Microsoft: Windows 8 'Release Preview' to land in early June
Microsoft has confirmed early June for when consumers and developers will be able to get their hands on the upcoming 'Release Preview', a near-finished version of the upcoming operating system.
It will be available for download, confirmed by Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft's Windows Division in Japan, in a little over a month's time.
It comes only a week since Microsoft announced that there will be four versions of Windows 8, including two dedicated consumer versions and one edition for the enterprise. There will be a specific edition matched for the ARM platform --- dubbed Windows RT --- designed for the tablet scene as Microsoft tries to officially enter the tablet market.
Windows Server 8 was officially dubbed Windows Server 2012 last week, the company's upcoming server operating system for businesses and enterprises.
The company would not go further in its announcement and detail when the finished and polished version of Windows 8 would be made available to the general public. The 'Consumer Preview', a user-ready version of the operating system, came out on February 29 in a bid to drum up support for Windows 8 and to ready the wider industry for the visual and architectural changes to the software.
Microsoft announced during its earnings last week that it delivered a strong third-quarter as enterprise software carried the company through. It reported earnings of $5.11 billion on revenue of $17.41 billion, or 60 cents a share, beating analysts expectations.
The lull in the storm will likely keep the company going until this time next year, where Microsoft expects to see strong Windows 8 and next-generation Office launches.
An October release is still expected, giving Microsoft enough time to hit the pre-holiday season to boost sales of Windows.
Image credit: Twitter/ZDNet.
Related:
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- Windows Server 8 officially dubbed Windows Server 2012
- Microsoft's Windows 8 consumer and Windows RT editions: What's missing?
- What's in the new Windows 8 Enterprise SKU
- Ed Bott: Unanswered questions about what's in Windows 8 editions
- What exactly do you get with Windows 8 Pro?