Steve here,

I recently ran across a blog post by Microsoft outlining the new improvements to windows explorer inside Windows 8 scheduled to come out this time next year. Looks like Microsoft gathered lots of data over the past few years on which functions and buttons are used most often by users and incorporated that information to come up with the new version. Below is a chart showing the functions that were used by most users:

That taken into consideration Microsoft released a few screen shots of the improved ribbon, notice all of the functions outlined:

The rest of the explorer window looks pretty similar to that in Windows 7…also Microsoft has been implementing this style into their Office 365 SharePoint site and other apps so it shouldn’t take much adjustment.

One of the benefits of this improved ribbon will make it much easier to manage and organize files quickly and take less steps to do so. One of my personal favorite features (and true for many IT people) is the ability to launch a command prompt with administrative privileges from the File menu:

Overall I am enjoying the way Windows 8 is developing and look forward to more features as development progresses. It is nice to see Microsoft taking additional steps in their development to cater to consumer concerns and needs. I will keep you updated as more unfolds!