14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft is betting a lot on the new Windows 8 operating system, and it appears that it does so for a good reason. Millions of people already use the latest platform release, and many more are expected to adopt it in the coming months even on traditional PCs, both before and after the official release.
At the moment, the company is moving fast towards the RTM milestone of the operating system, and is applying the latest touches to its product.
Concurrently, the Redmond-based software giant is also urging developers to speed up the building of their Metro apps, so as to have them available in the Windows Store for the big launch.
With millions already ripping the fruits of the latest advancements in Windows 8, it’s no wonder that the company is making sure that applications will be there for them to enjoy in time for general availability.
“We have hundreds of apps in the Windows Store now and many more on the way. There’s a broad set of developers around the world that we have been working closely with since the first Developer Preview,” Microsoft’s Steven Sinofsky notes in a blog post.
“The WinRT platform is evolving rapidly during development based on feedback, and we have the dual task of keeping the Store up and running so we can supply apps to the millions of Preview users, while also getting ready for the next build.”
When released to manufacturing, Windows 8 will deliver a new experience to users, different from what was available in the early builds.
Many of these will affect the visual appearance of the operating system, which is bound to lose the Aero Glass in the next milestone, and to land on shelves this fall without it.
Various performance improvements are also expected to emerge, as well as changes to the applications that Microsoft has already built into the platform, including its own Metro-style software, such as Mail, SkyDrive, Bing, and the like.
Designed with optimizations for use on touchscreen devices, Windows 8 should appeal to traditional users as well, Microsoft said. To make sure that this happens, it already announced plans to make upgrades to Windows 8 Pro available for as low as $39.99.