Windows 8 is almost here, and Microsoft has announced the official release date for the Windows 8 Consumer Preview for February 29th.

There's a lot to love in the new Windows, and also a lot of hate. It all depends on how accustomed you are to working with a portable device or if you bought a Windows Phone 7.

It seems that Windows 7 will be the last OS for Desktops, as we knew and loved these machines. Now everything is portable, and touchy and modern.

Good bye software

This is the word for geeks and computer lovers, but this is not a word for “computers” anymore. Now the omnipresent word Application will also be at the centre of Windows 8.

The traditional “Start” menu is gone, and in its place we find the new “Metro” screen, where we'll find a customized page we can launch applications from. This screen will look really familiar to all Windows Phone 7 users and portable devices in general. No more mouse over menus, they have been replaced with a complete screen that lists all the apps available on your device.

Windows is also jumping into an App Store that looks very much like the home screen, with different categories and featured apps. The store will contain all kinds of apps, from portable/touch devices, and from traditional computers.

Good bye passwords

The new lock screen suffered a redesign, and now looks much more appealing. It also brings a new form to log into your account. Instead of using a regular password to unlock Windows, you'll be able to use a "picture password" feature where you design/swipe gestures into a picture

Hello Ribbon

One of the most evident new features in Windows 8 is the use of Microsoft Office's ribbon across the entire operating system. Almost all native applications will now include the ribbon UI, a very helpful tool for new and experienced users to quickly find what they want.

Hello Cloud Living

And like any other portable device, Windows 8 is designed to be always online, with cloud syncing capabilities. You'll be able to have your address book, photos, SkyDrive data, and even data within third-party apps floating in the cloud. You can even sync all of your settings, themes, languages, app settings, taskbar, and other preferences, from one Windows 8 PC to another.

Crashes and slow computers

And because Windows will be windows, and they know we will keep suffering crashes, the taskbar was redesigned to hold information on CPU and RAM usage, app history, and even startup tweaking.

If everything fails, you can “Refresh your PC” . This will create a clean install with just one click. Reinstalling has always been the best method to make your Windows PC run better and Microsoft knew it. This is not just a new feature, you can set refresh points so you can bring your PC back to the way it was at a certain point in time.

We are just getting the first previews for Windows 8, and a lot more is going to arrive. The latest news we heard about was the new Windows 8 Logo:

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