The Herald, Sharon, Pa.

Local News

October 24, 2012

New look for Windows 8

System launches on Friday

By Tom Davidson Herald Staff Writer

MERCER COUNTY — The next generation of computing looks a lot like a smartphone screen.

Microsoft Windows 8, set for a worldwide launch Friday, marks a change from the PC-based software stalwart that appears to be a natural evolution in the computing cosmos.

The new operating system seemingly unites mobile phone software with that used by smartphones and tablet systems in what could become the new computing order, according to Shawn Starkey, owner of Starkeys Electronics in Sharon.

“If it catches on,” the new system could be used on all forms of computing, from hand-held phones, to slimline, touchscreen tablets, to laptops and old-school tower PCs, Starkey said.

It reimagines the virtual “desktop” that computer users are fond of and replaces it with what looks like a larger version of a smartphone screen with its icons of apps.

One of the apps it allows an old-school desktop display, but Windows 8 is designed to be a mobile and tablet operating system as well.

“It may be the new ‘thing’,” Starkey said.

He’s been “playing with” a demo version for a few weeks and said he’s liked what he’s seen so far.

“Even for me, it was to the point like ‘Really!’,” he said.

“Everyone can get used to it,” he said. “I will be embracing it as 98 percent of the computers of the world will be.”

Those who don’t, eventually will have to evolve, said Chuck Roberts, who spent his career in software design and programming and now teaches computer classes at the Shenango Valley Senior Community Center in Hermitage.

He’s “heard nothing but good things” about it, he said.

Roberts himself hasn’t had any hands-on experience with the system, but said the world of computing is about “continually upgrading.”

“I think you have to,” Roberts said. “It’s an exciting time, we’re in an era that is changing so dynamically.”

The new system will be stocked by the Hermitage Staples store and it will come preloaded on all computers sold there starting Friday, said customer service leader Ken Barker.

“I like it,” Barker said of Windows 8. “It’s the next evolution. It’s easy to use once you play with it for a little while.”

Text Only
Local News
  • Judge Christopher St. John Judicial daily double

    This year marks the first time in the county’s 209 years as a judicial district that voters have the opportunity to choose a new judge, while also deciding whether to retain an existing one.

    May 19, 2013 1 Photo

  • Court: Divorce pact still a contract

    Superior Court this week agreed with a local judge that a man’s change in fortune does not get him out from under an alimony agreement he entered long ago.

    May 18, 2013

  • sorg,sharon Sorg’s leadership expands to New Castle

    Herald Publisher Sharon A. Sorg is no stranger to hometown newspapers.

    May 18, 2013 1 Photo

  • Kelly rant goes viral; GM question raised

    U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly made an impression during Friday’s hearing on the IRS targeting of political groups seeking tax exempt status.

    May 18, 2013

  • snow plow Council warms up to idea of replacing snow plows

    No one wants to think about snow plows when we’ve just begun to have 80 degrees and sunshine in May.

    May 18, 2013 1 Photo

  • Meth lab cook pleads guilty to drug charge

    The alleged cook of a methamphetamine lab raided by drug agents last summer has entered a guilty plea, the third of five people arrested that day to do so.

    May 17, 2013

  • Devine Campbell acquitted of gun charges

    No one disputes that a Sharon woman was terrorized by a young man who pulled a gun on her after tossing a half-eaten stromboli at her as she was walking home from work on a Sunday night in December 2011.

    May 17, 2013

  • Drilling equipment maker plans plant here

    A Winner Cos. warehouse in the North Flats of Sharon is on its way to conversion into a manufacturing plant offering more than 100 new jobs.

    May 17, 2013

  • Basilone plea deal falls apart

    The family of slain Farrell bar owner William Basilone Jr. got a private update Wednesday on the case to prosecute the men accused in the 2011 slaying.

    May 16, 2013

  • Reduced funding hits Head Start

    Children in Mercer County’s Head Start programs will likely find it harder to get ahead in the upcoming school year as reduced funding will force classes and services to be cut, the agency’s executive director said.

    May 16, 2013