As it was announced last month itself, Microsoft has planned to release the Windows 8 Consumer Preview (aka Beta) tomorrow 29th February, I wanted to discuss what all we know about this new operating system till date. First of all don’t get confused with the name ‘Consumer Preview’. Its basically an open beta for every windows users and not just limited to the testers or developers. Compared to the Developer Preview, the Consumer Preview is said to be more stable. Obviously it will feature some major user interface enhancements that Microsoft has added since the release of DP in last September and probably will contain an early version of the Windows Store.
As its name suggests Consumer Preview is meant so that the users can get familiar with all the enhancement and changes before the commercial launch of Windows 8 later in quarter 2. So lets have a look whats is there in this Windows 8 Consumer Preview (Beta).
Beta vs Consumer Preview:
Since years, the label ‘Beta’ has been used various products that its perceived meaning cannot be predicted clearly. This could be the reason why Microsoft decided to renamed this release as ‘Consumer Preview’ coz they don’t wanted this new enhanced OS that is going to perform quality wise across multiple platforms (desktops to tablets to smartphones) shall be labeled as beta. Customers or market will now not be scared off with the 'don't get mad at us' tag endorsed to naming it as a beta release. As we mentioned above, Testers or Developers now don’t need to file the bug reports. It will be done by the users itself.
This kind of tagging or renaming Windows 8 may work wonders for Microsoft. If in short description, I can say that with the formal label of ‘Consumer preview’ it states 2 things: First it is not limited to only the IT pros and enthusiasts but it is meant for consumers. And the second, it is just a preview, and not a test version. I can even say that the Microsoft’s main motive behind this preview is to give people a confidence to download and use this release.
Windows 8 General Idea:
Its obvious that with this new operating system, Microsoft is trying to reinvent the PC era. Windows 8 brings a new Start screen, occupied by a colorful grid of app tiles rather than the pop-up Start Menu that we have seen for years since Windows 95. The Start Screen am talking about is named as ‘Metro’ and it serves as the home of the desktop, laptop, or tablet running on Windows 8. In order to personalize this new Start screen (Metro), Microsoft is also launching ‘Windows Store’. This store will feature touch-friendly "Metro-style" apps that we can purchase and install. It is not like we need to purchase apps to make Metro from scratch; Windows 8 will also come with built-in Metro apps like IE10, mail, calendar, weather, and a photo viewer.
The plan is that in case you are using a touchscreen device, you could completely stay away from the traditional Windows desktop environment. Customers will be also able to launch the desktop right from the Metro interface, along with the complete access to Windows Explorer, a desktop version of Internet Explorer, and other apps right from there. There is one limitation for ARM-based systems. These system can only have access to Microsoft built-in apps including a preloaded Office 15.
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