The week in tech: 5 must-know things

• Apple will be releasing a new product on Oct. 23
• Windows 8 is a big improvement on its predecessors
• Samsung is enjoying a boost in sales this year

Get ready for a raft of product announcements. This week, Google released a new $249 Chromebook. Next week, we'll find out what Apple's got up its "mini" sleeve, and Microsoft will formally launch Windows 8. Here's what you need to know about this week in tech:

1) Apple announces event for Oct. 23

Will we be seeing a new version of the iPad soon, just ahead of the holiday season? Apple sent out a colorful invite to members of the press for an event this Tuesday, October 23, at 1 p.m. ET at the California Theater in San Jose. Analysts are confident that Apple will be unveiling an iPad Mini at this event, based on the text inside the invite: "We've got a little more to show you."

A smaller, leaner iPad would put Apple in a better position to beat its competitors in the tablet market. Amazon's Kindle Fire HD and Samsung's Nexus 7 both have 7-inch screens.

Piper Jaffray Analyst Gene Munster predicted that the iPad Mini will have a selling price of $299, a screen size between 7 and 8 inches and a Wi-Fi-only version available in addition to a version with a data plan.

2) Baig: Your guide to Windows 8

If you have bad memories of Windows ME, Windows Vista or other not-so-great operating systems from Windows, you might want to give the company another chance. USA TODAY's Ed Baig says Microsoft's Windows 8 is a significant improvement on its predecessors. Microsoft formally ushers in the Windows 8 era next Friday.

Here are a few key things that you need to know about Windows 8:

— A fresh look: Windows 8 has an interface composed of rectangular tiles and, on some devices, a touch screen.
— Desktop choice: Users who like the old Windows screen vs. the new tile screen will have the option to tap a Desktop tile and go back to the Windows 7 Start menu.
— New hardware: Dell, Hewlett-Packard, Sony and Samsung are among the companies that will be releasing Windows 8 computers by the end of this year.
— Upgrading: If you bought a Windows 7 PC after June 2, you are eligible to upgrade to Windows 8 for $14.99. If you have Windows XP or Vista, you should download Microsoft's compatibility assistant tool, which will help you pinpoint the programs on your old operating system that won't work on the new operating system.

3) Nearest star boasts Earth-sized roaster planet

Our nearest star system neighbor, Alpha Centauri, is a lot more like us than we thought. Astronomers announced the discovery of the first planet in the system on Tuesday, USA TODAY's Dan Vergano reports. The Earth-sized planet, Alpha Centauri Bb, orbits a star called Alpha Centauri B.

Here's the bad news — even though the new planet is the same size as Earth, it is not capable of supporting life because of its fiery hot surface and its close proximity to the Alpha Centauri Bb star.

4) Despite big fine, Samsung shows assertive stance

A $1 billion fine would have meant bankruptcy and closure for most companies — but not Samsung. The tech company was slammed with the huge fine in August when a federal jury found that Samsung had copied Apple's smartphone designs.

Despite this setback, Samsung is having a great year and planning for an even better future. USA TODAY's Roger Yu reports that Samsung had a quarterly profit of over $7.3 billion based on sales of Galaxy smartphones, tablets and TVs. The company all but owns the Android smartphone market, with a share of 27% of Android sales compared with 12.5% at this point last year.

Samsung is not above taking a few shots at its closest competitor, Apple. The company released a series of ads mocking Apple fans lined up outside stores for the iPhone 5 and showcased the features available on Samsung's Galaxy S3 that aren't available on the new iPhone.

Samsung's CEO says the company has no plans of slowing down any time soon: "This momentum we have is going to continue. We plan to be very aggressive in the market."

5) Google launches Chromebook

Fans of Google products such as Gmail and the Chrome Web browser will be happy to hear that Google is releasing a new, affordable Chromebook computer.

The laptop from Samsung is only 0.8 inches thick and has a 11.6-inch display, with 2 GB of memory and 6.5 hours of battery life. The fact that the laptop has a cloud-based operating system is a pro and a con. The laptop comes preloaded with Search, Gmail, YouTube and Hangouts, but the system's functionality is somewhat limited when a user is offline.

The laptop's most attractive feature is its low price of $249, compared to the earlier Chromebook's $449 price tag. With the release of this new Chromebook and a highly anticipated Android event coming up soon, it seems that Google has a lot on its plate.