It appears that Windows 8 is completely different than its forerunners, from its lowest point, the kernel, to its highest point, the cloud. System-wide menu, mobile-device optimization and ARM processor support are only some of improvements we’ll get from Windows 8. These are a few things you should expect from Windows 8:

ARM Processor Support

Everyone wants to be on the tablet nowadays. To fully support mobile devices, it’s important for an OS to fully support ARM-based CPUs. If Microsoft can keep the bloating and hardware requirements under control, it may eventually compete with smartphone platforms such as iOS and Android.

Better Touch Interface

Windows-based tablets were infamous for its horrible touch-screen interface; you simply can’t compare them with iOS and Android 3.0 Honeycomb devices. However, on Windows 8, the design elements, such as login screen, browser, task manager, file explorer and others; are fully optimized for touch interface. It was also revealed that the login screen can be unlocked using pattern (finger gestures), in the same way as an Android phone does.

Ribbons

The ribbons menu you see in the Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010 will be implemented more widely in Windows 8. Luckily, if you dislike the interface enhancement, you can revert these menus to the Windows 7-style interface,.

Improved Task Manager

Managing applications and killing resource-hogging tasks are more important on a mobile device than it is on a typical desktop computer. The Task Manager and Resource Monitor will be combined in a single window, to make it easier for you to detect and remove sluggish processes that hog the whole system down. The kill buttons are optimized for mobile devices.

Better Browser

Some leaked photos revealed that some elements on Windows 8 browsers are similar to what you find in Windows Phone 7’s Metro browser, including little blocks for mosaic and others. This is a strong evidence that Microsoft is focusing more heavily on tablets.

Better Cloud Integration

Windows 8 will integrate and synchronized better with the cloud compared to Windows 7. Windows Live SkyDrive is the default gateway to the cloud, however Windows 8 allows you to install 3^rd party apps and services as mapped drives.

Portable Workplace

With a 16GB USB drives, you can carry portable image of your primary Windows 8 computer and plug it in to other Windows 8 PC. In essence, the USB device contains the clone of your original computer.

Obviously, it is rather difficult to predict the final features of Windows 8, for example, some features showcased in Longhorn weren’t implemented in Vista. However, if Microsoft will retain all the features shown on the Alpha build, plus a little bit more, Windows 8 will be as significant as the change from Windows 3.1 to Windows 95.