The Start Screen of Windows 8

Microsoft had officially released a preview of Windows 8 to developers last September 13, 2011. It was also the same day that the well-known software maker showed off the finer details of the operating system today at the Microsoft BUILD conference. This next version of Windows has a total revisions. Windows 8 will be compatible with both touchscreen devices like tablets and traditional PCs.

To acquire Windows 8 developer preview, just go to Microsoft's developer site and have it for free. You'll be needing a PC with a 1GHz or faster processor (either 32- or 64-bit), 1GB of RAM (2GB for 64-bit), 16GB of hard disk space (20GB for 64-bit), DirectX 9 graphics with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver. Of course, if you want to play with Windows 8's touch abilities, you will be needing a screen that supports multi-touch.

Just be careful: This earlier version will be different from its official one. You can also a see the disclaimer on the site and says, "These downloads include prerelease software that may change without notice. The software is provided as is, and you bear the risk of using it. It may not be stable, operate correctly or work the way the final version of the software will. It should not be used in a production environment."

No activation is required to run the preview, but the other side of that coin is that Microsoft also offers no support. It will, however, continue to update the preview as it tweaks the OS. Updates should be automatic.

Although Microsoft designed Windows 8 to run on both traditional PCs with Intel x86 chips and portable devices with chips based on the ARM architecture, the developer preview is just the x86 version, albeit in both 32- and 64-bit variants. It includes upgraded developer tools like Visual Studio 11 Express, Expression Blend 5, a software development kit (SDK), and apps.
Developers attending BUILD also got a special treat: an 11-inch Samsung tablet running Windows 8. The tablet is for developers only, says Microsoft, and only 5,000 were made available. It won't be sold to the general public.

PREVIEW (All photos credit to Microsoft)

Lock Screen of Windows 8 Personalized lock screen shows unread emails and other application notifications. Default image shown is a photo of the road leading to Mt. Cook National Park in New Zealand.

The File Screen of Windows 8 Pick the files using your fingers or mouse. You can also interchange them one place after the other.

The Internet Explorer of Windows 8 Touch browsing is fast, fluid and intuitive.

Screen Thumb of Windows 8 You can now comfortably separate your two hands while typing.

Touch Keyboard of Windows 8 Who says that this screen is only applicable to mobile phone such as I-phone.

Windows Developer Preview downloads

Windows Developer Preview with developer tools English, 64-bit (x64)

• 64-bit Windows Developer Preview
• Windows SDK for Metro style apps
• Microsoft Visual Studio 11 Express for Windows Developer Preview
• Microsoft Expression Blend 5 Developer Preview
• 28 Metro style apps including the BUILD Conference app

Windows Developer Preview English, 64-bit (x64)

Windows Developer Preview English, 32-bit (x86)

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System Requirements

• 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
• 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
• 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
• Taking advantage of touch input requires a screen that supports multi-touch
• To run Metro style Apps, you need a screen resolution of 1024 X 768 or greater