Not wanting to rest on the laurels of Windows 7, the best-selling operating system in its storied history, Microsoft is racing to develop its successor, code-named Windows 8.  That upcoming product is rumored to be slotted for a late 2011 launch.

A Microsoft enthusiast blog called Microsoft Journal has posted some leaked pieces of information from a presentation Microsoft gave OEMs about the upcoming OS.  The site, run by Francisco Martin, quotes Microsoft as writing, "Windows 8 PC's turn on fast, nearly instantly in some cases, and are ready to work without any long or unexpected delays. When customers want to check e-mail, sports scores, or play media they love to reach for their PCs because they can get to what they want quickly."

Along the lines of improving startup times, Microsoft wrote that it wants to work with OEMs to focus on improving POST performance, S3 resume performance, and general performance optimizations for each of the Off states.  All of these improvements would ultimately yield a system that is ready for action faster.

The blog also cites Bluetooth 3.0 and USB 3.0 as critical tools in Windows 8's drive for fast computing.

The OS reportedly will also integrate hardware sensor-driven improvements found in smart phones into desktops and laptops.  The leaked text states, "Windows 8 can adapt to changes in ambient light, so that the display is always easy to see."

It also talks about facial recognition-based login technology, stating, "Camera integration will likely be ubiquitous in 2010: Windows 8 could detect my presence and log me automatically."

The post also mentions potential 3D-TV/graphics improvements, including a 3D-display-ready version of DirectX.  Hard drive encryption performance improvements also appear to be on the agenda.