[jogiba]

It's out today and it's free.

[jpzk]

Thanks for sharing.

Is this a Beta version?

I would hate to upgrade to Win 8 and encounter the same problems as we had way back when we swtiched from XP to Vista ... !
I find Win 7 quite stable, so I hope this will not cause issues.

JP

[jogiba]

Yes this is beta but I had been running Windows 8 Developer Preview for many months without much problem and this should be even better.

[kenafein]

For a software developer I always drag my feet come upgrade time. I still remember, as a kid, scoffing at Windows 95. I thought it would never take off.

[jpzk]

Yes this is beta but I had been running Windows 8 Developer Preview for many months without much problem and this should be even better.

Cool!

Do you have to prepare your computer for anything "special" or "different" before installing Win 8 ?

Do you suggest a full back up or even a clone of your operating system HDD ? ... Just in case !

Not that I want to do the upgrade right now but just wanting to be prepared when the time comes.

Cheers.

JP

[jogiba]

Download Windows 8 Consumer Preview

I just made a new partition on my HDD and installed it there. I am dual booting it with Windows 7.

[jpzk]

Download Windows 8 Consumer Preview

I just made a new partition on my HDD and installed it there. I am dual booting it with Windows 7.

Thanks again!

I've just checked this: Windows 8 Consumer Preview: frequently asked questions
and that gave me a "red flag" because I am not "an experienced" techie, so I'd better wait for the final product, just in case I crash my system and wouldn't know what to do to recover.

But this looks promising, a hog in demands for CPU and RAM (and disk space) but nevertheless quite interesting.
Supposedly faster too ?

Cheers.

JP

[jogiba]

They also have free apps.

[boriscleto]

They also have free apps.

Ugh. You can see why Steve Jobs said M$ has no taste.

[einstrigger]

If you don't have something that uses Touch UI, is this pretty much Win 7? Anyhow, I'm waiting to see Win 8 paired with the Lenovo Yoga. I'm hoping for a laptop/tablet where I can use full Programs (i.e. Photoshop) instead of these scaled down "Apps".

[jogiba]

Windows 8 Consumer Preview hands-on | The Verge

You Tube

You Tube

[jogiba]

Windows 8 :: Articles, tips, commentaries, and reviews

[Rupert]

I'm falling further behind...but my XP works perfectly and hasn't crashed in three years. I know I will have to upgrade eventually, but I don't look forward to it, everything I have now works almost flawlessly. Mrs Rupert has W7 and I wouldn't trad my XP for a dozen W7's even if they came with a high end computer attached.
Regards!

[ChrisPlatt]

Wow, that was fast! What's wrong with Windows 7? What does 8 do that 7 doesn't?

I'm with Rupert - XP still works fine for my modest needs...

Chris

[rparmar]

These are just a few things I noticed:

• Better data security model
• Improved performance - faster than Win7 on the same hardware
• Full support for touch-screen devices
• Native support for sensors
• Native support for 3G/4G
• Integrated cloud support that allows app synchronisation
• App Store
• New Metro interface allowing you to tile apps in many ways -- much quicker and more direct access than the Start menu
• Apps have a live tile surface that can display changing info
• Much greater support for app integration
• An interface that is less about "interface" and more about doing stuff
• Improved file copy with detailed compare ability
• Improved Explorer
• Better task manager
• Improved support for large disks and large partitions (using a cool new disk virtualisation model with built-in RAID)
• Faster boot times
• Ability to put your entire install on a USB stick and move it around computers (!)
• New Refresh and Restart rollback schemes
• Ability to use pictures as your password
• Many new developer tools and features

I am surprising myself in being pretty gung-ho about these developments.

The interface itself is pretty well Windows Phone meets the desktop.