An update to the third-generation iPad with added Lightning connector is the latest rumor to come out of Apple's announcement next week. This is after whispers that the iPad would receive an upgrade to the A6 chip currently in the iPhone 5.

Apple’s upcoming announcement on October 23 has spawned a nauseating amount of rumors teasing which products will be unveiled and others that will simply be repackaged with improved internals.

Unless you’ve been avoiding the rumor onslaught — and who could blame you? — the iPad Mini is the new device everyone expects to be announced next week. But in light of recent evidence provided by 9to5 Mac‘s sources, it seems Apple will be refreshing its full-sized iPad line at the same time. This refresh won’t be considered a true successor to the current iPad, but more of a 4S-style upgrade.

Allegedly confirming previous rumors about an iPad refresh, the sources say the new iPad will keep the same price scheme ($500, $600, and $700 for WiFi-only) at the same respective storage sizes (16GB, 32GB, 64GB). It’s also suspected the new iPad will incorporate the Lightning connector that debuted on the iPhone 5 and Apple’s newest iPods. Global support for LTE may be tossed in for good measure as well, and (if the rumor is true) Apple may decide to bump up other specs like processor speed or battery. The supposed proof is in a list of leaked barcodes, half referring to the current iPad generation and the other half to an updated line.

Whispers of an iPad refresh began back in early October, when MacRumors posted that a developer had found evidence of a device called the “iPad3,6″ that targets the new ARMv7s architecture used in the custom A6 chip. This older rumor combined with the newer one above seems to point to a new and improved iPad with a beefed up processor and Lightning connector.

If the rumor ends up coming true, it could be a deadly blow for Microsoft, which has its own Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 announcements scheduled around the same time as Apple. Looking to previous iPad reveals, it’s fair to assume the refreshed tablet would spread like wildfire as consumers gear up for the holiday season. But as with every rumor, we have to look at this one with the appropriate amount of skepticism. However, that doesn’t change the fact that Apple will undoubtedly make a killing if it unleashes an iPad Mini and a new iPad right before the holidays. 

Do you think there’s any truth to this rumor or is the evidence too much of a stretch to be considered fact?

The address book is a smartphone staple, but it's a tired one. Check out these apps that take your boring old contact list and turn it into an engaging, iterating social network.

Everyone’s familiar with the contact exchange drill — we know it all too well. You meet, you trade numbers or names, you look new friends up on Facebook or Twitter, or get an email address if it’s a more professional meeting. With this ever-expanding list of people to manage, meet with, and remember, a new concept to turn address books into their own type of social network is sweeping the app ecosystem. So where can you turn for social-friendly contact lists? Here’s our hands on impression of a view options. 

Brewster

Brewster is a beautifully designed address book app that pulls in and combines contacts from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Foursquare, your address book, and your email client.

The information presented on your contact’s page (email addresses, phone numbers, where a person lives) is digestible and easily accessible. You can even call, text, or email them from within the app.

Right after signing up, you’re prompted to select your “Favorite” contacts. We recommend you select at least a few contacts for this list, if only to get rid of what’s otherwise a big empty white space every time you open the app. This is also a big part of Brewster’s function: Giving you quick, easily digestible information about your connections. 

The app focuses on maintaining your relationships. In the “Lists” tab, where contacts are curated, people that you haven’t talked to in a while are filed under “Losing Touch;” people that you talk to on a regular basis are found under “Frequently Contacted.” And you can even view the contacts that you have the “Most Mutual Connections” with.

Additional features include the latest updates about your contacts, including birthday reminders, updated cities, and group messaging.

Brewster is available on iOS devices. Check out our hands on impressions for more info. 

Ringya

Ringya is a privacy focused app and intentionally doesn’t automatically pull your contacts from your social networks and email account. In fact, you can only add individuals strictly from existing contacts on your smartphone’s address book. Adding contacts onto Ringya who aren’t on your phone already is tedious since you’re forced to plug in names manually one-by-one. But some of you might prefer an address book where you’re more likely to be selective with the contacts that you’re adding — and if you feel like your address book as is functions well for your contact needs, then you’re good to go.

The app isn’t the most visually appealing, however, and we were somewhat disappointed with the scarce information available on our contacts’ pages. The basic information like email address and phone number are there, but that’s about it.

