Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 operating system is looking better with each new feature reveal, and the focus this week is on "using the language you want."
In a blog post detailing the software giant's renewed focus on multilingual user interfaces, Windows international program manager Ian Hamilton revealed a new Language section in Control Panel that will act as the central hub for the operating system's expanded language preferences.
From here, users will be able to choose from 109 different languages (up from the 95 currently available in Windows 7) and, unlike previous Windows operating systems, users will be able to install multiple languages and switch between them with ease.
"The ability to have a Spanish user account for the parents, and an English one for the kids," is the target, says Hamilton.
Punjabi, Central Kurdish and Scottish Gaelic are among the 13 new language packs (which, thankfully, will no longer appear in Windows update), but the most intriguing update to us is the long-awaited addition of UK English. Microsoft adds that English for the United Kingdom will be made available as a standalone language, allowing for OEMs to prepare PCs with proper British English.
In admitting that this is "something we should have done a long time ago," Hamilton - with tongue firmly in cheek - states that "Windows users in the UK have gotten by with the US English version of Windows, and while we Americans knew this was not their favourite, that is clearly no defence."
