Microsoft this week unveiled details about the upcoming Windows 8 editions, which include Windows 8 and Windows 8 Pro for x86-based PCs, as well as Windows 8 RT for tablets and devices powered by ARM-based processors.

On Wednesday, the software giant shed more light on Windows 8 Enterprise, the corporate version of the operating system designed to meet the mobile productivity, security, manageability and virtualisation needs of today’s businesses. …

You can now check out the upcoming Windows 8 operating system (OS) with a consumer preview that’s just been made available for download.

The next big thing from Microsoft has been receiving some fairly positive reviews since a beta version was made available to developers a few months back.

Now, this more stable pre-release version out for consumers should give everyone a good look at the upcoming OS that is supposed to offer both the familiar PC mouse interface and a touch-based feel on tablets and phones. It’s an increasingly “unified” OS that Microsoft – and indeed Apple with its recent OS releases – is trying to create for future convergent devices.

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If 2011 was remembered for shiny new tablets that made people part with their hard-earned cash, then 2012 may just be the one where the craze for these thin and light yet powerful and affordable ultrabooks takes off big time.

At the annual CES show just concluded earlier in the week, a good number of laptop makers joined the fray with their takes on what people would be carrying to meetings and classrooms in the coming months.

Perhaps having seen Asus, Acer and Lenovo whip up demand for such ultra-light PCs in the closing months of 2011, the likes of Sony, Dell and HP showed of their versions of the ultrabook at CES this year. Lenovo too came up with a quite surprising “yoga-like” ultrabook cum tablet.

Here’s a sneak peek.

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Apple’s iPad will continue to account for the lion’s share of the tablet market this year, with rival Android devices slowly closing in from behind.

According to latest estimates by Gartner, a technology research firm, the iPad is expected to end the year with 73.4 percent of the global tablet market, down from 83 percent in 2010.

Android’s slice of the pie will increase from 14.3 percent in 2010 to 17.3 percent this year, thanks to the success of low-end tablets in Asia and expectations around the launch of Amazon’s Android tablet. …