Microsoft launches 'reimagined' Windows

IT giant Microsoft on Wednesday delivered its answer to Google and Apple, through a new-generation Windows operating system designed to run seamlessly on computers and portable tablet devices.

"Windows 8 is a generational change in the Windows operating system," said Windows president Steven Sinofsky."It's Windows reimagined," he added, launching the consumer preview of the operating system at the world's biggest mobile fair in Barcelona.

The operating system is Microsoft's riposte to Google's Android platform and Apple, which has dominated the tablet market it ignited with the release of the iPad. Like its two competitors, Microsoft is adopting the "app" style in its reinvented operating system. Unlike previous generations of Windows, which has a taskbar pulling up a list of software, the latest version has a selection of applications or "apps" tiled on the start page. For devices with touchscreens, apps are selected or moved around in the same way as on a smartphone -- by hand, swiping to switch between pages or screens, pinching to enlarge or shrink and tapping to select.