Bill Gates Endorses Windows 8

Microsoft founder Bill Gates on Thursday finally gave the new Windows 8 his endorsement and public approval.

Bill Gates during an Interview with the Associated Press to discuss the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation’s participation in a global mission to end polio, took some time out to comment about Microsoft's upcoming operating System.

He called the new operating system scheduled for release next month "a very exciting new product" and "a very big deal" for the world's largest software maker.

Windows 8 is Microsoft's biggest overhaul of Windows in more than a decade and the company's attempt to stay relevant and exciting in a world where mobile gadgets like the Apple Ipad, Android tablets and smartphones have started to overshadow personal computers.

He stated he is already using Windows 8 and is very pleased with it. Gates also believes Windows 8 will be a big deal partly because hardware partners are doing “great things” to take advantage of the OS' new features.

The release of Windows 8 has been scheduled for the 26th of October, 2012, and a new version of the Internet Explorer will be released alongside the new OS on the aforementioned date.

Of course, Microsoft is prepared should personal computers continue their downward spiral. Versions of the operating system will additionally be shipping on tablets and smartphones come October 26. It's an important step as the Windows & Windows Live division represented 27 percent of the company’s revenue in 2011. But as the numbers indicate, it’s not all about their legendary operating system these days.

Windows 8 will replace Windows 7 on practically all personal computers sold to consumers.

It features major changes in the way consumers interact with their machines, and versions of it will also run on tablet computers and smartphones.

Although Microsoft has grown into much more than a maker of computer operating systems — providing computer services to corporations and Xbox gaming machines to game enthusiasts — Windows still accounts for a significant chunk of the company's annual revenue.

In 2011, Microsoft's "Windows & Windows Live" division generated 27 percent, or $19 billion, of the company's $69.9 billion in annual revenue.

Either way, there's no denying that there will be a lot of pressure on Microsoft to deliver big in the next several months.