14 DAY TRIAL // Windows 8 is no longer a beta product, it’s a full-featured operating system that’ll go on sale all over the world in just a few hours.
The Windows 8 launch party in New York wasn’t at all breathtaking, although we must admit that all Microsoft executives who took to the stage revealed some very interesting facts about the new operating system.
Steven Sinofsky was the first one who praised Windows 8, while Steve Ballmer, the company’s CEO, held the last speech of the evening. No, Ballmer didn’t dance, but instead he said one word that made Apple fanboys break out in laughter.
Ballmer explained that the experience provided by Windows 8 is really “magical,” while both the operating system and the new Office are again truly “magical.”
The Surface, on the other hand, “magically serves up relevant information on what you're watching,” Ballmer said.
So here you are, three different products (Windows 8, Office and the Surface tablet) that are all magical and ready to change the way you are working on a computer.
Steven Sinofsky, the president of the Windows division, also praised the new OS, claiming that “Windows 8 is a major milestone in the evolution and the revolution of computing.”
“In creating Windows 8, we shunned the incremental. We boldly re-imagined Windows. From the chip set to the experience, Windows 8 is the next generation of Windows, computing for the next billion people,” Sinofsky added.
Windows 8 is indeed based on Windows 7, but “we took that foundation and we made it better, much, much better,” he explained. Battery life was extended by up to 13 percent, boot time was improved by up to 36 percent, while cold start times get as low as 10 seconds.
Mike Angiulo and Julie Larson-Green stepped on the stage to demonstrate some of the features available in Windows 8, but also to showcase some Windows 8 devices.
Steve Ballmer’s speech however was the most important moment of the whole event. “Windows 8, yes, I'm excited,” he quickly said after taking to the stage.
“Just stop and look at all of these gorgeous, gorgeous machines,” he added with a huge smile on his face. Windows 8 PCs are the best PCs ever and Windows 8 brings together the best of worlds, the PC and the tablet, the work life and play.
“You will absolutely love the new Windows, but you're not going to take my word for it, and I encourage you, head out to a retail store, check them out online. In the case of Windows 8, seeing, touching, clicking, and swiping is really believing,” Ballmer explained.
Welcome to the world of Windows 8!
Full coverage of the Windows 8 launch party is available here.