Leaked slides that purport to contain information of the Windows 8 operating system are making rounds on the Internet. Originally distributed as confidential information to briefing partners in April, the slides are generally understood to be genuine. While it would be unrealistic to treat the information as a specifications sheet for the next iteration of Windows, it does offer a clear glimpse into how Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) intends to position itself even as various tablets and smartphone platforms converge and vie for platform dominance.

One feature mentioned in the slides: Microsoft intends to offer an application store to third-party software developers, which will also replicate software settings across devices. As pointed out by Ars Technica, this appears to be a cross between Apple's App Store and the Valve's Steam software distribution engine. Another feature being worked on appears to be facial recognition to determine whether to put the machine to sleep, or wake it up.

A more exciting capability that Wired says is being alluded to though, would be the capability to "switch on" instantly. As quoted from one slide, "Windows 8 PCs turn on fast, nearly instantly in some cases, and are ready to work without any long or unexpected delays."

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Ars Technica
- check out this article at Forbes
- check out this article at Wired

Related Articles:
Windows 8 development is well under way
Market share of Windows continues to slide