REDMOND, Wash. — Computers running on the next version of Microsoft's Windows operating system will go on sale in October.
Microsoft Corp. announced the time frame for Windows 8's mass-market release Monday at a company conference in Toronto.
A specific sales date in October wasn't provided. Most analysts had predicted Windows 8 would go on sale in the fall to ensure the machines running on the operating system would be available for the holiday shopping season.
Applications will appear in a mosaic of tiles on Windows 8. Microsoft, based in Redmond, Wash., also designed the operating system so it can run on personal computers or touch-based tablet computers.
New versions of Windows typically come out every three years, but this update is the most widely anticipated overhaul of the software since 1995.