Windows 8 Unveiled: Features And New PCs Showcased At Microsoft's New York Press Event

Just one day before Microsoft’s Windows 8 is set to be released, the company held an event in New York City on Thursday to show off the finished product. Anticipation for the new software has been building over the past year, and now Windows fans know exactly what to expect from Microsoft’s overhauled operating system.

After Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky took the stage, company executives Mike Angiulo and Julie Larson-Green showed the audience just what Windows 8 can do.

A new split-screen feature that comes with the Windows 8 can be performed by clicking and dragging from the Recent Apps sidebar, allowing for smoother multi-tastking.

There was also a strong emphasis on SkyDrive incorporation, as Angiulo demonstrated how to save an Excel spreadsheet to the software.

Windows 8 will also fix many of the legacy problems currently found in Windows 7 and earlier iterations.

Just as crucial as the Windows 8 software itself, Angiulo boasted that the PCs it will run on are thinner and lighter.

"These are the best PCs ever made," Larson-Green said.

The pair continued to demonstrate WIndows 8 PCs that have been previously reviewed, such as Lenovo's ThinkPad and Acer's Aspire S7-191.A Windows 8 touch notebook will be available on the software's release date for a price of $499.

The two continued to showcase various Windows 8 PCs such as the Lenovo Yoga , Dell XPS 10, and Samsung Ativ Tab.

We'll be updating as Microsoft reveals more information.