Microsoft Windows 8

The Microsoft Windows 8 is the follow up effort to Microsoft's generally well-received Windows 7 desktop OS. Windows 8 is unique to previous Windows desktop releases as it is designed to run on ARM as well as x86 architecture types, making it more tablet friendly.

Additionally, Windows 8 blends elements of Windows 7 and Microsoft's Metro UI (as seen on Windows Phone 7 devices).

Windows 8's Metro UI is designed specifically for touchscreen use, making it more comfortable to use on tablets than Windows 7. The Metro UI features a number of user-configurable live tiles meant to provide the user with direct access to important apps; this would be most useful for ARM-based tablet devices. At any time, however, the user can switch to a more typical desktop OS similar to Windows 7 (this would likely be the default state of the OS when installed on an x86 machine), offering greater functionality than tablet-only operating systems.