Windows 8 previewed by Microsoft

Windows 8 previewed byMicrosoft Microsoft has shown off early releases ofthe next version of Windows.Demonstrations of Windows 8 running ontablets, phones and desktop computerswere given at separate conferences in theUS and Taiwan.As expected, the software can be used viaeither traditional keyboard and mouse or bygestures on a gadget's touchscreen.No date has been given for the release ofWindows 8 but it is expected to be availablebefore October 2012.The start screen for Windows 8 seen at thedemonstrations closely resembles the tiledlayout seen on Microsoft's newest mobileoperating system. The live tiles, that link topopular applications and data streams, canbe manipulated via pressing on a screen.The demo suggests that Windows 8 willhave a unified look even though it willrun on phones and tablets as well asportable and fixed computers.The system has been designed first andforemost around touch and gesture, saidMicrosoft, but would also be manipulableby more traditional methods.Despite rival Apple's success with its iPadtablet, Microsoft declared that it was not"out of the game" in that market.The demos were given at the D9 conferencein California and Computex in Taipei.In a bid to speed up its efforts to get moretablets running Windows in the hands ofconsumers, Microsoft has reportedlydemanded that hardware firms work with asingle chip maker as they produce theirgadgets.Typically, laptop and notebook makers takechipsets from different suppliers as theybuild up a product range.Firms expected to be producing chipsets fortablets include Qualcomm, TexasInstruments, Nvidia, Intel and others.The news did not go down well withcomputer firms."This industry doesn't belong to Microsoftor Google, it belongs to all theparticipants," said Jim Wang, president ofAcer, at a Computex press conference. "Sothey can't make the decision for all of us.That's the problem."Windows 8 previewed byMicrosoft