For those who don’t consider themselves Apple addicts the new Window 8 software will officially be released on October 26.

The use of Mac computers by college students and faculty has been on a constant rise over the last few years. Naturally, this has caused Apple’s biggest competition, Microsoft, to step up their game.

Windows 8 has a plethora of new features that will not only make the operating system look better, but also make it much easier to use, according to Johnathan M., an employee at a local Office Depot.

“Windows 8 is pretty nifty,” said Johnathan, “It simplifies a lot of things. You can share documents or even entire user accounts from one computer to another by using Skydrive, which is kind of like the iCloud.”

Windows 8 was made to look and feel more like smart phones and tablets, which have had an increase in use since they came into production. A major change in the operating system is the use of apps similar to those used on cell phones.

The use of apps greatly simplifies many different processes. There are social network apps such as Twitter and Facebook, weather apps, and many more. This saves time by taking away the need to open a browser, find the site, and login. It can all be done with one simple click.

“I can’t wait for Windows 8 to come out,” said Wesley Roberson, a sophomore computer science major. “I’ve had a Samsung Focus, which uses Windows 7, for a while. The phones have always had the notification on the tiles and it makes a lot of things simpler. It’ll be cool to see how they work on actual computers.”

The apps can be saved to the new Start screen as live tiles, which show constant updates of the information that the app is used for, such as change in the weather or even mentions on Twitter.

“They’re supposed to release Internet Explorer 10 with the Windows 8 computers. They’ve been real hush hush about that though, so I’m excited to see what they’ve been hiding,” said Davion Prater, a sophomore computer science major.

With all of these new features, a consumer would expect a dramatic rise in the price of computers with the new operating system. According to Johnathan M., however, this is not the case.

“The prices of regular laptops with Windows 8 will actually be comparable to the prices of the other laptops already in stock. Also, anybody who bought a computer with Windows 7 this year will be able to upgrade for only fifteen dollars,” Johnathan M. said.