Windows 8 Consumer Preview Now Available for Download

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[citation][nom]noblerabbit[/nom]Is this preview (being only 5MB?!) to be installed as an Existing Windows 7 program? Or do I need a blank new HDD to install it, or will it dualboot with Windows 7 Dos Menu?[/citation]
Really? Tech illiterate much?
...
5mb is the downloader and system analyser, then the big file is downloaded seperately
...
By the way the license key on the above article is not the same as the one I got
 
[citation][nom]de5_roy[/nom]in other news, bulldozer users brought out a parade celebrating windows 8's arrival....[/citation]
I hope to see some numbers soon aswell.
 
Works fine in VirtualBox for me.

Will be staying with Windows 7. Metro interface is a mess with a mouse and keyboard. Most of us have PCs on our desks not tablets.

Do not see how any IT department would want to switch to Win8. The amount of relearning IT will have to do with their users will be huge.
 
[citation][nom]derkman[/nom]Having no Start button is going to cause hell for people in IT. End-users will be constantly calling the help desk because they can't find the Start button.[/citation]

Many of them are the same ones that call cause they can't find the "any key" when the system tells them to press it. LOL
 
[citation][nom]rpgplayer[/nom]Wow, nice bandwidth Tom's! rockin 3MB/s.[/citation]
what are you talking about???.....i am only getting about 650KBs...and i have a 10MBs connection
 
[citation][nom]afrobacon[/nom]Already have it burned and ready to install as my main and only OS. I can't see how this could go wrong...[/citation]
lol...good luck
 
[citation][nom]Dead Pixel[/nom]im staying with windows 7[/citation]
this is a test OS not the real thing....people that test the software are helping the company to build a better OS....stop being selfish and start helping out...it's for the best
 
[citation][nom]nebun[/nom]this is a test OS not the real thing....people that test the software are helping the company to build a better OS....stop being selfish and start helping out...it's for the best[/citation]
Unless he can't afford risking his time or data on a pre-production OS. I only use Windows for games and web browsing and keep all the games on a separate hard disk array so I lose nothing trying it. Not everyone has that luxury.
 
[citation][nom]tului[/nom]Unless he can't afford risking his time or data on a pre-production OS. I only use Windows for games and web browsing and keep all the games on a separate hard disk array so I lose nothing trying it. Not everyone has that luxury.[/citation]
you have a point....still why does he bitch if he can't even do it 😛
 
After playing with it for a day here are a few answers to some of the questions:
1) Yes, you can upgrade from dev preview (or at least it gave the option), but as always it is suggested to do a full install

2) Yes, you can run as duel boot, or VMware

3)The interface is the same as Dev with Metro and Aero coexisting, and it seems to run flawlessly so far

4) Install, launch, and multitasking are even more seemless than in the Dev build, so I am stoked for that

5) For those running on netbooks: The 64bit driver for the Intel GMA 3150 will not let you downscale 1080x720 to 1080x600, which means it will not work for Metro applications. The 32bit version of the driver (which was originally paired with Windows 7 Basic), will let you run at the higher resolution, so you need the 32bit version for such devices. Granted, I think the 1024x768 requirement is a bunch of crock... but I guess it gets people to purchase new devices

6) My touchscreen is now pressure sensitive, and supports multi-touch... something it never did in win7 or 8Dev. Light press is equivalent to mouse hover, full press is equivalent to a 'click'. This is important as you cannot get the 'charms menu' to show up if you are pressing too hard (kinda a pain actually, but it works, and is working on hardware that it was not intended to work on so I am not going to complain too much).

7) I have yet to find the option to turn off Metro... this could make many people angry... but then again I have not looked too hard for it. Metro is much more tolerable when it is not stuck on that god-awful green color, and everything works MUCH better within it now.
 
