The New Task Manager

One of the stand out features of Windows 8 that hasn’t got much attention is the updated Task Manager. It displays a wealth of useful information laid out logically and in a very aesthetically pleasing way. Some of this functionality existed in previous versions of Windows but was not nearly as accessible.

I am very impressed with Windows 8′s new dual approach of supporting novice and power-users alike. A good example of this can be seen on the initial launch of Task Manager where it is launched in a minimal state and can be expanded easily to the full fledged manager. Some of these exciting features and more can be seen in the new Windows 8 Developer Preview or you can follow the Building Windows 8 blog from Microsoft.

Windows 8, a preview

One of the things previewed today at the D9 conference was an early version of Windows 8 demonstrated by Steven Sinofsky. Looks like a giant Windows Phone? Well they seem to have finally incorporated the Metro UI into the next version of Windows.

Here’s a detailed look at what’s in store:

UPDATE: The full Windows 8 demo from the D9 conference is now available.