Microsoft has taken the wraps off its forthcoming operating system, codenamed Windows 8, which it hopes will give it the platform it needs to fend off rivals Apple and Google, especially in the emerging field of tablet computing.

Pitching the operating system, which is expected to begin shipping commercially in 2012, as a “reimagining” of Windows, Microsoft says it will scale from touch-only, small-screen devices to large screens, with or without a keyboard and mouse.

Signalling arguably the biggest shake-up in the software since Windows 95, the user interface is being completely redesigned. Even the iconic Start menu is being ditched in favour of a tile-based Start screen offering a customisable, scalable full-screen view of applications.

Borrowing heavily from its Windows Phone 7 operating system for smartphones, Windows 8 will make extensive use of live tiles, showing up-to-date information from users’ apps, offer natural switching between running apps, the ability to snap and resize an app to the side of the screen and Web-powered apps built using HTML5 and JavaScript. The software will also feature a touch-controlled Internet Explorer 10.

Indeed, touch is a fundamental component of the new operating system, allowing it to be used on tablet computers, where Apple has taken a dominant early lead.

A video demonstration, courtesy of Microsoft, follows after the break. — Staff reporter, TechCentral

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p92QfWOw88I