Tech industry watchers have been following Microsoft Windows 8 for months now — from the Consumer Preview or Beta release in February to the unveiling in June of the company’s new Surface tablet, which will be one of the first tablets with the Windows 8 operating system.But Microsoft’s been rather tight-lipped about when the highly anticipated new operating system will hit the market for everyone.Until now.The CFO for Microsoft Windows and Windows Live, Tami Reller said at the company’s World Wide Partner Conference yesterday that Windows 8 devices will hit shelves “in late October”.New versions of Windows typically come out every three years, but this update is the most widely anticipated overhaul of the software since 1995 and follows the not-so-successful Vista operating system, which launched in 2007.The confirmation of the Windows 8 release date gives a better indication of when Microsoft may launch some of its other products. The launch of Windows Phone 8 is expected to coincide with the launch of Windows 8, which could mean a new Windows smartphone could launch around the same time.The software giant also said Surface, the tablet Microsoft designed in-house, would launch in time with Windows 8, so an October launch for the Surface would not be a surprise. The late October timing would put Windows 8 devices on shelves in time for the holiday season.And the Surface may not be the only Windows 8 tablet launching either. Last week, a Bloomberg report broke the news that Samsung may also be working on a Windows 8 tablet that’s expected to launch along with the release of Windows 8.The new Windows 8 software will be released to hardware makers the first week in August, the company said. Microsoft’s partners like Dell, Lenovo, Asus and Acer are expected to release a number of Windows 8 computers this year — and they’re not just making regular laptops and tablets for the new operating system. They’re building computers in unique shapes and sizes to take advantage of how Windows 8 is built for both touch and to be used with a keyboard and mouse. You may see some with folding screens, or sliding screens and some might even have two screens — some may even be touch screen. You’ll notice laptops are becoming more like tablets and tablets are becoming more like laptops.As for the competition, Google is set to release the new Nexus 7 tablet in late July, Amazon is expected to release a new Kindle Fire tablet in the next couple of months and Apple is rumoured to be working on a 7-inch iPad to be released in September. Should be an interesting autumn in the world of technology.