Windows 7 was Microsoft's big hit after the complete miss known as Vista. With the release of 7, Microsoft showed that it is not ready to hang up its hat. Now with Microsoft's newest release, Windows 8, some parts of the operating system are old hat but some portions are a whole new bag of tricks. By this point you're wondering what the new changes are and what hasn't changed, or maybe just which version works better for you.

Interface

The first change is in the Windows 8 user interface (the user interface is what you see and interact with on your screen.) There's some similarities to 7, but it's still very different because it is geared more towards touch screen PCs. Windows 7 had support for touch, but not as improved as Microsoft's newest version.

This change is personified in the new start menu. Now dubbed Start Screen, this interactive menu shows your choices now on tiles. These tiles give you an easier and quicker way to access the programs you want. A further improvement has been the on-screen keyboard and hand recognition. A Windows 8 touch enabled PC is not required for this to work. There are peripherals made by Microsoft, Logitech and other companies, such as touch mice and track pads that allow users to use the touch based properties of Windows 8.

Next up is the aforementioned Start menu, now referred to as Start Screen. It's one of the largest changes Microsoft has introduced, but many might find as an unwelcome change. Now when you hover over the area where the start menu use to reside, users are taken to the start screen. Applications are now launched from the start screen and the desktop is only visible when you click the tile sending you back to the desktop. For those that require the original start menu, there are third party programs that allow you to add a start menu like the one from Windows 7 and Windows XP.

New Features

For those using multiple monitors, Microsoft has done a complete overhaul of their display management software. It gives you, the end user, more ability to customize what is displayed on each screen. Each monitor now also has its own dedicated task bar, as well as wallpapers able to be spanned across multiple displays. Each monitor can also have its own separate wallpaper.

Three additional features added in are the Windows Store, cloud integration from Skydrive, and a more robust search feature. Similar to the Google Play for Android and the App Store for iPhone and iPad devices, the Windows Store is your gateway to apps optimized for Windows 8 PCs. With integration from Skydrive, users get access to cloud storage, allowing them to view their data from virtually any computer. With the new search function, Windows gives users the ability to search not only their local files, which is also available on Windows 7, but their favorite search engines, as well, like Bing, Google or Yahoo.

7 or 8?

With Microsoft's release of Windows 8, we tip our hat, as this shows Microsoft is not done making innovative and quality operating systems. For quite a few, Windows 8 may appear to be quite the appealing choice with new tricks. If you enjoy learning new things and don't mind the slight curve in learning a new Microsoft layout, then Windows 8 is perfect for you. With the new added features and security measures, 8 will surely be a worthy successor to 7.

If you still prefer to stay with the old layout formof Windows XP, it would be best to stick to Windows 7 for that familiar feeling of home. If you have any questions and wish to speak with a technician, always feel free to give us a call at (800) 716-4939.

To view the original article, visit the My Computer Works blog.