Windows 8 will move some of your data to the cloud with the ability to sync settings between your different PCs, using SkyDrive.
A small amount of storage space for free - 2-5GB - is common with cloud services, more available for subscriptions via a selection of Microsoft partners. As these will presumably be the same companies that are offering online backup now, there's little reason to wait. Mozy, IDrive or ADrive all offer basic free plans.
A more significant and interesting change under consideration is the idea that your user accounts may move to the cloud, which will allow your settings to follow you: log in on any Windows 8 system and it'll be configured just the way you'd like.
This isn't something that can be reproduced easily in Windows 7, but you can get a taste of what might be involved by signing up for Microsoft's Live Mesh 2011. This lets you synchronise files, IE and Microsoft Office settings across devices, as well as allowing remote desktop access.
If you're interested in moving your computing to the cloud, Windows 7 already provides most of the features you'll need. All you have to do is find the apps that suit your needs and sign up.
Google Docs, Microsoft Office 365, Google Calendar, Simplenote, and Dropbox are all great places to get started.
Location sensors
Windows 7 introduced support for sensors - physical devices that can measure attributes of the world around you: light levels, temperature or location, for example. If you have some software development experience, you can read the technical details here.
This technology hasn't changed the world - not least because most PCs lack sensors to take advantage of it. Windows 8 is due to expand it anyway, supporting sensors for proximity, infrared and ambient lighting.
The intention here (again) is that PC manufacturers will build the relevant sensors into their systems, so for instance, the location sensor in your laptop will be able to return your current location to a website when asked, which will display local services.
While you probably don't have a laptop with a location sensor just yet, there are alternatives. In particular, if you have a COM-based NMEA-compatible GPS device, then installing the free GPSDirect Sensor Driver will allow your system to access the COM port containing GPS data, and map it to a Windows 7 sensor. If you don't have such a device, but would like to give it a try, prices start at under £20 - enter keywords like 'GPS NMEA USB' into a shopping comparison site to find out more.
While this sounds complicated, it's not difficult to set up, and you don't need to understand the low-level technicalities. Author Michael Chourdakis provides all the instructions you need, and the driver itself is free for non-commercial use. If you try this, it would be wise to configure your applications accordingly; you might not want every website you visit to be able to determine your location.
IE9, for instance, will always ask before releasing this information, but clicking 'Tools > Internet options > Privacy' and checking 'Never allow websites to request your physical location' will disable the feature entirely.
Windows Explorer
Every new version of Windows has included at least some Explorer tweaks, and these won't always move the program in a positive direction. You might want to expand Explorer with a dual pane or tabbed view of your filesystem, but Microsoft is just as likely to remove features, like the ability to remember individual folder sizes and positions, which disappeared in Windows 7.
If you're also a little unhappy with the direction Explorer has taken in recent years, there are two approaches you might take. The first option is to work with and improve the Windows 7 Explorer. If Windows Explorer forgetting folder position and size settings annoys you, then a simple add-on called ShellFolderFix should solve the problem.
The 'Classic' Computer view displays your drives in the right-hand pane, and nothing else, which for most people means lots of wasted space. Install Companel, and you can add a host of other applets: Network and Sharing Centre, Troubleshooting, Favourites, Programs and Features, Mobility Centre - whatever suits your needs.
You could always turn to a different file manager altogether. FreeCommander looks like classic Explorer, so you'll feel at home, but it also has powerful extras: a dual-pane interface so you can display two folders at once; browser-like tabs so you can switch folders at a click, easy file selection, batch file renaming, secure file deletion and more.
What we know about Windows 8 sounds promising, but there are issues. It will be a while before it arrives, no one can be sure if Microsoft will deliver on its plans, and it's not going to be cheap. If you can live with this, then just wait for a year or so, when the success or otherwise of Microsoft's next operating system will be clear.
If you're a little less patient, you can have many of the planned Windows 8 improvements right now, delivering a Windows 7 PC that's faster, easier to use and more secure, with simple face recognition logon and settings that automatically synchronise with your other computers.
Most of this comes at no charge at all, so why wait? Take charge of your own PC - upgrade it with your favourite Windows 8 features today.
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First published in PC Plus Issue 308. Read PC Plus on PC, Mac and iPad
Liked this? Then check out Windows 8: everything you need to know
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