Welcome to Windows 8
Not since home computing was truly put on the map with the launch
of Windows 95 has Microsoft delivered such a radical overhaul to its
world-conquering operating system.
Having witnessed the mainstream popularity of tablet devices, particularly the Apple iPad, Microsoft
has responded with a version of Windows that spans the whole gamut of computing devices: desktops,
laptops, tablets – and hybrids of all three. It’s an operating system designed for touchscreen and nontouch
devices, and hardware new and old. For the first time, it’s even designed to power Microsoft’s own
computer, Surface.
Windows 8 has a battery of new features. The new “Modern UI” Start menu, the Windows Store, the
touchscreen controls, the death of the Windows Start button – it’s hard to know which monumental change
to the operating system to start with. Fortunately, we’ve got them all covered in this guide – and much more.
This MagBook carefully explains all the major new features in Windows 8. Where applicable,
we’ve also written step-by-step walkthroughs to help you get to grips with those features and new ways of
working. Dotted throughout the book, you’ll find annotated guides to the new-look Windows Start menu,
the revamped desktop, the touch controls and the new Settings menus, so that you can sit with this guide in
front of you and (literally, in the case of tablet owners) feel your way around the operating system.
As with any modern operating system, apps are a critical part of Windows 8. We help you
familiarise yourself with several of the new-style apps Microsoft has pre-installed on every Windows 8 Start
menu, then delve into Windows Store to single out 20 of our favourite apps you can download – in many
cases, completely free of charge.
Windows 8 also has plenty to offer Windows traditionalists who have no interest in apps and
modern tablet hardware. We explain how to master Microsoft’s new take on the traditional Windows
desktop, highlighting the new Task Manager and other advanced features aimed at power users, such as
mounting ISOs and VHDs.
Finally, you’d be foolish to think about upgrading to a new operating system without thinking
about security – and rest assured, we won’t leave you unprotected. We’ve got a whole chapter dealing with
securing your Windows 8 PC, which for the first time comes with built-in antivirus software. Should you
trust it? We’ve got a rundown of the alternative security suites to help you reach your own conclusion and
decide on the best security solution for your specific needs.
Using Windows 8 for the first time can be a disorienting experience. Daunting, even. We hope this
guide will make those tentative first steps a great deal easier.