Erik Dreyer-Goldman is the owner of Ask Erik Computer Services in Seal Beach, Calif. Send questions to erik@askerik.com

If you're one of those people who needs to have the latest and greatest (or should I say newest as you may think that Windows 8 is not that great) then it's a matter of personal preference.

Windows 8 starts up quicker, is faster and offers far better battery life. The Windows Store (think of the Apple app store) gives you access to thousands of aps - many of them free. If your PC runs Windows 7 then it should perform much better running with Windows 8. There is a completely new interface which carries over from the PC to tablets and Windows phones. Microsoft is trying to make things easier with its metro-style interface as far as consistency is concerned having multiple devices and using SkyDrive and Microsoft websites.

The Windows 8 Metro-style interface is replacing older ones. Objects will now have a physical look. You'll want to set up a new email address at Outlook.com (it will replace Hotmail/Live Mail). You will use this email address as your Windows Identity for logging on to Windows 8, accessing SkyDrive, using the free online Office apps (Word, Excel, etc.) are nicer than Gmail and the Google equivalents and SkyDrive performs similar to Dropbox. You can drop and drag files into it and SkyDrive apps will automatically synchronize your files between PCs and Macs.

The main disadvantage is that Windows 8 is really designed for touch screen. There are many third- party utilities allowing you to bypass the start screen and take you right to the desktop like in Windows 7. Doing this bypasses the glanceable live tiles which keeps updating you on new information unlike old static icons cannot.

Tips on upgrading.

First you'll want to create a Windows 7 backup DVD as well as backup all your data before you upgrade to Windows 8. Upgrades sometimes don't go as planned and if you don't like Windows 8 you may want to re-install Windows 7.

There are three different ways to install a download copy of Windows 8. You can install it now, install it later from a shortcut on your desktop, or download the media option which lets you create a bootable USB Flash drive, or an ISO file to write a DVD.

The easiest way to do this is to download Microsoft's free download tool. It you "create media" then you can download Windows 8 on one PC and install it on a different one, using the unique product key provided with your purchase. This is important for users who have a 32-bit copy of Windows XP (most people) or a 32-bit copy of Windows 7 (a few unfortunates). Obviously Microsoft will only upgrade a 32-bit system to to another 32-bit sytem. During the download on a 64-bit system it enables you to replace your 32-bit installation with the 64-bit version.

Also if you have up to five PCs, you can buy up to five copies of Windows 8 and use the same USB stick or DVD to upgrade them all. Of course, each PC will need its own unique product key but you don't need multiple downloads.

If you've been using Windows 7 for less than a year you might find Windows 8 enticing. If on the other hand you've been using Windows 7 for years, really love it and don't think that Windows 8 is that great that's OK too. Microsoft hasn't decided when it will stop selling Windows 7.

There will be support available from Microsoft until January 2015. After that, there will be extended paid support until January 2020.

The world is moving towards touch screen operation, mobility, and lower-powered devices. Windows 8 (which can run on ARM processors) is designed to support all these features. Windows 7 isn't.

Windows 8 comes bundled with Bing apps, Xbox music and movies, as well as works well with applications such as Skype. You'll donwload apps from the Windows store in a "virtual environment" for security and reliability reasons. It integrates with SkyDrive and the free SkyDrive versions of the Microsoft Office apps such as Word and Excel. For business users, it works with Office 365 (which includes Lync and Sharepoint) and Microsoft's cloud service.

Windows 7 is a very good operating system but Windows 8 is Microsoft's attempt of a new ecosystem combining software and services and devices so that everything functions better together. At least, that's their story and they're sticking to it. Windows is a lot more than an operating system upgrade and that's a good reason for giving it a try.

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