Microsoft takes its 'big step' into the tablet market Windows 8 abandons the traditional desktop screen with the "Start" button, that was first introduced with the blockbuster launch of Windows 95. Instead, the screen is filled with "live tiles," which display constantly-updated information from websites such as Facebook, Gmail and Twitter, as well as Microsoft's own SkyDrive online storage service. "This is the biggest product we've ever done," said Steve Ballmer, Microsoft's chief executive, who is under intense pressure from shareholders to catch competitors in the tablet and smartphone market. Although potentially "puzzling" to everyday computer users, according to Microsoft's co-founder Paul Allen, analysts see the overhaul as necessary for Microsoft to play a major role in the next phase of technology. While Windows still dominates the PC market, this year sales are expected to fall for the first time since the dotcom crash, because of the mobile revolution rather than economic pressures. Corporate IT departments are finding that executives increasingly want to use their tablet computers at work, and Windows 8 is meant to ensure that Microsoft will not get ousted from a market in which it made its fortune. The Surface is also Microsoft's first move into the hardware market. While it has put noses out of joint at some PC makers, the device is designed to show that Windows 8 can compete with the flashy consumer experience offered by the iPad. The device has received a mixed reception, however, with reviewers praising its design but complaining that it so far lacks the range of apps available on the iPad. Microsoft shares were little changed at $27.90.