Windows 8 and Microsoft’s Surface tables now available for consumers

The big marketing splash around the world just happened, and Microsoft has now made Windows 8 available for consumers and businesses. Along with the software, they also brought forward the Surface RT tablets, i.e. those ARM based devices running Windows 8. Traditional x86/x64 desktop applications will not run on the RT, you would need a Windows 8 Pro tablet for that.

There's been a lot of talk about Windows 8's suitability for power users on traditional desktops with a keyboard and mouse, but personally, I disagree. Although it's true that the new start screen experience is specifically optimized for mouse use, you can get along with the keyboard really good, and, using the mouse isn't exactly painful. I recall similar thinking when Windows XP was new, but soon after, it became everyone's workhorse that is still in use by many.

So, as both a developer and user, I look forward to upgrading my systems to use the latest OS version.