Windows

BGR published a full review of Microsoft’s Windows 8 Consumer Preview last week, and to say we were impressed is an understatement. Make no mistake, Microsoft has plenty of work left to do, but we found its next-generation operating system to be a breath of fresh air while still managing to stay true to the groundwork laid by Windows 7. We covered a number of impressive Windows 8 features in our write-up, but another one was brought to light late last week: the reset function. Windows users know how painful it currently is — and has always been, historically — to start fresh once a PC has been harmed irreparably, but that is no longer the case in Windows 8. As noted by Paul Thurrott of Supersite for Windows, Microsoft’s new push-button reset function can return a Windows 8 PC to its factory-fresh state in as little as six minutes according to Microsoft. A factory reset with Windows 7 took at least 20 minutes to accomplish, and that doesn’t include the arduous set-up process after the fact. The speedy reset function on Windows 8 may not seem overly significant on the surface, but it is certainly an engineering feat and yet another example of the serious effort Microsoft is putting into making Windows 8 an enjoyable, user-friendly experience from start to finish. More →