Although they're running an OS that was built a decade ago, many
PCs that are currently using Windows XP will have sufficient
horsepower to handle Windows 8 when it's released, according to a
Microsoft official.
"Looking at Windows 7 customers, there are currently more than 450
million PCs that will be able to run Windows 8. But we expect that
many systems running Windows Vista and Windows XP will also be
eligible," said Christa St. Pierre, a member of the Windows Setup
and Deployment team, in a blog post.
Older computers will be able to run Windows 8 because Microsoft has
intentionally kept system requirements for the OS to a minimum,
according to St. Pierre. "With Windows 7 ... we made a commitment
to work on many more existing PCs by keeping system requirements
low and maintaining compatibility. We've continued that commitment
with Windows 8."
St. Pierre did not provide specific system requirements for Windows
8, but it's likely they'll be similar to Windows 7. The latter
requires a minimum configuration of a 1-GHz processor, 1 GB of RAM,
16 GB of disk space, and a DirectX 9-compatible graphics unit.
It was not clear from St. Pierre's post whether Microsoft will
offer upgrade pricing for XP and Vista users. A company
spokesperson said she was unable to provide further details.
St. Pierre also provided new information about the Windows 8 setup
and installation process, which promises to be the slickest yet for
Microsoft operating systems. Most significantly, Microsoft has
created an end-to-end online upgrade system that users can employ
to set up and install Windows 8. Among other things, it will
eliminate the time consuming and frustrating process of typing in
lengthy authorization keys.
"With our Web setup experience, we actually 'pre-key' the setup
image that is downloaded to a unique user, which means that you
don't have to type in the 25-digit product key when you install,"
said St. Pierre.
For Windows 8, Microsoft has also combined Upgrade Advisor, Setup,
and Windows Easy Transfer into a single application. "We've folded
them together into one fast and fluid experience," said St. Pierre.
The app will also tell users which version of Windows 8 is most
suitable for their system.
Microsoft has yet to release a ship date for Windows 8, though many
observers expect it to be released in mid to late 2012. The head of
Nokia France recently told a newspaper that his company would have
a Windows 8 tablet by next summer.
When it does arrive, Windows 8 will be forked into two
architectures--one for traditional X86 desktops and laptops, and
one for tablets that use chips based on ARM's system-on-a-chip
design. To facilitate tablet use, Windows 8 borrows Windows Phone's
Metro interface, which features touch-friendly icons called Live
Tiles.
Source:
InformationWeek USA