Join on-the-spot Computerworld reporters today at 11 a.m. for the inside blow-by-blow as Microsoft launches its new Windows 8 operating system -- along with a slew of exciting new devices, including tablets, Ultrabooks, hybrid tablet/laptop combos and all-in-ones.
@BarbaraKrasnoff Windows 8 cheat sheet - how to find your way around the new #win8 OS
@smoneill #win8 Surface available starting tonight $499 for 32GB version (Touch Cover not included) at MS stores and microsoft.com. Do u care?
@BarbaraKrasnoff Surface demo over. Loud music back. #win8
@BarbaraKrasnoff Tonight, Surface will be available for $499 for the 32GB version, and can buy one at Times Square store at 10pm. #win8
@BarbaraKrasnoff At Surface demo -- plugs in camera through USB port to download photos. Me: Yes, I like that it has a USB port & a microsSD card. #win8
@smoneill #win8 Panay multitasking on a Surface RT -- typing in OneNote doc while recording video.
@BarbaraKrasnoff Surface: Puts the kickstand on the Touch cover, showing you can do stuff on your lap. #win8
@BarbaraKrasnoff At demo -- now using Surface to type and record from the back camera at the same time. #win8
@BarbaraKrasnoff Demonstrating the fact that the Surface comes with OneNote, Word, Excel & PowerPoint. #win8
@smoneill #win8 With Surface "have fun and get stuff done"
@smoneill #win8 Touch Cover and Surface tablet will never come apart!!
@BarbaraKrasnoff At Surface demo, now talking about the Touch cover. 3mm thick. Built two clamping and one alignment magnet into it. #win8
@smoneill #win8 Streaming movies and music from Xbox on Surface gets big push from Panay.
@BarbaraKrasnoff The back camera of the Surface has a wide-angle lens; easy to flip back and forth from the front camera. #win8
@smoneill #win8 Surface kickstand creates perfect angle for front- and back-facing cameras, says Surface chief Panay
@matthamblen At #Win8, Surface is shown as a skateboard--literally It has wheels...not for sale.
@smoneill #win8 Surface devices are sturdy enough to be a skateboard.
@BarbaraKrasnoff Showing photos of Steven Sinofsky using the Surface as a skateboard. Sinofsky comes out to attest to the truth to the matter. #win8
@BarbaraKrasnoff Microsoft wants us make sure we know how "premium" the Surface tablet is. Dropped the tablet to show how robust it is. #win8
@BarbaraKrasnoff Surface: Touting the contrast of the device and the lack of reflectivity due to optical bonding. #win8
@BarbaraKrasnoff Surface: WiFi performance is critical. #win8
@smoneill #win8 "Surface RT takes 2 hrs to charge fully"
@BarbaraKrasnoff Says that you can nearly recharge the entire device in two hours. #win8
@BarbaraKrasnoff The Surface takes a microSD card for extra storage. #win8
@smoneill #win8 why 10.6-inch size for Surface? it's a unique size but Surface chief says its perfect size for Windows RT can do.
@BarbaraKrasnoff Sinofsky: Decided to do surface because it's the ultimate expression of a Windows PC. #win8
@matthamblen truly scary start to surface live blog at #win8 launch.
@smoneill #win8 why 10.6-inch size for Surface? it's a unique size but Surface chief says its perfect size for Windows RT can do.
@BarbaraKrasnoff Sinofsky: Decided to do surface because it's the ultimate expression of a Windows PC. #win8
@matthamblen truly scary start to surface live blog at #win8 launch.
@matthamblen #win8 launch will feature live blog of Surface at 1:30 ET also....
@kmingis Microsoft seeks to catch up in tablet market with Windows 8 @JuanCPerezIDG bit.ly/TikYay #win8 #windows8
@smoneill #win8 that's a wrap from win 8 keynote. Thanks for following. And thank god for my smartphone. Wi-fi here terrible.
@smoneill #win8 microsoft def emphasized OEM hardware over Surface. Gotta stay chummy w your partners!
@BarbaraKrasnoff The Windows 8 presentation appears to be over. #win8
@smoneill #win8 ballmer barely touched on win 8 use in the enterprise. Not the time and place for that i guess.
@BarbaraKrasnoff Ballmer: "Windows reimagined" really captures what the team set out to do with Windows 8. #win8
@smoneill #win8 ballmer mentions windows phone integration, phones access same content and services as win 8.
@BarbaraKrasnoff Ballmer: 670 million Windows PCs "just waiting" to be upgraded. Me: Including those still running XT? #win8
@matthamblen "Enterprises will also love #Win8 devices," Ballmer says. This despite slow adoption predicted by Gartner and others.
