As Microsoft’s new and updated version of Windows is released to consumers today, many people can’t help but wonder what the future holds for Microsoft. The new system, Windows 8, is a complete redesign of the graphic user interface, focusing on Microsoft’s “everything at once” design. The ever-familiar start button is gone, and in it’s place is a new “tile format”, displaying the systems key features and applications on the screen all at once. For users of Microsoft’s popular gaming console, the Xbox 360, this new interface will look familiar; the console’s user interface has an almost identical layout.

Microsoft’s new start menu for Windows 8. Click on the picture for more information.

Why the big change? Obviously they want to keep their consumer base happy, but I personally believe their primary objective is to challenge Apple in the tablet and mobile phone industry. This new interface provides plenty of advantages in these product categories that previous Microsoft products just couldn’t offer. The key element is the layout, where every app or program is activated by pushing a button. This allows for touch screens, which previous Windows phones either underutilized or didn’t use at all. It will be interesting to see how consumer’s react to this change, and even more interesting to see how its competitors react.

What do you think?