Windows 8 (my computer?)

I've had several people who have been in the market for a new computer asking me about Windows 8. "Should I wait to buy a computer until Windows 8 comes out?" or "When is Windows 8 being released? I'm thinking of holding out till then".

This is one of those cases where, if you can, I'd recommend a 'wait and see' approach.

I was fortunate enough to download and play with the Developer Preview of Windows 8 back in September. Going into it, I knew that it would not be a polished experience.. very few software programs are that early in the game. It did give me a general feel of how the environment was going to work. I had loaded it on an older laptop that i had, which made the preview somewhat sluggish, which was no surprise because, again, it's early in the game, and on older hardware. 

My first thoughts were a mix of "this will work great on a touch tablet device" and "i'm not so sure if i'll like this on my desktop". The Metro User Interface wasn't unknown to me, as it is used in Windows Phone 7,and now on the Xbox 360). It's a beautiful interface, and I would love to use it over the IOS (iPod, iPhone, and iPad) interface for my phone and tablet, but I'm not currently sold on using it on a laptop or desktop. 

There is a normal desktop-like screen, but upon clicking the "Start" button (or Windows button in Windows Vista and 7), it would bring you back to the Metro UI. 

While the Developer Preview was a lot of fun to tinker with, I wound up feeling a little more reserved about putting it on my home and work computer when it releases. If i had a touch device i could load it on, I'd love it.  

So my answer to the question from the start of this post: give me a month and i'll have a more informed and educated answer and I'll report back. Microsoft is releasing a "Customer Preview" version of Windows 8, which is sort of a Beta release that companies will sometimes release before the final release, where users can report any bugs they may run across when used in a normal, everyday environment.  

I have been really excited to see Microsoft making some big changes with Windows, even with my reservations.  I'm hoping that it will be a huge success and be a much needed refresh for the Windows platform.

In the mean time, feel free to leave your questions or comments below if you want to chime in!