Microsoft's new Windows 8 operating system will not require a processing powerhouse to run efficiently, the company claimed during the official unveiling.
At the Build developers' conference, Windows President Stephen Sinofsky demonstrated Windows 8 running on his own Lenovo S10 netbook, which is around three years old.
Sinofsky used Windows Task Manager to show that Windows 8 required less system resources than Windows 7 and that the aging Intel Atom processor and 1GB of RAM set-up was "enough" to run the new OS.
Windows 8 used 280MB of data while Windows 7 used 400MB to run, the implication being that users of older machines won't be forced to upgrade to a new PC if they want to upgrade to Windows 8.
Quell fears
The figures, Sinofsky said, should quell fears that Microsoft would "add layers" and "slow down" the operating system and make it a clunky user experience for users of older machines.
"We're not building layers on layers," he said of the new Metro user interface. Everything is built into Windows.
The company is unveiling the Windows 8 operating system developer's preview and is also preparing to demonstrate some of the touch-enabled devices you'll be able to use with the upgrade.
We've got a full Windows 8 hands on review, so check that out for our initial impressions on Microsoft's complete re-imagining of its classic OS.