To the app’s credit, group messaging is a cinch and it offers a unique feature that digitizes paper lists. You can digitize fifty names and email addresses from a piece of paper in one fell swoop by photographing the page with Ringya. The contact information on the page is processed and uploaded to your contact list. Users can also import lists of contacts from an Excel, Word, or PDF document.

Ringya is available on iOS devices.

Gather 

Gather is a newcomer among address book apps and hits the social approach hard, focused on interacting with your contacts. Gather is a social address book so connected with networking that it could be used as a limited third-party social media client. The app supports uploading contacts from Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and your address book. Users can message, call, or email contacts through the app.

Gather’s emphasis on social media became more apparent while we tested out the app. There’s a personal newsfeed called “Message,” where you can read posts you’ve publish to your social networks as well as post content to LinkedIn, Twitter, or Facebook.

Gather shares a few similarities with Brewster. Under a tab titled “Compass” contacts are curated by default categories including your friends’ likes, companies, and location. And because Gather is focused on social, you can also view the “Image of the Day” or see the most discussed topics among your friends, supplied from your connections’ social networking posts and updates. 

As an added bonus, there are a few bells and whistles that heavy networkers and conference-goers might enjoy: Users can add contacts by scanning a business card or QR code, for instance.

Gather is available on iOS devices.

Youlu

Youlu was developed by a Chinese company based out of Beijing and is among the leading address book apps on the market. When you first dive in, the app is admittedly not the easiest to use. It packs an arsenal of features, and in general Youlu is best described as a hybrid between SMS messaging and an address book app, and the result makes it sort of a Jack of all trades, master of none.

Its address book features are nothing out of the ordinary, looping in email addresses, social media profiles, phone numbers, and offering options for calling, texting, as well as FaceTime access. The app even adds a QR code that’s associated with each of your contacts, which makes it easy to share their information with someone else.

There are a couple of features that users might find confusing about Youlu. The first is the far left navigation button on the app which opens up a traditional dial pad. But it isn’t used for making direct phone calls — instead it launches an in-app search engine for finding your contact by phone number or name. This ended up being more annoying than anything else. 

Second, updates made on the app aren’t automatically synced to your phone. Instead you’re required to manually sync the latest changes on Youlu, which then gets pushed to its cloud. For those of you spoiled by automated services, this alone might prove to be a turn off.

On the other hand if you’re interested in talking to your friends that also have Youlu installed, you can chat using its push-to-talk or text-based messaging service, share pictures, and invite up to 50 people to one group chat. But there are other messaging apps out there that offer a less confusing experience, like Whatsapp, Kik, and WeChat.

Youlu is available on Android, iOS, and Symbian OS devices.

Smartr

Smartr offers users a clean, easy-to-use interface, if being a bit unremarkable. Like many other address book apps, you can import contacts from Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, email, and your phone address book. It connects all this information for your connections, and you can call, message, and email contacts using the app. But the powerful search engine under the hood makes up for where it’s unexceptional.

The homepage of the app displays a search engine where you can find contacts by company, company title, name, and email address. Where the app distinguishes itself is in explicit information that it’s able to pull about your relationship between you and your contacts. For example, an “analytics dashboard” displays the number of messages that have been exchanged between you and your contact, what it was you talked about during the first conversation, and the email threads that you’ve shared exclusively with them.

That feature alone is a powerful service, especially if you’re talking to new people on a daily basis. Smartr can help you remind you about the type of professional relationships you have with your contacts.

Smartr is available on Android, iOS, and BlackBerry.

The Verdict

If you’re looking for a productivity address book app where you’re looking to quickly index a large number of contacts (especially on paper) and send messages to the appropriate groups, Ringya might be your best bet.

Brewster is useful for managing existing relationships with our contacts. It’s a favorite of ours, but the caveat is that it’s currently only offered for iPhone.

If you frequent conferences and need a quick solution to publish posts to your social network, find trends in your contact’s social activity, or digitize a physical business card, Gather might suffice. However we found that the app was particularly slow to process our contact list and business cards.

Youlu, fails to provide a single feature worth using that we couldn’t find elsewhere. Searching for contacts on a traditional dial pad and manually syncing our updates to Youlu’s services is inconvenient, and the app doesn’t offer any dynamic features like algorithmically curating the address book. Its messaging service isn’t convincing us anytime soon to retreat from the messaging apps that we’re using already. For us there isn’t much here that other apps couldn’t offer us.

