Steve Sinofsky sets Windows 8 release date

Microsoft will release Windows 8 on October 26 this year, after well over a year in development, Windows division president Steve Sinofsky has revealed at the company's annual sales meeting.

According to a post on the Windows team blog, the new operating system will be available from this date as an upgrade or on new PCs.

Microsoft's Surface device, designed to showcase the Windows 8 experience on tablets, will come out around the same time.

Windows 8 has been a long time coming, experiencing three major beta releases - the developer preview, consumer preview and release preview - on its way to availability.

The release will be part of a busy few months for Microsoft, which is also set to release Windows Phone 8 around the same time.

Do you think Microsoft has done well managing the development process, or has it been going on for too long? Are you even interested in Windows 8, or will it be more of the same? Post your comments below.