Microsoft’s Surface Pro launching in January

Microsoft’s Surface Pro tablet will arrive in Januaryof next year with an $899 price tag. The Surface Pro is the more powerful version of the Surface RT. It features an Intel Core i5 processor and 1080p HD display. The Pro will run the full version of Windows 8, not like the Surface RT which had Windows RT installed. That means it will be able to run all of the legacy Windows apps that a full laptop or desktop has access to — something that the RT version is not capable of.

Included in the price is also a Surface Pen but not a Touch or Type Cover. The tablet includes a USB 3.0 port and a Mini DisplayPort, which can drive a screen of up to 2560 x 1440 resolution. The Pro version is a little heavier and thicker than the RT model, but Microsoft notes that it is still under two pounds and less than 14mm thick.

A 64GB model will cost $899, while a 128GB edition will be available for $999. Which one will you choose?

Windows 8 launching on October 26

The title says it all. The world is getting Metro-fied on Friday 26th October. Just a few minutes ago, Steven Sinofsky announced at Microsoft’s annual sales meeting that customers will be able to get Windows 8 – whether in upgrade fashion or on a new PC – starting on October 26th.

Windows 8 is a radical redesign of Windows that takes into account a mobile and touch-centric future. This release date will give consumers ample time to purchase systems running the code for the holiday season. Coming up next should be release dates for Office 2013, Windows Phone 8, and the next version of Windows Server. It’s going to be a busy end of the year for the Microsofties.

For now, I’ll continue getting on with the Release Preview

Installing Windows 8 Developer Preview

So I think that everyone heard that a New Windows is coming to town. This week, on Tuesday, which was also the Programmer’s Day, Microsoft showed the New Windows 8 OS during it’s BUILD Conference. And it was really a great present for all Programmers!! At least I’m really excited to try the new OS and start using the new Developer Tools. You can find more info on Windows 8 in the next links:

http://www.winsupersite.com/article/windows8/windows-8-developer-preview-140546

http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/13/windows-8-details-new-features-ui-enhancements-and-everything/

Installing

I’m upgrading my Windows 7 laptop to Windows 8, so it’s not a clean install. Up till now it’s 77% and it took about 25 mins. A clean install would definitely take less time.

The laptop is a bit old, in fact it was a Windows XP laptop. It’s a VAIO powered by 1.6GHz Single Core Centrino CPU and 1GB of RAM. With Windows 7 it was running fine for normal day to day use. We’ll see how it fares with Windows 8! I’ll keep you posted. Anyone installed the Windows 8 Developer Preview? What do you think?

UPDATE 1: And it’s ready installing. For an upgrade on a 1.6GHz Centrino laptop, with 10% of free hard disk space, it took around 40 mins.

UPDATE 2: Getting devices ready and now Applying User Settings from the Windows 7 installation!

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