If we had to recommend an address book app, Smartr would be our pick. While the app is unremarkable, it manages our contacts with a robust algorithm and it’s stripped of bells and whistles while still getting the job done. Smartr is also available on three different types of operating systems, which can’t be said for the other four address book apps.

Apple can't catch a break these days, and Microsoft is more than happy to take advantage of the void in the spotlight. Meanwhile, mobile device owners have plenty to complain about regardless of brand. Plus the best apps and games of the week.

 The mobile market may be entering a brave new world in the coming years. New phones that improve upon old technology come out all the time, but those are little changes. We’re talking big things here — massive movements. There’s a lot of cases where companies stay within their own borders or region, whether it be with a service or a product. But not anymore. This week saw one of the biggest moves to unifying the global market. Our world will be rocked thanks to a cell phone that is powered by Coca-Cola. Take that, everyone who said corn syrup isn’t a viable fuel source. Oh, also Sprint was purchased by Japanese carrier Softbank, creating the world’s third largest mobile network. But seriously: Coke phone. This week: Apple’s looking forward to the future because it’s present isn’t going so well, Microsoft is hoping the near future holds lots of tablet sales, and current cell users just want to stop getting shafted now. All that plus the best apps and games from the week of October 14-19, 2012.

Apple can’t win…

Apple might be the most profitable company of all time, but man has it been missing its target lately. The iPhone 5 is a full month old now, but there are still people with their pockets filled with nothing but promises. International customers have it even worse than the American market, as Apple has halted its international rollout in countries not named in its initial launch. Until MacGyver makes his way into the Foxconn facility and starts putting together phones with paperclips and glue, we get the feeling the rollout won’t pick up, and Apple probably won’t talk about it either. It’s pretty fitting, as Apple’s been quiet about a lot of things lately. Most notably, the court-ordered statement that the Cupertino company has to make to inform consumers that Samsung did not copy the iPad. We’re going to go ahead and assume Apple’s October 23 announcement isn’t going to be a public apology. Even the latest acquisition of Apple is a bit of a blunder. Purchasing the remnants of Color Labs will bolster the Apple patent portfolio, but that company just has bad mojo.

Phone owners can’t win either

Early adopters of mobile technology are often the first to experience some of the fastest-changing advancements in consumer tech. The mobile industry moves fast, but some things might not be changing quick enough. For example, anyone with a smartphone or tablet that has 16GB or less of memory is probably starting to notice their device flash “System memory full” quicker than usual. We can thank the growing size of apps and games. While their functions are often improving, the size of these downloads has increased by 42% over the past 6 months. That takes a toll on memory. For Americans, it hits the wallet hard, too. Studies reveal that Americans pay a significant amount more for LTE networks than most countries. Sweden’s service costs 1/10th what U.S. providers charge, but their version of Siri is the Swedish Chef so it’s a trade off. 

Microsoft tries not to scratch Surface

Microsoft is doing its best to gain back some ground in the mobile game, and so far it appears to be working. The tech giant has been doing its best to make a case for its Surface tablet, and customers may be buying in. With a price tag comparable to the the iPad and an operating system that looks like it may be hip to be square, Microsoft executives may spend launch day doing more dancing than the Surface ads. Of course, not everyone is impressed. While the basic 32GB pre-order is now delayed three weeks, the models that come with the Touch Cover case are still available for the October 26 launch. Apple’s doing its best to rain on the parade with a press conference that is likely to be tablet related a few days before the Surface surfaces but other consumers just aren’t sold on it. Microsoft may be hoping that a voucher that reserves a Surface tablet on launch day will incentivize potential buyers, likely by showing them just how much more functional a tablet is in comparison to the piece of paper. Whatever it takes, guys.

Fresh New App of the Week

 

Muse Me (Free, iPhone) – Got a question about an outfit your putting together or a a purchase you’re going to make? Let your friends be your better judgement with Muse Me. This app allows you to take a picture of anything that you’re trying to decide between — shoes, brands of yogurt, paintings — and put them to a vote. Assuming your friends don’t lead you astray, this app will help you make those tough choices that may require a second opinion…or third, or fourth, or fifth.

Ever2Drop ($2, iPhone) – Get the full potential out of EverNote and DropBox by combining their functionalities with this helpful tool. 

BeatBang (Free, Android) – An interactive map that takes users through the history of electronic music with samples, stories, and in-depth backgrounds of the popular genre.

