Microsoft has announced that the Windows 8 Consumer Preview (Windows 8 Beta) will be available for download starting today. The latest release of Windows 8 gives users a clearer idea of what to expect from the next version of Windows and is the second public release.Information of How to download the Windows 8 Consumer Preview follows.
You can download the Windows 8 Consumer Preview right on http://preview.windows.com and enjoy a range of new features in the touch optimized version of Windows. Since this is still a pre release version of Windows users are recommended to download the Windows 8 Consumer Preview Setup to help guide you to install Windows on a partition, another PC or a virtual machine.
If you are an experienced user you can also download ISO images you can later use to install Windows.
Download the Windows 8 Consumer Preview ISO : 32-bit | 64-bit
If requested please provide the following Windows 8 Consumer Preview product key when you install.
DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J
Lets take a look at what's new on the Windows 8 Consumer Preview
- Swipe, Slide and Zoom
Microsoft has continued to improve the Touch experience on Windows 8 allowing you to quickly slide between your homescreens, get access to more features by swiping from the right or down, switch apps by swiping from the left. You can even organize the contents on your Start screen by using gestures like swipes, flicks and zooms
- Apps and the Windows Store
Windows With 8 Consumer Preview, Microsoft now gives users access to the Windows Store. The Windows Store gives you access to a selection of touch optimized apps. There are apps for everyone which will help improve and personalize your Windows experience. - Windows on the Cloud
Windows 8 is fully cloud integrated. When you sign into any of your Windows 8 devices your personalized settings are already there. With the live tiles you will stay connected to your friends on Hotmail, Messenger, Facebook Twitter, LinkedIn and all your favourite social networks. Windows 8 even allows you to browse files and photos on your social networks smoothly.
- Internet Explorer 10 Microsoft offers the chromeless browsing experience of Internet Explorer 10 with Windows 8. Your tabs and options are accessible with swipes, and you can pin and launch your favourite sites from your start screen. IE 10 is fast and fluid making your browing experience similar to using any app on Windows. Even with the improved performance security and privacy remain key factors making your browsing experience the safest to date on Internet Explorer
- Optimized for Keyboard and Mouse
While Windows 8 has been built from ground up with touch interaction in mind. You can still use your mouse and keyboard to interact with Windows. Users can navigate the various corners of your desktop with your mouse which will give you access to all the features of Windows 8. When you want to access a particular app you just need to start typing and Windows 8 will filter through all the apps making it easy to find and select the app you are looking for. While you are on the start screen the right click gives you access to additional options.
Processor - 1 GHz or higher
RAM - 1GB (32-bit) | 2GB (64-bit)
HDD - 16GB (32-bit) | 20GB (64-bit)
Graphics Card - Microsoft DirectX 9 supported or higher
Microsoft has also outlined the following requirement to get the optimal experience of Windows 8
- Touch Screen which supports multi-touch
- Resolution of 1024x768 for access to the Windows Store and touch based apps
- Resolution of 1366x768 for access to the 'snap apps' feature
If you have any questions or concerns you can address them in the comments section below. Stay tuned to our blog for more information on How to Install Windows 8 Consumer Preview and instructions on setting up Windows 8 Consumer Preview on a Virtual Environment like Virtualbox or VMWare.