The new Windows operating system will be leaner, offer better interaction between applications and bring more touch controls to the desktop, Microsoft announced at a conference in California today.
Promising that Windows 8 "changes everything", the company unveiled plans for its future software at the Build conference in California, showing off the system that will allow users to decide how to interact with their system, working with both touch gestures and the traditional mouse and keyboard.
Developers will be able to sell their apps through the Windows Store, which will have a "transparent" certification process for approving the software.
The new operating system will run on everything from high-powered desktops to devices powered by ARM chips - mobile phones and tablets.
"Things are a lot different than they were three years ago with computing, and they're a lot, lot different than they were in 1995, the last time Windows underwent a pretty significant bold overhaul," Windows president Steven Sinofsky said.
"Mobility is a whole new dimension to computing these day. Now you want devices you can use while you're carrying them around. A whole new way of using computing has arisen, and we want Windows to respond to that."
The new system uses the Metro style user interface, which replaces the traditional start menu and desktop view Windows users have come to expect with a lock screen and dynamic tiles similar to those used in Windows Phone 7 to represent applications.
That doesn't mean that Windows is ditching the desktop, however; this becomes an application that users can open to run software such as Photoshop on compatible devices.
The Metro-style interface allows software writers to develop a wider range of applications that are more immersive. The apps can use a new feature called contracts to facilitate sharing across applications, for example sending a link from a magazine application to a social networking application.
"[People] don't want their apps to stand alone they want a web of applications," said Mr Sinofsky. "You can think of sharing as a semantically rich clipboard."
Microsoft has already given some details about its plans for the next version of its operating system but the Build event in California was intended to fill in some of the blanks.
Describing Windows 8 as "the launch of an opportunity for developers", Sinofsky promised the event was just the beginning for the operating system.
"Windows 8 is a bold re-imagining of what Windows could be," he told the conference.
The system will also use less memory than Windows 7, and has been designed to be leaner than the previous incarnation. Windows 7 applications will run under Windows 8, Mr Sinofsky said.
The company was also keen to highlight the success of Windows 7, which has sold almost 450 million copies and now has greater usage than Windows XP in the consumer market, according to Microsoft. "We're seeing an overtaking of Windows XP," said Mr Sinofsky.