With the recent launch of Windows 8, many people have been daunted with the major overhaul of the classic start menu they’re used to ever since Windows 95.
The main reason is many people don’t like change and are afraid to change the way they work. However in my opinion the changes are great and a step forward for the future of Windows.
Below are 10 great new features in the Windows 8 that should be enough to convince you to upgrade!
1. Easy Gestures
Windows 8 has many new features and amongst them are the touch gestures. It’s the first truly gestural version of Windows and has numerous gestures such to perform operations such as:
- Switch tasks quickly
- Use two app simultaneously
- Close apps
- etc.
2. Live Tiles
Users of the Windows Phone will be familiar with the live tiles. Windows 8 apps can push information to you on the start screen without the need of running the app. Mail, Calendar, upcoming events, the weather and more.
3. System Wide Search
Window’s search feature has never been better. It’s fantastic for searching files, settings and apps. The feature can even search within app and if you want, take you to a web search.
4. Settings Sync
Many people work on multiple computers in one day. This could be at home and in the office or possibly in the same company in different departments. One of the annoyances of this is the fact that if you want to change a setting, you have to do so on all the machines individually. Backgrounds, colours, browser settings and more. Windows 8 Cloud Sync is a great feature which keeps all your profile in sync across all machines you use.
5. Pin Anything
Windows 8 is all about the new Start screen and the Live Tiles. They’re very customisable and so you the Start screen is also your virtual bulletin board. You can pin people, certain destinations from travel apps, website links etc.
6. Share Anything
Microsoft has never been as adamant in helping the user share as they have in Windows 8. You will find the share button in many places in the “charms bar” and will allow you to share between apps, to your social networks and email too.
7. Speedy Boot Time
This is interesting. Windows 8 boots up faster than all previous versions and many have faced a problem (if you want to call it that!) with this. The OS boots so quick, it leaves no time to enter the setup and BIOS! For this reason Microsoft added extra options in Windows 8 to tackle this.
8. Windows to Go
This is going to become the favourite feature for many users. Windows to Go allows you to make a copy of your OS including settings, wallpapers, files and apps into a USB pen drive. You can then plug this USB into another computer with Windows 8 installed and can boot it up looking exactly like yours!
9. No New Hardware Requirements
Windows 8 doesn’t require any special hardware and in fact, some people have reported it runs smooth on even a Core 2 Duo with 4GB of ram!
10. Picture Passwords
Lots of users have fallen in love with this feature. Instead of the old password login, you can use a picture password. It’s best explained via a video:
