photo applications unveiled previously.
The latest version of Microsoft’s browser Internet Explorer 10, optimised for touchscreen, is also included for the first time. Users are promised greater personalisation of the start screen, and more control over privacy.
Internet Explorer 10 will be the first browser with “do not track” turned on by default, meaning users can easily decide not to accept cookies.
Microsoft said manufacturers and developers are at work on new devices and apps designed to make the most of Windows 8’s features.
