COMING THIS FALL: Computers running Microsoft’s Windows 8 system will go on sale sometime in October. A specific sales date in October wasn’t provided.

NO SURPRISE: Most industry analysts expected Windows 8 to go on sale in the fall to ensure that they would be available for the holiday shopping season.

ABOUT WINDOWS 8: Microsoft designed the operating system so it can run on personal computers or touch-based tablet computers. New versions of Windows typically come out every three years, but this update is the most widely anticipated overhaul of the software since 1995.