Fresh New Game of the Week 

Carmageddon ($2, iOS) – Carmageddon skips over all the waiting and teasing that comes with normal racing games and gets right to the heart of what we all truly want: giant, explosive crashes. Based on a PC game from the late ’90′s, Caramgeddon makes a come back on the portable screen of your iOS device. With tons of cars and environments to totally destroy, you can experience every part of the game that was once banned around the world. Like you need a bigger selling point, you rebel.

Hum This (Free, iOS/Android) – Part Draw Something, part name that tune. Hum a song and send it off to a friend to see if they can guess it. 

Cracking Sands ($3, Windows Phone) – Take the road less travelled with this off-road racer. There are no laws or rules on these roads–just do what it takes to win.

Zynga and Hasbro recently linked up to offer gaming apps Words With Friends, FarmVille, CityVille, and Draw Something a board game translation. The only question is, why? Or rather, who wanted this?

It’s been a while since we’ve heard anything about the mega-viral hits that were Draw Something and Word With Friends. After the former blew up sometime in spring, causing Zynga to buy out game developer OMGPOP for $200 million, Draw Something has been on a steady decline and I’m not even sure I know anyone who still actively plays the game. Words With Friends, on the other hand, is still vaguely played but rarely discussed. So explain to me the rationale behind turning these two games, which were clearly inspired by physical versions of the board games Pictionary and Scrabble, into … well, physical board games.

This is not a concept, folks, Draw Something and Words With Friends are officially board games you can pick up at your local toy store. Other Zynga hits, such as FarmVille and CityVille are also getting converted into physical games, with the former playing like Hungry Hungry Hippo (uncomfortably enough, Zynga’s version is called Hungry Hungry Herd) and the latter like Monopoly. Was there no one at Hasbro, the official maker of these toys, who jumped, waved furiously, and attempted to say, “Hey, guys, this might get us sued?”

Well, there are some distinguishable differences between the original game and Zynga’s version. For example, Words With Friends plays on a 15 x 15 square tile board and contain a total of 104 tiles. Scrabble, in comparison, has 100 tiles. WWF’s scoring system for each letter is also slightly different than Scrabble‘s although the point multipliers remain generally the same.

Draw Something, on the other hand, looks relatively original — coining the cartoon pencil as the packaging and paper pads for friends to doodle upon. Unlike Pictionary, players in Draw Something can show their friends letter cards to help them guess the word — just like the mobile app offers. Players win by collecting the most amount of coins, and you can get there sooner by drawing words with higher difficulty levels.

Why anyone would buy these board games over the original versions of what inspired the Zynga mobile games is unbeknownst to me, but if you are interested in pranking someone for Halloween or giving someone the worst Christmas gift ever, the selection of games are available on Amazon or Hasbro starting at $15 per game.

When Halo 4 debuts on November 6, it reintroduces the world to Master Chief, one of gaming most iconic characters. But alongside Master Chief, every step of the way through his journey has been the faithful AI Cortana. In this exclusive interview we speak with Mackenzie Mason, the actress tasked with bringing the character to life.

To bring the epic campaign story to life in Halo 4, 343 Industries employed Hollywood actors and performance capture to bring depth to the characters that we’ve known for years now. One of the biggest roles in the new game is played by actress Mackenzie Mason, who brings the AI Cortana to life. Since the series debuted in 2001 with Halo: Combat Evolved, the character of Cortana has been a constant companion and guide to Master Chief. To fans of the series, she is second only to Master Chief in popularity.

At the end of Halo 3, Cortana was nearing the end of her natural lifespan of roughly seven years, but her experiences have made her exceptionally strong among her counterparts. Unfortunately, Halo 4 takes place more than four years after its predecessor, and Cortana is entering “rampancy,” a state akin to insanity. The information she has gained over the course of the war against the Covenant and the Flood have made her stronger than any other AI and kept her active longer than any other, but that same quantity of information fuels her downward spiral as the game begins.   

Mason, who studied improve at The Groundlings and The Second City, grew up playing video games and immersing herself in sci-fi. Bringing the full performance of Cortana to life through voice and motion capture work was a dream come true for the actress. She talks about playing a bipolar program and explains why performance capture is itchy business in this exclusive interview.

What video games did you play growing up?

I played a lot of Super Mario. Super Nintendo really was my system…Donkey Kong, Lion King, which I beat. That’s the only game that I can say I beat by myself without cheating. Super Mario is probably my favorite; I love Yoshi.

What was one of your favorite memories from gaming back then?

