The good folks over in Redmond, Wash. seem to think we need a new Windows operating system after only a couple of years. They think we need a tablet operating system on our laptops and personal computers. They want us sliding our windows and swiping across our desktop.
The problem is it works.
The developer build of Windows 8 runs better on my laptop than Windows 7 ever has. A pre-beta version of the software does not crash my video drivers the way 7 does like clockwork every three days. It recognizes new networks quicker. And it is just plain easier to use.
It shouldn’t be.
The Metro user interface is clearly built to be used with touch inputs. Big buttons, the ability to swipe through windows and a start menu you can reorder just by dragging and dropping tiles are all interactions we are more used to seeing on our phones than on our desktop.
This new interface is the most noticeable tweak in the latest version of Windows, but there is more going on than just a new look. Windows 8 preserves a number of the great features from 7. Aero Snap, used to resize windows; is still there for example. Things have been improved.
Windows has struggled from version to version with permission to use files. Sometimes you could not access something because you were not an administrator, something would not close because you did not have permission. Windows was like a 2 year old who had just learned the word “no.” By the time Vista was released Windows had grown into a demanding 4 year old asking permission for everything. It got better in Windows 7 and it seems this trend of maturity has continued.
Fair warning: it gets a bit technical here. I am dual booting my Lenovo Ideapad between Windows 7 and Windows 8. This means at start up I can choose which operating system I use. It also means I have two different sections of my hard drive with different user accounts for each of them. Sometimes I will be working in one OS and need a file that I started in the other. When this happens I have to give administrator level permission for Windows 8 to access the Windows 7 My Documents folder. No big deal. Then it asked if I wanted it to remember this decision.
Wait what?
Does this mean Win 8 is remembering what is OK and what’s not? Sure enough, next time I returned to My Documents on the Windows 7 drive I did not have to tell it “yes it is OK if I do this.”
There are other bells and whistles attached as well. For example, when backing up files from the computer to an external hard drive, instead of listing each transfer in a separate window, each progress graph lines up one under the other, neat and tidy in one window. Wait, did I just say graph? Indeed I did.  Gone is the progress bar of old. Now Win 8 shares a shiny graph, tracking transfer speed over time. You can see exactly how much speed you lose or gain from each extra file or folder you transfer simultaneously.
Is Windows 8 ready to be your main operating system already? Probably not. Microsoft is still adding features, meeting standards and verifying compatibilities. Will it be worth the money when it comes out? Well, let’s just say I have already started shopping for a touch screen monitor.