Windows 8: Touch-heavy, tablet-friendly

After weeks of anticipation, Microsoft® has opened the curtain on the next installment of its Windows® operating system. In short, this isn't the Windows you've grown up with.

As expected, Windows 8 will become Microsoft's flagship software for both traditional PCs and tablet computers. With Windows 8, Microsoft introduces what it calls a "Metro style" user interface, which is touch- and tile-heavy and somewhat resembles the Windows Phone 7 interface.

Microsoft stresses that the new operating system will be built around applications -- another cue taken from mobile technology. One of the advantages of designing for both PC and tablet platforms is that the apps will be synced across all of the user's devices.

One major disconnect with Windows 8 from previous installments is its compatibility with new hardware. Rather than run exclusively on x86 devices -- the chip architecture used by Intel® -- Windows 8 will also support ARM-based chipsets, which has led some to predict the end of the longstanding Microsoft-Intel alliance.

Where Windows 8 will land in the tablet market when it is released next year remains to be seen. Microsoft has its work cut out for it in competition with Apple® and Google. However, some experts have opined that Windows 8 will be the mobile OS for which the tablet market has been waiting.