It was definitely the moment I beat Lion King. There’s no prouder moment for someone who played a game for weeks and had to redo every level when you lose your lives. Throwing Scar off the cliff really resonated with me.

What are your thoughts of how much video games have evolved since then?

Taking a look at the graphics alone back then and then looking at now, where I’m a real person playing in the video game is insane. It’s leaps and bounds crazy.

What’s your favorite Halo game that has already been released and why?

I liked the first, but I think Halo 3 was my favorite. I think there was a lot more exploration. I guess because I’m approaching the games from the actor perspective, not the gaming. I don’t know gaming-wise, but I liked the character development and story line in Halo 3 a lot.

How familiar were you with the Halo franchise before this opportunity for Cortana came up?

It’s really hard to find someone who hasn’t heard of Halo. For years, if I were to name two games, it would be Halo and then… see, I don’t even know another one.

Have you ever gone online and played against those Halo gamers, and how did you do?

No. I have Xbox Live and I’m on it, but I won’t give anyone my GamerTag because I’m so nervous because they’re gonna be, “You’re horrible.” I thought if I practice on my own a lot, then maybe I’d be good, but they’re so good. The Halo fans are amazing.

What was it like bringing Cortana to life in Halo 4?

It was one of the best experiences to be able to play. She’s such an amazing character. She has so much strength, and the story line for Halo 4 is so strong for Cortana and her struggles, dealing with her own mortality, and all the emotions that go with it. I got a great chunk of acting, so I’m super excited about that.

What were some of the challenges of performance capture?

Getting in the dots for my face was always a really long process, but I got a mask made for me, so it shortened up the time a bit. The struggles were really just specific to my character, so all of the emotional changes I would have to go through back to back. The crying and screaming were the hardest, but I think that in a way, it’s easier to shoot a performance capture project than a movie. Just in terms of not having to worry about camera, lighting, your hair, and stupid stuff like that. You can just concentrate on the acting, so that was really nice.

Did you ever get used to the skin-tight suit and all the sensors?

No. That’s so itchy. Where the shirt meets the pants there’s a band of Velcro, and that’s just so itchy. There’s no hiding; it’s so tight. There are 500 cameras everywhere, so you’re there. Everyone gets to see when you get to wear the bright blue suit. It’s just right on your butt, just aqua blue. So, no, I do not get used to that.

Were you able to interact with other actors during the performance capture?

Yeah. There [were] very rare takes of me alone. It’s all with Bruce Thomas, who did Chief. A lot of it was me and him, and then all the characters. I don’t know if I’m allowed to say their names of who’s been announced. There were a lot of group scenes, and the cinematics are really involved, so there was a lot of interaction.

How much of the game were you able to play or see during this process?

None. They don’t show me anything. I saw some “War Games” at PAX, and that was it. They were doing Capture the Flag. I’m just like everyone; I have not seen anything.

What are your thoughts on how far games have come today as entertainment?

Now, more than ever, just shooting this, it was like a movie. I don’t think a video game has ever provided entertainment value like a movie. I think it’s more about gameplay than entertainment. I think now with these cinematics, at least what we’re doing for Halo, if you take all the cinematics back-to-back, you could make a movie. I think that’s huge. I don’t remember a story line in Super Mario Bros. Zelda was the closest, but that wasn’t even more than you just saving your princess.

How do you think this role in Halo 4 will change your life?

It already has given me so much acting experience and a great avenue to show people what I can do. I’m in love with sci-fi. It’s such a great game, that I feel like it’s given me such a great start for a future career and things along these lines, so I’m very grateful.

What’s the reaction been like from people who know you got this gig?

From Halo fans? It’s insane. I booked it and shot for about nine months before I was even allowed to tell anyone. So just my family knew and then you tell your friends. They’re like, “You’ve been doing it for nine months and you haven’t said a word?” You’re like, “I can’t.” People have been very excited and really supportive, so I’m very lucky.

There’s a lot of depth in Halo 4 with “Campaign,” “War Game,” and “Spartan Ops.” What’s your favorite part of the game and why?

I really like “Spartan Ops.” I think that’s an insane co-op experience that they’ve added to make people just really get involved. I love the team and the four players; that’s really cool. I really do just like playing, but I think that that adds another level and dimension of interaction for the fans.

Cortana is only designed to stay alive for seven years and then the program starts decomposing. How did you get into that mindset of treating Cortana like she’s basically crazy?

