Microsoft has announced that their newest operating system, Windows 8, will be released to the public on October 26th, although the new OS will be available to computer, tablet, or smartphone makers in August so they can incorporate it into their hardware.

The Hindu Business Line reports that Windows unit boss Steven Sinofsky made the revelation date at a sales meeting, according to Microsoft communications manager Brandon LeBlanc, who relayed the information in a blog post on Tuesday.

The new OS will be available in 109 languages and 231 markets worldwide, and Microsoft chief Steve Ballmer called it “simply the biggest deal for this company in at least 17 years,” referring to the launch of the Windows 95 operating system. He stated, “It’s the glue; it’s the foundation of everything Microsoft is built on.”

According to Yahoo News, Microsoft will be releasing the software as a downloadable upgrade on October 26th, and will also allow PC makers to start selling computers with the new Windows 8 OS the same day.

Also, Windows XP, Vista, and 7 users will be able to purchase the upgrade for $40, which is significantly less than Microsoft has ever charged for a previous OS upgrade. For those who have purchased a Windows 7 computer on or later than June 2, they will be able to do the upgrade for only $15.

The company, based in Redmond, Washington, has also gone on the record to say that their upcoming Surface tablets will be hitting the market when the Windows 8 operating system becomes publicly available, meaning that the highly anticipated product could also be launched on or near October 26th.

Among several other new features, Windows 8 will allow users to store and share personal data among many different devices using the company’s “SkyDrive” cloud computing service.

Are you excited for Microsoft to release the new Windows 8 operating system?

Microsoft Announces Windows 8 Release Date: October 26 is a post from: The Inquisitr