You can thank whomever leaked these screenshots for ignoring Microsoft’s admonition, “Let’s not leak our hard work,” because for the first time, here’s the left side of the Windows 8 taskbar. The useful progress indicator of Windows 7 will reportedly show additional functions beyond the usual file transfer progress it shows now. In Windows 8, there will be progress indicators for hardware installation – here you can see it indicating progress while installing a mouse.
According to Win7China, Windows 8 will be a speedy install, taking a mere eight minutes, which the site says is 2.5 times faster than Windows 7. Keep in mind, though, according to Windows 8 News, Microsoft is using a fast PC with an eight-core CPU to get those numbers.
