Windows 8 is a version of Microsoft Windows (an operating system developed by Microsoft) for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablets, and home theater PCs. Development of Windows 8 started before the release of its predecessor, Windows 7, in 2009. Its existence was first announced at CES 2011, and followed by the release of three pre-release versions from September 2011 to May 2012. The operating system was released to manufacturing on August 1, 2012, and was released for general availability on October 26, 2012. Windows 8 uses version 6.2 of the Windows NT kernel.
Windows 8 introduces significant changes to the operating system's platform, primarily focused towards improving its user experience on mobile devices such as tablets to better compete with other mobile operating systems like Android and Apple's iOS. Windows 8 features a new touch user interface and shell based on Microsoft's "Metro" design language, featuring a new Start screen with a grid of dynamically updating tiles that represent applications. The Start screen replaces the "Start menu" of earlier Windows versions. There is a new app platform with an emphasis on touch screen input, and the new Windows Store to obtain and/or purchase applications to run on the operating system.
Windows 8 was released to mixed reception. Although reaction towards its performance improvements, security enhancements, and improved support for touch screen devices was positive, the new user interface of the operating system has been widely criticized for being potentially confusing and difficult to learn (especially when used with a keyboard and mouse instead of a touch screen). Despite these shortcomings, 60 million Windows 8 licenses have been sold through January 2013. This includes upgrades and sales to OEMs for new PCs.
The minimum system requirements for Windows 8 are slightly higher than those of Windows 7. Windows 8 requires that a system's CPU support certain hardware features, specifically the PAE, NX bit, and SSE2.Windows Store apps require a screen resolution of 1024×768 or higher to run, while a screen resolution of 1366×768 or higher is required to use the snapping functionality for apps.
Windows 8 system Requirement
You want to run Windows 8 on your PC, here's what it takes:
Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with support for PAE, NX, and SSE2
RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver
Additional requirements to use certain features:
To use touch, you need a tablet or a monitor that supports multitouch
To access the Windows Store and to download and run apps, you need an active Internet connection and a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768
To snap apps, you need a screen resolution of at least 1366 x 768
Internet access (ISP fees might apply)
Secure boot requires firmware that supports UEFI v2.3.1 Errata B and has the Microsoft Windows Certification Authority in the UEFI signature database
Some games and programs might require a graphics card compatible with DirectX 10 or higher for optimal performance
Microsoft account required for some features
Watching DVDs requires separate playback software
Windows Media Center license sold separately
BitLocker To Go requires a USB flash drive (Windows 8 Pro only)
BitLocker requires either Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 1.2 or a USB flash drive (Windows 8 Pro only)
Client Hyper-V requires a 64-bit system with second level address translation (SLAT) capabilities and additional 2 GB of RAM (Windows 8 Pro only)
A TV tuner is required to play and record live TV in Windows Media Center (Windows 8 Pro Pack and Windows 8 Media Center Pack only)
Free Internet TV content varies by geography, some content might require additional fees (Windows 8 Pro Pack and Windows 8 Media Center Pack only)
