BUILD 2011: Microsoft Windows 8's new features revealed

It’s day one of Microsoft’s BUILD Developer conference and we already have a host of new information regarding Windows 8 OS (Win 8). The first bit of news is that it will be a lot more scalable as compared to Windows 7. To demonstrate this, Steven Sinofsky, President of Windows and Windows Live, stated that a simple netbook with an old Atom processor and 1GB RAM would be enough to run Windows 8 - given the fact that Windows 7 runs well on that type of configuration, Windows 8 with its improved performance and being less resource-hungry, should easily work, if not better.

Tablets to get more powerful in 2012

Microsoft will also be launching Windows Store that will feature both Metro-style apps for tablets and phones, as well as standard Win32 applications. Since Microsoft is shaping Win 8 to be a one-size-fits-all kind of OS, it makes sense to have a common app store as well. Also, all Windows 8 devices that have an NFC chip in them will be able to transfer content by simply tapping them together. Nvidia took this opportunity to show off some of their Tegra 3 or ‘Kal-El’ CPUs, powering some Win 8 tablets.

Steven Sinofsky showcased some of the new changes in Windows 8 to the attendees present. The next version of Internet Explorer, v10, will have the ability to switch between the standard desktop view, as well as the Metro-style UI. Current Windows 7 applications will run natively on Windows 8 without having to set any compatibility modes. Task Manager will now suspend apps that are not running on-screen. HyperV virtualization software will now be pre-loaded. SkyDrive storage support is now integrated into all cloud based apps. Mail, Calendar and People apps with Windows Live ID will get the new Metro UI treatment. There’ll also be a built-in antivirus software. IE 10 will be getting multi-touch support. That’s all for now, stay tuned for more.