There’s still a lot we don’t know about Windows 8, and won’t for the next couple of weeks until the Consumer Preview (beta) is released.  I know that there’s still an awful lot to come, especially for business users, IT Pros and Enthusiasts that we’ve not seen, or even heard of yet.  But of the things we do currently know about this new operating system what I am personally most excied about?  As a Windows MVP and a Windows Author, with my “Troubleshooting Windows 7 Inside Out” already out the door and two Windows 8 books currently being written (plus at least one more to come after that) I’ll know this new operating system inside out (if you’ll excuse the pun) by the time it ships.

This is the case with Windows 7 where I use a great many of the operating system’s more advanced and perhaps less-known features every day.  These include Aero Snap which allows me to work on two documents side by side, Taskbar Jumplists for pinning of regularly used files, including some I store up in Microsoft’s SkyDrive cloud service and networking features that make sharing and working on different files on different computers a doddle.

Assuming I’ll continue to use all of these, I thought I’d detail here which of the features that will be completely new to Windows 8, I’m most looking forward to, and why.

8 : Reset and Refresh

As the author of a Windows 7 Troubleshooting book, the idea of a quick way to reset Windows is very useful and extremely compelling.  This isn’t a basic “quick fix” feature either, as it’s programmable with your own custom Windows images.  So you can create an image of a fully-working and installed system, complete with all your software and settings, and use the Reset option to quickly roll back to a fully working copy of Windows.  As a way to expand on the System Image functionality goes, this is a winner in my book.

7 : Live Tiles

I might probably use the desktop more than Metro, but I have rather grown to love Live Tiles on my Windows Phone.  With the Live Tiles on the new Windows 8 Start Screen I can see just how much additional information they will be able to provide and just how useful they could really be.  For example I could check my latest emails, look at my calendar, see what the weather’s doing, see who just mentioned me on Twitter and more by just sitting there.  I wouldn’t have to do anything at all!  That’s really quite cool.

6 : Multi-User Tablets

My biggest beef with modern tablets is how they lock you into a single-user account, forcing you to buy an extra tablet for each other person in your household who wants to use one.  Windows 8 will finally change all that, bringing multiple-user accounts to tablets for the first time.  Apart from the obvious cost-saving to households and businesses, this single feature will elevate Windows 8 above the competition whenever the salesman in the shop begins to talk about it.

5 : Improved File Management

The changes and improvements to file management in Windows 8 are such that I can’t help but wonder why it’s taken so long to do things that are so obvious.  The new copy and replace dialogs are extremely helpful and the simple fact that you will be able to pause a copy or a move operation, shut your computer off, go out for the night with friends, and continue the copy from where you left it the following morning is, frankly, worth the upgrade on its own!

4 : Better Windows Phone Sync

I love my Windows PC and I equally love my Windows Phone, but no matter how good the Zune Desktop software is, it’s becoming very old hat to use software such as this to synchronise the two.  While many of the details are still secret, it’s become apparent that Windows 8 will be able to synchronise with your Windows Phone directly, which will bring many added benefits, much of which we don’t yet know, but extra functionality (please synching of Internet bookmarks) is bound to be a part of the package.

3 : Hyper-V

I use Virtualisation, in the form of XP Mode, every single day to run an old Microsoft graphics package that I love, but that won’t run fully in Windows 7.  The incluison of Microsoft’s excellent type-0 hypervisor, baked into the OS for the first time will solve many a problem for many people, and help make Windows 8 the most compatible version of Windows yet… until all support for XP ends of course but we’ll cross that bridge later.

2 : Windows To Go

It’s one thing to be able to carry files around with you on a pen drive, but so far it’s been the preserve of expensive third-party software to allow you to run the entire operating system from a pen-drive.  Now, Windows 8 will bring you the opportunity to carry your copy of Windows, and it’s software, with you wherever you go.  No longer will we need to fret about leaving the laptop at home.  Just plug the pen drive into any PC and, hey presto, there it is.

1 : Kinect

As a favourite thing to look forward to with Windows 8, how could anything except the Kinect sensor integration, complete with it’s “Minority Report” operation of the new Start Screen not top the list?  It may not be useful for anything but broad gestures, but by ‘eck it’s gonna be fun to play with when we get it!

There are other things I’m looking forward to as well such as pooled storage, better battery life and more mobile working support, and no doubt even more will appear when I get a copy of the beta.  What are you most looking forward to in Windows 8?  Why not tell us in the comments.