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For those of you either skeptical or eager to check out what's been cooking at Microsoft these past few months since the developer preview was made available, the long awaited day has finally come.
Before going into detail of what's new and included, here are the download links:
- Windows 8 Consumer Preview 32-bit download (2.5GB)
- Windows 8 Consumer Preview 64-bit download (3.3GB)
You will need a product key upon installation to activate the Consumer Preview, for the English version this will do: DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J
Microsoft decided not to label this preview as a beta as in previous versions. Beyond a simple denomination, we believe Microsoft is trying to convey this is already a stable operating system built on top of the strong foundation established by Windows 7. Having that said, from a usability and visual standpoint, Windows 8 carries the most radical changes we've seen in the OS in over a decade.
In pure Apple-style marketing, Steven Sinofsky, head of the Windows Division, announced today during a MWC presentation that the Consumer Preview of Windows 8 has over 100,000 changes since the Developer Preview released last year.
Key features and additions in the Consumer Preview include the Metro-style dashboard (the new Start screen for Windows), Internet Explorer 10 and other wide range of Metro-style apps that include Mail, Photos, Video, People, Xbox Live, Messaging, among others. The Windows software store is fully functional in the Consumer Preview, Skydrive cloud storage integration, and Windows Explorer enhancements that we had detailed in the past, including the introduction of a ribbon interface, better support for multiple monitors, and the list goes on.
Windows 8 is meant to be a tablet-ready operating system, with a myriad of features dedicated to touch input (zooming, turning, pinching, etc.), however a very small percentage of users downloading and using it today will be paying attention to such. Tablet hardware optimized to run Windows 8 is not expected until later this year.
Even though this is not a final release, Microsoft is already touting speed improvements and optimizations that are part of the Windows 8 upgrade. System requirements are the same as in Windows 7, but the software giant seems confident to say Windows 8 will provide better performance and reliability, quicker startup times and improved battery life.
Other tools also available today:
User Comments: 61
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Win8 Preview Comments
Well... That was without a doubt the most under-whelming experience I can remember. And time out of my life I will never get back.
Really? That's it? What a pain in the ****.
I'll be sticking to Win7, thank you very much.
How the bloody hell is this an improvement?
If you are a power user Win8 is hardly a step forward in terms of a GUI.
WTF??
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just finished downloading and burning. next is doing backup of win7 and installing win8cp. hopefully everything will be ok in the end.
...just saying... don't waste your time, unless you have some to waste.
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Win 8 Works like a Charm waiting for the full release
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Yes, It is truly, truly awful!!!!!
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I installed W8 on Asus Slate Tablet and it works great. The only items it did not accept from what I had installed were two print drivers that needed to be upgraded and a utility that needed upgrade.
It took a few days to get used to the interface, but when I started to do some work it really provided a great way to work within a multiple application scenario - easy to pop into and out of tools.
What the new interface does is to provided ready access to things you use the most and to give you information about activities going on within those tools at a glance (e.g. emails scrolling). You can work within the more W7 type interface if you wish in Desktop and you will do that often. The applications are the same and I find things to be just as fast or more than ever. Also, the new explorer really gives you a nice full screen presentation and has a tile interface too, but you can still use the old style if you wish. It is a whole lot more than W7 and is great on a tablet with the W8 tile interface. Virtual Keyboard is greatly improved. Anyone that says this is bad is simply an anti-MIcrosoft bigot and Apple robot. I have an iPAD. There are tons of things wrong with it.
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like I need yet another OS to get in the way of me just doing my thing..................
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im working with Windows 8 consumer preview since it's release
and i must say i love it. Im a technial support mangager,
wich means can work pretty fast with windows7, i mean realy fast but
with windows8 . . . its like lightning . . . (im not a fan boy btw)
ok at the beginning the missing start menu was quiet annoying but after
all i do with start is pressing the windows button, type what i want and press Enter.(windows7)
with windows 8 IT IS STILL THE SAME. how many ppl among the power users use their mouse to find the program in the start menu they want to use ?
what i wanna say is, test it for few days and i can say u this . . .
windows8 is awsome.
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Hello,wake up people it's all about the apps. Apps track every move you make. It won't suprise me if they don't set up stands on the side of the road and give Windows 8 away. Microsoft would be paid by the trackers.
No thanks!
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I really don't miss the start menu, as I feel that was the most unintuitive aspect of windows that needed the most change. It has become an unorganized mess. How many people were running programs through the start menu and their respective program folders?? I usually run programs from either the task bar links or by using windows button and windows search. Most I know run it through desktop shortcuts, and some even using the Mac style rocketdock program. After an hour of it, I feel I have most of it down, just finding it a little hard to mouse over to top right corner to see app preview windows.
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fimbles said:
Installed tested and uninstalled.
Like 2 operating systems nailed together badly, Easy enought to switch between metro and default desktop. Removing the start menu was just idiotic in my opinion, All the original windows options are still in there, yet buried under multiple fancy graphics options pages and really a pain to navigate to,
Graphics performance dropped by a frame using furmark,
Offers nothing new over previous releases, does the same as previous releases badly.
Dont bother unless you plan to use it in a cabinet mounted touchscreen pc.
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gooderguy said:
Installed great from DVD onto bare drive for me, runs pretty good to, though to be quite honest, I just don't like it. Don't mean to be negative, but, well, it's friggin ugly, really, after decades of doing this, and having billions of dollars, top designers and artists, and that's it? Starts off with a picture of a beta fish, of the quality you'd see on Windows 3.1 maybe, and the desktop tiles are really plain to, lacks much artistic value, and they changed so much, which wouldn't be so bad if it was actually for the better. I use both Windows 7 and XP daily, and Windows XP still way outperforms Windows 7 for all my tasks on half the RAM and slower CPU, still my favorite for production and customization themes.
But that's just me, I know many of you will love it and that's just fine, have fun. Though I do have a question, I couldn't get the Windows USB tool to create a bootable USB, it copies all files and then gives an error about BOOTSECT unable to make USB bootable, anyone got this working from USB?
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