With Windows 8 Microsoft seems to be doing a lot of work to lower the user's need for third-party software. To achieve that the Redmond-based company is adding extra functionality to its operating system, like the ability to mount ISO and VHD (Virtual Hard Disk) right from Windows Explorer.
Current Windows versions require the user to install various software (like Daemon Tools) to be able to properly manage ISO and VHD files but Windows 8 will make everything a simple, streamlined experienced. Once you have an ISO file you want to open, just select it and click the 'Mount' button in the 'Actions' contextual tab. Automatically, Windows will create a virtual drive and open the ISO in there, giving you access to all the files contained. When you're finished, just click the 'Eject' button and the virtual drive will disappear.
Similarly to ISOs, VHD files can be mounted in one click, except they will appear and handle like any other drive/partition. The 'Eject' button will unmount the VHD, all the changes made of course being saved in the file. Of course people can still choose to use third-party software for these tasks but it's nice to be able to do them out-of-the-box.
