Windows 8 Consumer's Preview Goes Live

ceekeigh · Share | #1 (**permalink**) 02-29-2012, 07:40 AM

The long awaited release of Windows 8 Consumer version is out now.

Code:

http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/iso

It's a legitimate link from Microsoft.

**snakeair** · #2 (**permalink**) 02-29-2012, 04:46 PM

Thanks for posting the link.

Here is a blog post that everyone should read. There will be more similiar ones as the week unfolds.

Quote:

I’m writing this article on a Windows 8 tablet. Thankfully, I’ve got a wireless keyboard and mouse as well as a dock to help the Samsung developer tablet act more like a regular PC. Microsoft made the Windows 8 Consumer Preview available this morning to everyone who wants to check it out. It was also kind enough to give Mashable a sneak peek.

What exactly is a consumer preview? I can tell you this: It definitely means it’s not ready for general release. It’s been a challenge trying to separate issues that are due to the inherent bugginess of a pre-release, changes that I’m just not used to, and things that are real problems. But here goes.

First, a little background: Windows 8 is a....

Continued at: http://mashable.com/2012/02/29/windo...review-review/

Anyone else have any honest feedback? It can be negative feedback.

ceekeigh · #3 (**permalink**) 02-29-2012, 11:31 PM

Thanks for the article Snake.

dWhite · #4 (**permalink**) 03-05-2012, 06:14 AM

I've been using Windows 8 Consumer Preview since it was released and I've been really enjoying it so far.

ceekeigh · #5 (**permalink**) 03-05-2012, 06:30 AM

Any reviews about it? Please share your experience with the new features.

**snakeair** · #6 (**permalink**) 03-05-2012, 03:34 PM

dWhite · #7 (**permalink**) 03-05-2012, 05:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by snakeair

Pics huh? Sure thing...how about my Start menu for starters?

**snakeair** · #8 (**permalink**) 03-05-2012, 05:29 PM

Thanks for the pic's. I see them on blogs but not from a regular member. lol

Graphic's and that layout look cool to me.

dWhite · #9 (**permalink**) 03-05-2012, 05:37 PM

Got some more for ya Snake.

Desktop, Task Manager Heat Map and Task Manager CPU Performance.

seenBEST · #10 (**permalink**) 03-05-2012, 11:42 PM

We have been playing around with it - definitely different!

ceekeigh · #11 (**permalink**) 03-06-2012, 02:44 AM

Thanks for the screenshots guys.

Dan Williamson · #12 (**permalink**) 03-06-2012, 04:57 PM

It's certainly very different. I used it for a couple of days as my main OS and it was very difficult to get used to. It definitely feels like a tablet interface, now if they had the in-built option to use the Metro interface with a proper start button and not the constant screen-changing tablet design then it would have won me over, but until something like that is implemented it will be too tablet-based for a Desktop for me.

Other than the visuals, performance wise it is very good, I love the new task manager and checking out resources.

ceekeigh · #13 (**permalink**) 03-06-2012, 05:41 PM

I think it is mainly designed to be used on touch screen pc's that's why the feel and the look is more of a tablet interface.

Dan Williamson · #14 (**permalink**) 03-06-2012, 07:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ceekeigh

I think it is mainly designed to be used on touch screen pc's that's why the feel and the look is more of a tablet interface.

It's mainly designed to be used on both as they have said all along, this is merging a phone, tablet and desktop OS into one, which is where they have gone wrong. I understand their philosophy but at the moment for me it just doesn't work as I don't want a tablet UI on my desktop, I have two screens so there's no need for it.

Fortunately software developers agree with me, and already for the Consumer Preview Stardock have created an app which brings back the Start Menu, thank you to them.

ceekeigh · #15 (**permalink**) 03-06-2012, 07:38 PM

I agree to this that it's a wrong move on what they did with this OS. Maybe merging a phone and a tablet OS is fine. But never with a desktop OS.

c5c1lia · #16 (**permalink**) 03-06-2012, 09:06 PM

Is it possible to upgrade to Windows 8 from Windows 7 (i.e. without re-installing the entire OS) ? And if yes, is there any option to roll back to the windows 7 from windows 8 (like just we uninstall a software) ?

Dan Williamson · #17 (**permalink**) 03-06-2012, 10:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by c5c1lia

Is it possible to upgrade to Windows 8 from Windows 7 (i.e. without re-installing the entire OS) ? And if yes, is there any option to roll back to the windows 7 from windows 8 (like just we uninstall a software) ?

No, it's a complete re-install. You could however dual-boot with your original Windows 7 installation, you just need to partition your HDD which is fairly simple to do with the Windows Installer.

This would also make the 'rollback' easier, another option is to Virtualize it. You could install VMWare or Oracle VirtualBox and run the Windows 8 Preview within your current install, this allows a great deal of security and ease-of-use because you can snapshot whenever you're going to make any major changes to the OS install.

dWhite · #18 (**permalink**) 03-07-2012, 06:01 AM

I was reading Mark Shuttleworths blog before Ubuntu 11.04 was released (can't remember which article it was in), and he said/predicted that all computers in the few coming years (around 2015 or 2016) will be all touch-screen based.

I think this is possibly why all the major OS developers are pushing the touch-screen style onto the desktop in an attempt to adapt it for future touch-screen desktops.

I'm just wondering if history will repeat itself. By that I mean back in the early days of touch-screen devices when they tried putting a desktop OS onto them and it failed miserably.

Dan Williamson · #19 (**permalink**) 03-07-2012, 06:05 AM

In fairness with Mark Shuttleworths direction of Unity he needs to be quiet haha.

Undoubtedly we are heading to a tablet/touch screen era, just look at that beastly gorilla glass monstrosity at the Windows 8 preview, 24" versions of that are waiting to come to the market for home use, it's just a matter of will it be in the next year or will it be another 5 years.

ceekeigh · #20 (**permalink**) 03-07-2012, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by c5c1lia

Is it possible to upgrade to Windows 8 from Windows 7 (i.e. without re-installing the entire OS) ? And if yes, is there any option to roll back to the windows 7 from windows 8 (like just we uninstall a software) ?

I suggest just installing it on a virtual machine. You can use VMWare as what was suggested above.