Windows 8 Consumer Preview Coming Full Circle
Recently I have had opportunity to install the Windows 8 Consumer Preview on a couple of laptops and the following are my initial observations. Superficially at first glance it’s clear that there is an initial learning curve from that of Windows 7, however, after just a few minutes of use its simplicity and familiarity becomes clear. On the surface Windows 8 actually puts me in mind of Windows in its early years. Think back to 1990 when Windows 3.0 first came on the scene; it was revolutionary in its concept of a perceived graphical user interface (GUI). It took us from computers that executed programs in GW Basic or Windows DOS prompt with line commands to a “GUI” that really was nothing more than a fancy kernel that improved upon a crude, simple concept developed by graphic engineers at the Xerox Corporation, enhanced the graphics, added color and Windows was born. It introduced the user interface which employed the use of a cursor controlled by a peripheral known today as the mouse. After booting up your PC all you had to do to execute your programs is point and click. This is Windows in a nutshell and hasn’t changed a great deal with the exception of ever improving graphics, color and security. Since then the concept has undergone a number of revisions from Windows 95, 98, ME, NT, 2000, XP, Vista, 7 and now in 2012 enter Windows 8 where like Windows 3.0 what loads into memory is not the desktop but the initial start menu that covers the entire monitor screen among the items located within the start menu is your desktop. You simply point and click.
