Hardware 2.0

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Get the Windows 8 Developer Preview - Today!

By Adrian Kingsley-Hughes | September 13, 2011, 10:32am PDT

Summary: Want to check out Windows 8? You’ll be able to tonight!

Microsoft is making the the Windows 8 developer preview available to everyone later today.

That’s right - Microsoft is making the 32-bit and 64-bit builds of Windows 8, both with and without development tools, available for download from 8PM PT today.

The ISOs will be available from: http://dev.windows.com/

Some big caveats:

This is a developer preview, not a beta, so it’s not finished, not feature-complete and is buggy.
Only clean installs are supported, no upgrades.
No ARM version available.

Why is Microsoft doing this? Two reasons:

It was going to be leaked anyway.
Huge PR!

[UPDATE: No registration or product key will be required.]

So, who’s going to be checking it out?

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Topics

Developer, Microsoft Corp., Microsoft Windows 8, Microsoft Windows, 64-Bit, Application Development, Operating Systems, Software, Processors, Semiconductors, Hardware, Components, Adrian Kingsley-Hughes

Adrian Kingsley-Hughes is an internationally published technology author who has devoted over a decade to helping users get the most from technology.

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RE: Get the Windows 8 Developer Preview - Today!

Horus418 15th Sep

Good on you Microsoft, now make it open source. happy

To be serious though a good price drop is seriously in need and only two versions Home and Business, then keep the price to a max of ??150 and there would be far less ripped versions used.

Well done MS, I never thought I would be saying that.

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Sweet

facebook@... 13th Sep

Choice: Brought to you by Microsoft.

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RE: Get the Windows 8 Developer Preview - Today!

ozl@... 13th Sep

Superb! xD

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RE: Get the Windows 8 Developer Preview - Today!

Cylon Centurion 13th Sep

I have the coffee stocked up, and the night cleared. So, with that said, is it 11 yet? grin

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RE: Get the Windows 8 Developer Preview - Today!

regsrini 13th Sep

The BUILD Conference Livecast is just awesome. Waiting for the Preview to be available. Gawd this can't come soon enough!

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RE: Get the Windows 8 Developer Preview - Today!

gonnics@... 13th Sep

Fo sho!!!!

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Freakin awesome

norcalbear84 13th Sep

The Build conference was badass, now this move by them, damn Microsoft is getting more awesome by the minute! LOVE IT!

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RE: Get the Windows 8 Developer Preview - Today!

ninjacut 13th Sep

This will set a new benchmark for desktop OS, achieving consumer versus developer friendliness, multiple form factors, Blending Metro UI and Legacy UI nicely and making it much easy to port applications or use them as-is. Add to that quick boot, security, app store and the list goes on..

Kudos to the Microsoft team to achieve this, it is phenomenal

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If you wish to view a YouTube video of Win 8 on the Dev Tablet

kenosha77a 13th Sep

before you download the Win 8 developer build, please follow this link.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=59mP3R4I8wU&feature=player_embedded

Good Stuff being shown but as you might suspect at this stage of development, the Win 8 tablet hardware touch sensitive screen perhaps hinders some fluidity of Win 8 gestures.

However .. all in all .. I was impressed.

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RE: Get the Windows 8 Developer Preview - Today!

jgm@... 13th Sep

>so it???s not finished, not feature-complete and is buggy.

So it's no different than any other version of Windows? wink

Seriously, I'm a defector to Linux and I'M getting excited about Windows 8 and have even been telling friends and family that use Windows that they really have to upgrade to Windows 8 when it arrives. I've explained in more detail in another ZDNet article, but Windows 8 seems to be looking to Linux for a lot of its new features and really feels like an answer to desktop Linux, which is a good thing.

Between Windows 8 and Windows Phone 7.5, I think all those who have been bad-mouthing Microsoft and dismissing them as the past rather than the future are going to be in for quite a surprise. happy

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RE: Get the Windows 8 Developer Preview - Today!

intelburnz Updated - 13th Sep

My VMWare is ready!

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RE: Get the Windows 8 Developer Preview - Today!

crostron 13th Sep

I'm excited!! Can someone please wind the clock forward 3 hours!

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Isos now available.

rtk 13th Sep

Earlier than promised I believe, nice!

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RE: Get the Windows 8 Developer Preview - Today!

crostron 13th Sep

It's live now! http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/home/

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RE: Get the Windows 8 Developer Preview - Today!

Cylon Centurion 13th Sep

Download is live! Have fun!

-Sent from my Windows 8 VM.

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RE: Get the Windows 8 Developer Preview - Today!

TheFilipinoFlash 13th Sep

Actually i am more interested in the Voice Command API... see the ZDNET Nokia/WP7 guys post on it. (matthew miller's)

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RE: Get the Windows 8 Developer Preview - Today!

Cylon Centurion Updated - 13th Sep

Ok, Metro on the desktop - SUCKS. Microsoft, this really needs fixed. There is no way to permanently disable or stay out of Metro. You're forced into it one way or another, which is fine if you like endless scrollbars.

I know this is just a developer pre-release, but I hope there is a way to disable Metro on the desktop in the future. sad

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RE: Get the Windows 8 Developer Preview - Today!

lefleur1987 Updated - 14th Sep

@Cylon Centurion
speak for yourself - i happen to like it and this is not even a beta

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Waaaaaaa waaaaaaaa waaaaaaaaaa

General C# 14th Sep

@Cylon Centurion If you don't like it, you're free to move to Linux or Mac OS, because Metro Rocks!

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RE: Get the Windows 8 Developer Preview - Today!

Cylon Centurion 14th Sep

You guys like having to constantly scoll side to side? It would be fine if it was touch, but on a desktop without it, it's a crappy experience.

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Looks like "yes" and "no"

spdragoo@... 14th Sep

@Cylon Centurion

More info is on another ZDNet blog:

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/microsofts-windows-8-heres-what-we-now-know-and-dont/10608?tag=nl.e019

"Yes": Microsoft is apparently, at least for this build release, specifying Metro as the *only* UI, with the "classical" desktop being treated as an app. Which would mean that, every time you boot up, you get a smartphone-looking interface.

"No": You *can* access the "classical" desktop by selecting that "app". That sounds like, once the app is open, you'll get a Windows experience more akin to prior versions.

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RE: Get the Windows 8 Developer Preview - Today!

lefleur1987 14th Sep

am excited about the Windows to go feature. "Enterprise IT pros can provide users with bootable USB storage devices containing a copy of Windows 8,
along with their business apps, data, and settings. When users are finished and log off, they simply remove
the USB device, leaving no data or information behind'