Windows 8 is the code name for the upcoming version of Microsoft Windows that follows Windows 7. It features a new Metro-style interface that is designed for touchscreen, mouse, keyboard, and pen input. It also adds support for the ARM processor architecture in addition to the previously supported x86 microprocessors from Intel and AMD. Its server counterpart is code named Windows Server 8. A release date for the finished version of Windows 8 has not yet been announced. The most recent prerelease version is the Consumer Preview, which was released on February 29, 2012.
The new Microsoft Windows Operating System will boast a drastic performance improvement over it’s predecessor, Windows 7. Not only will it run on Atom Processors and have ARM Cortex chipsets, but it will also include USB 3.0 as a standard for new machines with Windows 8 pre-installed, which will boost the read/write from 480Mbps up to 5Gbps. Windows 7 machines will also have an upgrade path to Windows 8, meaning you may not have the standard USB 3.0 ports built in, but you can easily buy a USB 3.0 card to place in your desktop or laptop to take advantage of Windows 8 USB 3.0 support within the OS itself.
Windows 8 has a performance advantage over Windows 7 machines, as the running processes for Windows 8 start at 281MB with 29 running background processes at idle, while Windows 7 SP1 starts at 404MB of RAM needed with 32 running processes. This is huge, and what many had issues with going from XP to Vista, then to Windows 7, the running processes and RAM needed almost forced us into buying a newer PC.