Microsoft has a humongous budget to promote Windows 8.
According to Forbes, the software giant will spent from $1.5 billion to $1.8 billion in marketing the new operating system.
It is all about convincing people about the power of the new platform, and making them unafraid to step away from their comfort zone of Windows 7.
It’s a hard task, since a recent survey showed that over half of Windows 8 early adopters – those who have more desire to appreciate the new platform than anyone else – still preferred using the previous iteration.
The survey included 50,000 votes from early adopters, and found that only 25% of them were already able to call Windows 8 their favorite operating system. A massive 53% still proclaimed Windows 7 as the best.
Microsoft has a lot of ambition with Windows 8, and with a complete interface overhaul and functionality up the wazoo, it does have a chance to make a splash.
The most distinct aspect of Windows 8 is a special version of the user interface which allows users to have complete customization on their home page, including widgets, RSS readers, weather information, date/time, etc.
In addition, since this is such a revolutionary new platform, Microsoft wants to scrap out all remnants of the “old-school” look and feel. Instead of a Start bar, hovering your mouse over that corner of the screen will allow you to swap between the Metro UI and the traditional desktop. For the mobile version of Windows 8, the new UI will be the default interface.
