Notebookcheck Logo

Windows 8 to Require No System upgrades

Teaser
When it came time to step up from Windows XP to Vista, most consumers needed a new machine, or at least some new parts. Microsoft claims that this will not be the case for Windows 8.

Microsoft indicates that the next iteration of its ubiquitous operating system, Windows 8, will actually adapt to the hardware configuration of the system it is deployed on. Understandably, this makes a lot of sense, because they are intending to deploy the OS against both desktop/laptop target hardware, as well as tablets. This will bring Windows 8 in line with iOS, which also adapts to its target hardware (iPhone and iPad versions). Moreover, it will also make it competitive with Google's upcoming Android Ice Cream Sandwich, anticipated for release in the 4th quarter of this year, or early next year.

With the rise of tablets, the concept of an adaptable, or scalable OS, has taken firm root in the software design choices that the major vendors are selecting. If RIM ever gets around to adapting QNX to its smartphones devices, it would be likely they would do so as another scalable OS, for use with both the Playbook product line and its various series of phones.

Current Windows 7 system requirements include a 1GHz CPU, 1 GB of RAM (2GB for 64-bit versions of the OS), 16 or 20GB of hard drive space, and a DirectX 9 compatible GPU. At the recent Worldwide Partner Conference held in California, Microsoft affirmed its intent to launch Windows 8 without requiring the user to step up their system configuration. Of course, this is if the user is already running a PC that meets the minimum systems specs for Windows Vista.

Windows 8 is expected to be launched sometime in 2012.

Source(s)

Please share our article, every link counts!
Jerry Myers, 2011-07-18 (Update: 2012-05-26)