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http://news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20110602/tc_digitaltrends/microsoftofficiallyunveilswindows8

I’ve been using Windows XP Pro for over 8 years now, and it’s been a very good operating system overall for my uses. Windows Vista? Yea, right! But wait, didn’t Windows 7, like, JUST come out? And now 8? Years ago I loved computers, but I’m resenting them more and more the way they force consumers to spend more and more money just to keep up.

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I was a loyal XP fan, too.  Still have it running on one of my boxes.  Skipped over Vista but Windows 7 is awesome.  I really like it and its improved functionality (plus I run the 64 bit OS).

Been keeping up with the leaks and rumors regarding Windows 8, too.

They're scrambling to get it out and need to.  Microsoft needs an operating system that can work, not only on PC's/laptops but also on phones but pad systems ... and "the cloud".

If they pull it off, they'll be ahead of the competition.  If they don't they'll be lagging behind (though no system really works on all platforms yet ... Android's the closest).

But one of the coolest things I'm hearing is that it'll have a 128 bit architecture.  In addition to the other major features, that'll REALLY be attractive.

Though Microsoft's always been a lagger ... reinventing what's already been done.  And if all the rumors are true, it's unbelievably ambitious and my guess is that it'll be like Vista ... buggy when it arrives.

But I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

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I'm not sure I like the idea of one OS being functional on a wide variety of platforms. If it actually works, isn't too insanely big (yea, right), has minimal bugs (yea, right), and is fast (still feeling sarcastic), maintains compatibility with older hardware and software, and proves to be reliable and dependable, then cool. (I'm dreaming)  But with such a diverse array of hardware these days, it seems like quite a stretch to make this happen effectively and/or cheaply.

But here's another cost factor that kinda annoys me. One reason why I wouldn't enjoy software programming anymore is because, as I understand it anyways, there are hundreds, maybe even thousands, of programmers working on the total package. This sounds like chaos to me. So I'm guessing MSW8's functionality on a wide range of hardware requires the expansion of programmers accordingly, which the consumer ultimately pays for, right? So if I'm only running a Dell Desktop, how much money could I save as the consumer if I were to purchase a version of MSW8 that was programmed exclusively for Desktops, the same for any other piece of hardware I might choose to own?

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You can always go open source ... several variants of free Unix.  And even open source software that'll run on these systems.