@BarbaraKrasnoff Ballmer also talking about how enterprise will benefit from Win8. Good -- Microsoft shouldn't forget it's got business users. #win8
@smoneill #win8 ballmer: win 8 making new use of office, bing, IE, outlook.com, skydrive, skype, and xbox
@BarbaraKrasnoff Ballmer also described Win8 as "magical." I guess Apple hasn't copyrighted that term yet. #win8
@matthamblen I"m thinking Ballmer sees a difference between Apple's "magical" and #win8 being "really truly magical."
@BarbaraKrasnoff Ballmer: Will be apps built on Bing; news from WSJ, Fox Sports, NY Times, etc. IE 10 intro'd; says perfect for touch. #win8
@smoneill #win8 ballmer "we created office 2013 with windows 8 in mind"
@matthamblen Ok, Ballmer says #win8 tablets are "really truly magical..." heard before?
@matthamblen Focus is heavy on partners at #win8 event....surface mentioned at the end of a laundry list of devices.
@BarbaraKrasnoff Ballmer: One device pairs greatest qualities of PCs with the greatest qualities of tablets. #win8
@smoneill RT @@matthamblen: #win8 pcs are the best pcs ever, Ballmer says pic.twitter.com/ZU4PKoUx
@matthamblen #win8 pcs are the best pcs ever, Ballmer says pic.twitter.com/ZU4PKoUx
@BarbaraKrasnoff Ballmer: These improvements will benefit the desktop and laptop form factor. Huge variety of devices, everybody should find ideal PC. #win8
@smoneill #win8 ballmer selling win 8 UI as place where your entire digital life comes alive in one place
@BarbaraKrasnoff Ballmer: Your Microsoft account is the key; log in just once and all your stuff will be available. (Just like w/Google?) #win8
@BarbaraKrasnoff Ballmer: Emphasizing how "incredibly personal" Win8 devices will be. #win8
@smoneill #win8 ballmer walks out on stage - “win 8 shatters perceptions of what a PC is“
@BarbaraKrasnoff Steve Ballmer makes his appearance at Windows 8 intro. Sales starting tonight at 12:01 am. #win8
@matthamblen Ballmer on stage at #win8
@matthamblen Demo of how Surface RT has instant on...hmmm. #Win8
@smoneill #win8 finally mention MS Surface at end of demos
@BarbaraKrasnoff Crowd at intro clapping at mention of Microsoft Surface. Probably hoping to get one.
@BarbaraKrasnoff Introducing five Windows RT devices, including Dell XPS 10, Samsung Ativ Tab, Microsoft Surface, others. #win8
@smoneill #win8 showing non Surface windows RT tablets and hybrids from dell, lenovo and acer
@matthamblen I"m wondering if #Win8 makes up for Vista? An IT guy mentioned that on the streets of NYC.
@BarbaraKrasnoff When you uninstall an app, no registry or other files are left on your PC. #win8
@smoneill #win8 over 30 mins into win 8 keynote and no mention of Surface
@BarbaraKrasnoff Keep saying that there are "so many apps" but not giving numbers. Not surprising, given the existing Android/iOS stores. #win8
@smoneill #win8 windows 8 touch ultrabooks will be available for $499
@BarbaraKrasnoff Angiulo says will be able to purchase a Win8 touch notebook for $499. #win8
@matthamblen Brown hammers it: "Once you get one #win8 PC with touch, you'll want all to have it."
@BarbaraKrasnoff In Win8, reconnect to WiFi averages 1 second rather than the previous 15 seconds. Me: This I gotta see. #win8
@BarbaraKrasnoff Showing Lenovo ThinkPad Tablet w/stylus and Ink. Audience claps. #win8
@matthamblen #win8 ...oops, that quicker time was 30% faster boot time...and other devices boot 50% faster than earlier Windows--Angiulo says
@smoneill #win8 windows RT devices will connect to printers!
@BarbaraKrasnoff Showing Win8 on a non-touch Win7 Ultrabook. Talking about Desktop; added shortcut to where Start was. Interesting addition. #win8
@smoneill #win8 windows 8 pc boots 33% faster than win 7 and uses 42% less memory
@matthamblen Ok, #Win8 on a Win7 PC runs 30% faster--Angiulo says
@BarbaraKrasnoff Showing Windows 8 on Windows 7 tablet and explaining Win8 at the same time. #win8
@smoneill #win8 sinofsky gets to windows RT, all day battery life, available on 420,000,000 devices
@matthamblen #Win8 Windows RT USB port is important, maybe biggest feature.
