The Vergecast 052: Windows 8 is here

It's the halfway point of what we on staff have affectionally termed "Late October Madness," with Apple this past Tuesday and Google / Windows Phone this upcoming Monday. Thursday was all about Microsoft: the company held two events to celebrate the launch of Windows 8 and the new Surface tablet. Thankfully we imported our UK-based Senior News Editor (and Microsoft guru) Tom Warren for just such an occasion. He joins David and Nilay through a lively discussion. You can try to follow along with a table of contents, but that's almost an exercise in futility — pretty much all roads lead back to Microsoft.

• 00:02:26 - Reminder: we talked all about Apple on Monday
• 00:05:50 - Watch this: Microsoft's Surface launch, Surface launch at Times Square: at Microsoft, it's hip to be square
• 00:10:25 - Microsoft Surface review
• 00:35:25 - Windows 8 review
• 00:46:55 - Xbox Music app updated with free streaming, SmartGlass fully launches on Windows 8 this week
• 00:54:30 - Windows 8 upgrade: your hardware and software options explained
• 01:00:00 - Asus Vivo Tab RT review
• 01:07:00 - The week ahead: Nexus 4, Nexus 10