Microsoft’s new Windows 8 operating system will be officially introduced at the annual Build conference in California tomorrow. Windows 8 apparently boasts a much-improved boot-up time and aims to bridge the gap between apps designed for tablets and full applications in use on computers.

Windows 8 will, according to Microsoft, bring touchscreen technology closer to people who have been using PCs for years, and it will run on both computers and tablets. The interface takes its cue from the Windows Phone operating system, and apps built for the latter could eventually be used on the former.

In a blog post last week, Windows president Steven Sinofsky presented a video to users showing a computer running on Windows 8 and booting up in only eight seconds.

“We designed Windows 8 so that you shouldn’t have to boot all that often (and we are always going to work on reducing the number of required restarts due to patching running code),” Sinofsky wrote “But when you do boot we want it to be as fast as possible.” Windows 8 will run using Intel-designed chips already used in PCs, but also some smartphone chips which use up less power.

Devices actually using the new operating system might be a way off, although reports were circulating today about a Windows 8 Samsung tablet being introduced at the Build conference. We’ll keep an eye out for any Microsoft-related developments to come out this week.