They’re calling it rampancy. She’s overloaded with so much information that she can’t download any more data to her system, which means that she can’t respond properly. She’s always really fast with information and things that need to be done. She’s like now, now, now. Now it’s slower, or she responds with something different. That was the emotional craziness that I had to go through with her, because she’s dealing with all of this and doesn’t know what’s happening or how to deal with it and can’t control the things that she’s saying. She wants to say something, and something else comes out. That was the hardest part of playing her, because I had to play a bipolar person that had five different emotions going at once; the same line, but crying, screaming, and laughing. So I went a little crazy. It was very draining.

Will she be okay?

I don’t know. Will she? I’m not okay, so we’ll see.

Microsoft has announced that they’re going to make two sequels to Halo 4. Will you come back as Cortana?

Yeah, I hope so. I think that it’s gonna depend on the fan reaction to see if they like it. There are a lot of things being tested in this game. If it’s all responded to really well, then I’ll be back to give you some more action.

Windows 8 includes a new interface, but that's just the beginning. Find out what's important in Microsoft's latest operating system.

Microsoft’s new Windows 8 operating system is perhaps its most significant leap in the company’s history. As most readers likely know, it includes a new interface which takes queues from Windows Phone. Designed for a variety of inputs, this interface will bring Windows to devices typically out of its reach. It also changes design elements that have been a part of Windows for over two decades.

Yet that headline is only one of many changes. There’s a ton new features, and some old features have been significantly revised. Let’s dive in to the new operating system by taking a look at all the new or changed features that everyone considering Windows 8 should know about.

File history

This is an update and replacement to the Backup & Restore functionality found in Windows 7. Microsoft has taken an approach similar to OS X Time Machine and some third-party backup solutions. Instead of only making large backups at pre-determined times, Windows 8 can create incremental backups of files stored in designated folders.

Doing this makes it possible to recover data after both major and minor disasters. You’ll be able to restore important data if your computer crashes and you’ll also be able to restore specific files and folders without impacting the rest of your system. This is a major improvement with no notable downside.

Integrated Cloud Storage / Sync

Users of Windows 8 will have the choice to log in with a Microsoft account. Doing this will end able cloud storage and sync with SkyDrive, the company’s cloud storage and sync service. Signing up is free, as is a limited amount of cloud storage. Users will also be able to save files from third-party applications directly to SkyDrive.

Integrating this functionality will make it more appealing and intuitive for many users, but signing in with a Microsoft account is likely to have less appeal. It’s far from unprecedented, however. Google Chrome and OS X already require the same.

Internet Explorer 10

Windows 8 will ship with the latest version of Internet Explorer, which comes in two versions. One is a mobile app that doesn’t have plug-in support and the other is desktop software which retains that functionality. The mobile version also has a revised interface that’s obviously geared towards touch input.

There’s also a host of minor but important feature updates including support for HTML5, hardware acceleration and CSS3. Adobe Flash will also be integrated to improve security and ensure that users keep the software up-to-date.

Hybrid Boot

Windows has long used Hibernate as a quick-boot alternative. It has two major problems, however. It’s not that quick, and it requires several gigabytes of free hard drive space.

Hybrid Boot takes a different approach. It only stores information related to the Windows kernel and device drivers (as opposed to Hibernate, which stores the entire contents of a system’s RAM). This enables faster boot times but also dramatically decreases the amount of hard drive space consumed by the feature.

Microsoft is claiming that Hybrid Boot will be up to 70 percent quicker than a cold boot, and won’t use any more power than Hibernate. We’ll have to see if those claims pan out.

Hyper-V

Virtualization in Windows Server 2008 and 2012 is handled by a technology called Hyper-V. This is now being extended to Windows 8, making it possible for users to run other operating systems within the Windows 8 environment.

Hyper-V is an advanced and powerful virtualization option. It performs well, it works with both 32-bit and 64-bit operating systems and it has a decent interface with numerous options for managing how each virtual OS works and the resources it has access to. Power users will adore it.

New multi-monitor features

Windows has included multi-monitor support for some time, but it’s also relied on a single primary display. Users could only access the task bar on that display and the wallpaper on all displays was a mirror image of that used on the primary.

Windows 8 changes this by allowing taskbars and wallpapers that span multiple monitors. Both improvements are minor, but they will be useful to enthusiasts who enjoy hooking up two or three monitors instead of one.

