Microsoft launches windows 8 consumer preview

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What are you looking for? Preferences Community Newsletters Log Out. Written by Mary Jo Foley , Contributor.

Full Bio. The event will be a two-hour affair from 3 pm to 5 pm on Wednesday. My Profile Log Out. Add Your Comment. Not trying to say it is half-baked, merely that the focus is really to make a UI for the same type of applications people run on tablets, primarily consumption apps and simple productivity apps.

Its going to take 3rd parties a long time to figure out how to leverage the Metro UI effectively — the classic desktop is not going away for a long time. When is the Modern Reader app that they talked about going to be ready?

I have Windows 8 installed on an ExoPC tablet. It would actually be useful with that app. It is hardly useless though. You can still run regular Windows apps. Metro is pretty much sitting there doing nothing though. If they want the metro start menu to succeed i think they will need to work a lot on the transition system. Overall im quite excited to try the consumer preview. Metro seems to be terribly rediculous joke that developers make of users treating them as monkeys [no offense, monkeys!

While showing off the Windows 8 Store, he stressed that Microsoft designed it to make apps incredibly easy to discover. Leblond said that Microsoft has been working more than ever with developers to bring their programs to the Windows 8 Store. As winners, the apps will be included with the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. Sinofsky said that Microsoft developed a new class driver for Windows 8, which allows all sorts of hardware to work seamlessly with the OS without needed a separate driver.

He said that 80 to 90 percent of printers will work automatically. They proceeded to show off different types of Windows 8 hardware, including ultrabooks, more powerful laptops, and desktops. One ultra book sported a motorized mechanism to reveal full-sized ports, something that the MacBook Air and other ultra-portables give up on. Honestly, that mechanism looked whack.

The Lenovo Yoga, an ultrabook that can convert into a tablet, looked far more useful. One of the more intriguing devices was a big-screen monitor that could be rotated flat, allowing you to use it like a Microsoft Surface display.

They also showed off a ridiculously large inch touchscreen running Windows 8, with a specially bonded Gorilla Glass display that allows for group collaboration. Sinofsky said that Microsoft will follow its past release schedules with Windows 8: next up is the Release Candidate version, then the Release to Manufacturer RTM version.

After that, Windows 8 will finally be available to the public. And trust me, this is not one Windows release to be ignored.