[citation][nom]caedenv[/nom]After playing with it for a day here are a few answers to some of the questions:1) Yes, you can upgrade from dev preview (or at least it gave the option), but as always it is suggested to do a full install2) Yes, you can run as duel boot, or VMware3)The interface is the same as Dev with Metro and Aero coexisting, and it seems to run flawlessly so far4) Install, launch, and multitasking are even more seemless than in the Dev build, so I am stoked for that5) For those running on netbooks: The 64bit driver for the Intel GMA 3150 will not let you downscale 1080x720 to 1080x600, which means it will not work for Metro applications. The 32bit version of the driver (which was originally paired with Windows 7 Basic), will let you run at the higher resolution, so you need the 32bit version for such devices. Granted, I think the 1024x768 requirement is a bunch of crock... but I guess it gets people to purchase new devices6) My touchscreen is now pressure sensitive, and supports multi-touch... something it never did in win7 or 8Dev. Light press is equivalent to mouse hover, full press is equivalent to a 'click'. This is important as you cannot get the 'charms menu' to show up if you are pressing too hard (kinda a pain actually, but it works, and is working on hardware that it was not intended to work on so I am not going to complain too much).7) I have yet to find the option to turn off Metro... this could make many people angry... but then again I have not looked too hard for it. Metro is much more tolerable when it is not stuck on that god-awful green color, and everything works MUCH better within it now.[/citation]

To disable Metro you need to either do a registry hack or get a program such as MUIT to do it for you, it's very easy. MUIT is a small program with a simple and easy GUI that is basically "click this checkbox to disable metro".

I am anticipating my download very much right now, it hovers between one and two megabytes per second. That's megabytes, not megabits per second. I really want to get my hands on Windows 8 server to compare it to my Server 2008r2 installation. Server 2008r2 can use under half the memory of Windows 7, only about 50% to 100% more than XP, and that's saying something since I came from Vista.

Windows 8 dev used about the same amount of memory as my Server 2008r2 system, will the customer preview also use this little? And more importantly, will the server version use even less, finally approaching XP memory usage? Having only 2GB of memory in my laptop and no money to upgrade, every MB counts when I'm doing more serious work on it or even just web browsing with many tabs.
 
[citation][nom]caedenv[/nom]After playing with it for a day here are a few answers to some of the questions:1) Yes, you can upgrade from dev preview (or at least it gave the option), but as always it is suggested to do a full install2) Yes, you can run as duel boot, or VMware3)The interface is the same as Dev with Metro and Aero coexisting, and it seems to run flawlessly so far4) Install, launch, and multitasking are even more seemless than in the Dev build, so I am stoked for that5) For those running on netbooks: The 64bit driver for the Intel GMA 3150 will not let you downscale 1080x720 to 1080x600, which means it will not work for Metro applications. The 32bit version of the driver (which was originally paired with Windows 7 Basic), will let you run at the higher resolution, so you need the 32bit version for such devices. Granted, I think the 1024x768 requirement is a bunch of crock... but I guess it gets people to purchase new devices6) My touchscreen is now pressure sensitive, and supports multi-touch... something it never did in win7 or 8Dev. Light press is equivalent to mouse hover, full press is equivalent to a 'click'. This is important as you cannot get the 'charms menu' to show up if you are pressing too hard (kinda a pain actually, but it works, and is working on hardware that it was not intended to work on so I am not going to complain too much).7) I have yet to find the option to turn off Metro... this could make many people angry... but then again I have not looked too hard for it. Metro is much more tolerable when it is not stuck on that god-awful green color, and everything works MUCH better within it now.[/citation]

thats a drag but i still have hope they will have the option to turn it off in the final versions
 
[citation][nom]captaincharisma[/nom]thats a drag but i still have hope they will have the option to turn it off in the final versions[/citation]

Probably not. Use MUIT to disable it, it's fast, easy, and free. The acronym stands for Metro User Interface Tweaker.
 
The final install should have 2 parts. One for tablets/touch screens, and another for desktops/laptops. I just can't comprehend how metro can be used on my computer. If windows 7 can get the win8 desktop face-lift with sp2, there's no way I'm upgrading to Windows 8. If MS will not do this, the users will.
 
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