Split-screen multi-tasking

Windows 7 included some clever new multi-tasking features such as Aero Snap, which made it easy to “snap” two open windows into a side-by-side configuration. Microsoft is including a similar function for new Metro apps in Windows 8.

Instead of snapping into a 50/50 split, however, it will be possible to slide a background app into view and take up only a portion of the screen. That will be great if you need to take just a bit of information from another app, but it might not be great for true productivity.

It’s also a feature obviously built with touch in mind. Sliding a background app into view with touch is great, but with a mouse it feels clunky.

Storage virtualization

In addition to Hyper-V the new operating system will also support storage virtualization. This feature makes it possible to combine multiple physical hard drives into a single logical unit.

Let’s say, for example, that a PC has two 500GB hard drives. In previous versions Windows, each would have their own drive letters and their own file hierarchy. Under Windows 8 it will be possible to combine them into one drive letter with a single hierarchy.

This could be a great feature for desktops with many drives, though we do wonder what will happen if a hard drive fails.

Ribbon Interface in File Explorer

Microsoft has re-named Windows Explorer to File Explorer and slapped it with the Ribbon interface. This interface does away with rows of menu text and instead tries to prioritize the visibility of functions by how often a user might need them. It may take some getting used to, though anyone who uses Office will be accustomed to it.

This change is less dramatic than it sounds. You’ll still be moving files and folders, you’ll still be relying on context menus when interacting with specific items and you’ll still be able to jump between locations using the interface sidebar. File Explorer may even feel old school compared to other parts of the Windows 8 interface.

Revised Task Manager

Some tweaks have been made to the Windows Task Manager to make it more intuitive. For example, information in the Processes tab is now color-coded based on activity. An app currently using processor cycles will have that information appear in a slightly different hue than an app that is at idle. It’s a small tweak that makes Task Manager much easier to read.

The same praise can be heaped on the new graphs performance graphs. They’re larger and use colors that are easier to distinguish both from the background and from other graphs. It’s also possible to see your IP address without any CMD or Control Panel tricks. Finally!

Windows Defender

Current users of Windows 7 can download a free antivirus from Microsoft known as Security Essentials. With Windows 8, the company is wrapping that functionality into the operating system under the name Windows Defender.

The anti-virus capability of Windows Defender is, as with Security Essentials, very basic. Threats can be detected, quarantined and sometimes removed – and that’s it. There’s no anti-phishing feature, no identity protection scheme and no password encryption functionality.

Still, it’s a big step up from Windows 7 and it will help reduce the vulnerability of the Windows ecosystem as a whole. It also will be light on system resources.

Windows Store

Yes, Microsoft will be shipping its own app store with Windows. Fortunately it is not mandatory. Users can choose to buy apps from it but will not be required to do so.

The main draw of the Windows Store is related to Windows RT. Microsoft will be including apps on the store that can work on both a Windows 8 desktop and a Windows RT tablet. The store will also be the main avenue for users to obtain “Metro-style” apps.

It remains to be seen how important this feature becomes. A well-run digital store could be a major draw, but Microsoft’s previous attempts in this area have floundered.

Windows To Go

The Enterprise version of Windows 8 includes an interesting new feature that lets users install Windows 8 directly to a portable hard drive such as a flash drive or external hard drive.

Doing this will allow users to access their Windows 8 installation from any computer that has a free USB port. Home users are unlikely to ever use this feature, but businesses travelers will love it. It will give them the opportunity to use desktop computers at different work sites instead of being chained to whatever laptop they carry.

Xbox Integration

Integration with Xbox is the newest feature that Microsoft has announced for Windows 8. Owners of an Xbox 360 with a Live account can log in to Windows with that account and use it while playing “Xbox Games on Windows.”

These games, which will be sold via an Xbox Games portion of the Windows 8 store, will be eligible for Xbox achievements and will have access to cross-platform multiplayer modes (if the game supports multiplayer).

It will also be possible to launch Xbox apps via Windows 8 device. This will let users use a computer or tablet as a remote control for their Xbox. However, not all games and apps will span the divide between the platforms – the Xbox Games section of the Windows Store will be separate from other Windows games sold there, most of which don’t support Xbox integration. For now, at least.

Conclusion

Windows 8 is a major departure, but it’s not all about the new interface. Many of the features here are major improvements over Windows 7. We’re particularly happy about the inclusion of Hyper-V, the anti-virus built in to Windows Defender and the new File History backup solution. All of these are significant improvements with no downside. We only wish the same could be said of the new interface.