@matthamblen demo's at #win8 starting now
@BarbaraKrasnoff 100% of the best-selling printers in the US will work with WinRT. Out of the box, will work with most USB devices. #win8
@BarbaraKrasnoff Intro'ing Windows RT. Windows experience on ARM chip. Includes Office 2013 apps. But doesn't run Win7 apps. #win8
@BarbaraKrasnoff Haven't seen any devices for under $300 announced yet. Maybe trying to counter somewhat neg. reaction to price of Surface? #win8
@smoneill #win8 Sinofsky keeping focus on Win 8 PCs and ultrabooks and Windows Store. Tablets, Windows RT and ARM getting downplayed a bit
@BarbaraKrasnoff Announcing grand opening of Windows Store. Me: Too little too late? It will be interesting to see how fast MS can ramp up. #win8
@BarbaraKrasnoff Will have fully capable PCs that cost under $300. #win8
@matthamblen 1,000 pc's have been certified for #win8, Sinofsky says.
@BarbaraKrasnoff Windows 8 is "designed for touch." But says heart of Win7 desktop remains. Every new PC/copy of Win8 will start with a "how-to." #win8
@smoneill #win8 "PC only device not touchable, and that should not be."
@BarbaraKrasnoff Upgrade to Windows 8 starts at $39.99, available today. #win8
@smoneill #win8 1,240,000,000 hours of testing for windows 8
@BarbaraKrasnoff Sinofsky: Win8 has better battery life, boot time, compat. w/Win7 hard/software, smaller memory footprint. #win8
@smoneill #win8 seems to be emphasizing windows 8 over windows RT
@BarbaraKrasnoff Availability of the upgrade to Windows 8, new Windows Store, and Windows RT all being intro'd today. #win8
@smoneill #win8 Sinofsky talking about how windows 95 was a turning point, drawing parallel to windows 8 "computing for the next billion people"
@BarbaraKrasnoff "Windows 8 reimagines Windows from the chipset to the experience." But will companies want to come along? #win8
@matthamblen #Win8 eerie view of manhattan model with win8 devices..room size pic.twitter.com/x8c2jNxw
@BarbaraKrasnoff Sinofsky telling us all about the advantages of Windows, starting from Windows 95. Not going back all THAT long... #win8
@BarbaraKrasnoff Windows 7 sold over 670 million licenses to companies & consumers. #win8
@BarbaraKrasnoff Steve Sinofsky introducing the program at the Win8 introduction. #win8
@smoneill #win8 Windows chief Steven Sinofsky first to take stage - win 8 an evolution and revolution
@smoneill Windows 8 keynote about to start. Big stage, giant screen, lots of different win 8 devices on stage #win8
@smoneill #win8 crowd and facilities much bigger for windows 8 launch than windows 7 launch 3 yrs ago.
@BarbaraKrasnoff Wondering whether all Win8 hybrids coming out will work with consumers; after all, they're not much lighter than a normal notebook. #win8
@matthamblen #Win8 different new devices arrayed onstage including surface RT and all in ones up to 23 pic.twitter.com/4ygDhHn2
@matthamblen Inside keynote for #Win8 pic.twitter.com/Q1aH6tVd
@BarbaraKrasnoff Trying gesture control with a Samsung Series 7 23 in. AiO #win8 ow.ly/i/13GjV
@matthamblen All in ones at #Win8 pic.twitter.com/o9iG82xF
@matthamblen Lenovo ideaPad yoga 13--coolest name for #Win8 intel core i7 laptop pic.twitter.com/oI6gcj3H
@BarbaraKrasnoff Wondering how long the hinges of some of these hybrids will last. #win8 ow.ly/i/13Ggk
@BarbaraKrasnoff The Sony VAIO T13 with touch display. ow.ly/i/13G85 #Win8
@BarbaraKrasnoff Journalists and a ow.ly/i/13G2M analysts gather for the #Win8 intro.
@matthamblen #Win8 Asus Vivo tab RT...just waiting for keynote pic.twitter.com/4X1MYUmg
@BarbaraKrasnoff The Lenivo IdeaPad is a hinged hybrid. ow.ly/i/13FZR GED #Win8
@matthamblen #Win8 inside at displays with #samsung SmartPC detachable tablet pic.twitter.com/uxx5bSVG
@matthamblen #Win8 event in NYC ...doors are opening soon! pic.twitter.com/wTLXQlFL
@BarbaraKrasnoff Consensus: Surface RT is for consumers; Surface Pro w/ #Win8 possibly for enterprise travelers.
@BarbaraKrasnoff Waiting on line for the #Win8 launch & chatting w/reporters re Surface in the enterprise.