Features

In previous versions of Windows, Microsoft had graphics or words to click on so you would know what to do. Because Windows 8 is the same operating system from smart phones to desktops, they cannot afford the screen real estate. The Start Menu, Toolbar, System Tray, etc. would use up nearly all of a smart phone's screen. So, now you're going to have to know where to click or what keys to press to do what you want. It's a big change. So, while a lot of Windows 8 is pretty much Windows 7, there are a huge number of significant differences/improvements/nuisances.

The major item of confusion is what are essentially two desktops. One is the familiar one from Windows 7 (missing the Start Button and menu) and the other looks like a very large smart phone, now called Modern. The Modern interface will allow you to launch all your regular Windows programs as well as the smaller, mainly intended for smart phones, apps. When you launch programs, they come up in the standard desktop environment -- you'll see the taskbar at the bottom and your regular desktop background, if the program isn't maximized. When you launch an app, it comes up in full-screen mode only (no way to have it take up half the screen) and everything looks like a large phone.

• Internet Explorer 10: It's really two programs, one the regular IE desktop users know and the other a small app suitable for tablets and phones. If y
• Mail: For phones and tablets, mail is partnered with People, Messaging and Calendar. They are separate apps, but they share the data. From People you can select a person to send email to, exchange messages with, call on Skype and even map the address in Bing Maps. You can even keep track of social media so the What's New feed will keep you abreast of of new posts and will allow you to reply directly without opening a browser. Win8 users can use the apps or stick with Outlook, Live Mail or even Thunderbird.
• Storage Spaces: Essentially an on-the-fly RAID. Set it up and all data is automatically mirrored on two or more drives. File History provides versioning -- it keeps different versions of the same-named document.
• Push Button Reset: If Windows is not working properly, Push Button Reset will return your computer to exactly the state it was in when you purchased it. Less drastically, PC Reset will save your apps, programs, settings and data and then refresh them after the Reset.
• Microsoft Account Integration: Setup the account so you log in with your Windows Live credentials and it authenticates username and password at login. Afterwards, SkyDrive sync will happen automatically (Win8 only - with WinRT you have to click Sync). No longer do you have a secondary login. Hotmail just opens to your account, etc. Your computer knows who you are with only one login.
• Microsoft AntiVirus: Windows 8 comes with its own antivirus. You don't need (and can't install) others. It updates with the other Microsoft Updates, never expires and is one less thing to worry about.
• Apps are sandboxed: One way viruses work in Windows is they modify other programs. Apps can't do this. There is no way to have one app change the behavior of another app. They are all in their own sandbox. This also means there will be no add-on features for apps. There will be no Business Contact Manager for Outlook, no integration of Adobe with Word to create PDF documents, etc.
• Cellular integration: All versions of Windows now support broadband connections.
• Photos: Integrates with SkyDrive, Facebook and Flickr and has limited editing capabilities.
• Xbox Music: Poor man's iTunes, leftover from Zune. Lets you listen to what you own, buy online or subscribe for $9.99 a month to everything in the library.
• Task Manager now controls startup applications. You can turn on or off items from starting up when Windows boots from TaskManager.