With Windows 8, Microsoft faces the same make-or-break pressure it once persevered through with Windows 95. But the market has changed, and it won’t have the luxury of any post-launch slipups.

Next week, Microsoft will launch Windows 8, an absolutely pivotal release for the company. The implications of this big day got me thinking back to another pivotal launch — Windows 95 – where many things initially went well, and eventually turned out so badly. Let’s go back in my mental time machine to revisit the Windows 95 launch, and consider what will make the Windows 8 launch just as important – but also very different.

How Microsoft shined with Windows 95

I became an external analyst in November of 1994, and Windows 95 defined much of my early career. I became the lead launch analyst as a result of publishing the first five-year operating system forecast ever attempted. It was controversial, to say the least. I predicted that Apple would decline through the rest of the decade (it did), OS/2 would go away (it did), Netware would go away (it did), and UNIX would decline (that, too). The only winner was Windows and, as you can imagine, Microsoft loved me. Virtually every other CEO — not so much.

Windows 95 was the iPad of its time. Every major network and newspaper all over the world did regular articles on it, Microsoft jumped to become the most powerful technology company in the world after it launched, and Bill Gates became the world’s richest man. It was their day in the sun, and the folks at Microsoft reveled in the fame and excitement.

The launch itself was amazing. The clouds in the sky over the Microsoft campus were identical — not close, identical — to those in the graphic on the box. The campus was laid out like a circus with each tent having more amazing displays of things imagined for this new platform (most of which would never come to be).

Jay Leno was on stage and the Stones did “Start-Me-Up” as the product’s theme song. People were lining up to buy the software, and the biggest problem was there simply wasn’t enough to sell.

Apple was caught napping. The company had no concept of how many customers it would lose over the following years. This created the same pressure that would eventually force it to buy back Steve Jobs.

How Microsoft failed with Windows 95

Despite this great start, Microsoft took the most powerful launch in the history of the company and destroyed it. To this day there are few things I’ve ever seen that have been so foolish.

Right before shipping, Microsoft made some changes to the OS, causing problems that hadn’t shown up in the beta test. Lots of hardware was shipped with rushed and buggy drivers, and millions of people suddenly called Microsoft help for assistance. Microsoft was so overwhelmed, the woman who headed service helplines blocked the calls so her metrics wouldn’t look bad. We’ll never know how many really pissed off people that created. Lines at stores morphed into massive piles of unsold copies, and all of that momentum grinded to a near complete halt.

Nevertheless, this operating system became the spark that caused Microsoft to create Internet Explorer and keep Netscape from taking its spot at the top. It helped people see Microsoft very differently. It was no longer a little company under IBM’s shadow but a major player — hell, the major player — in the market.

Windows 8

Over the last decade, Microsoft has diminished in relevance, so much so that its employees regularly ask Bill Gates to return. (That’s why he has to keep publicly saying he won’t.) Apple and IBM have returned to power equal to or greater than they were prior to Microsoft, and it appears that Google has most of the power that Microsoft once had. Eric Schmidt, in his latest talk at All-Things-Digital referred to the company as “irrelevant.”

Windows 8 is Microsoft’s platform to make them relevant again, but it’s breaking into a market very different than the PC market Windows 95 came to dominate. In mobile, Microsoft is far behind Apple, which leads the phone and tablet markets with its iPhone and iPad. In fact, Apple is planning to launch its 7-inch iPad Nano (or Mini) right before the Windows 8 launch to make Microsoft’s 10-inch tablets appear out of date. Apple CEO Tim Cook has even openly disparaged Windows 8, referring to hybrid and convertible tablets (the signature Windows 8 form factors), as the unhappy marriage between a refrigerator and a toaster. This time, Apple, not Microsoft, owns the perceptions surrounding tablets, and it doesn’t plan to give that ownership up.

That means to even have a chance of success, the Windows 8 launch will have to be massively better than the Windows 95 launch, and that’s a very tall order.

I’ll be there

I’ll be on the ground in New York on October 26, because I have little doubt that the Microsoft folks know what they are up against — which means the launch will be memorable, even if it doesn’t meet these lofty expectations. Either it will restore Microsoft to relevance, or it will show that relevance is no longer within the company’s reach. Either result will create changes in the current market that we can’t even begin to imagine.

I’ll let you know how it goes, but this one will be epic.