OK, everyone form an orderly queue please! Yesterday saw the date that Microsoft had been building up for some months now; the release of the next version of its OS, Windows 8. The launch took place in New York with over 1000 journalists and industry types. Its been called one of the biggest gambles and launches Microsoft has made to date, and the tech giant has a lot riding on Windows 8 and its software / hardware brethren.

Microsoft is looking to narrow the gap between itself and its nearest competitors, Apple and Google, in the OS and new devices markets. Windows 8 is blurring the line and difference between tablets and traditional PCs, the OS will run happily on both. So has to get the best of both worlds. CEO of Microsoft Steve Ballmer said of the launch, “What you’ve seen and heard should leave no doubt that Windows 8 shatters perceptions of what a PC really is”, hearlding in a new era at the company. PC sales in recent years have been slowing, with the number of tablet users steadily rising; Wind0ws 8 would mean a new oppunity for keeping up pace with the changes in hardware usage by consumers.

The main critizim of Windows 8 has always been the much different user interface than what people are used to. There is some danger that it could put people off from using the OS due to its confusing yet simply layout of tiles. Both the software and tablet went on sale at midnight.