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Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Windows 8 Consumer Preview available for download

Microsoft just unveiled their latest version of the new Windows 8 operating system at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Even though its called a consumer preview, its actually more of a beta version. Within the first hour, Microsoft already had downloads from over 70 different countries.

Microsoft said there are more than 100,000 changes to the operating system since the last Developers Preview that came out last September. There are also a lot of new apps that were not available in the last release of the OS.

Windows 8 is geared towards PCs as well as tablets and smartphones. It offers the standard Windows desktop along with the Metro user interface designed for touch screens. Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft's Windows Division said that "We challenged ourselves to bring [together] the best of mobility and the best of PCs, without compromise."

It's still too early to have details about availability, pricing. The free Consumer Preview is now available in English, German, French, Japanese, and Standard Chinese. Microsoft says there will be ongoing updates to the OS and Preview apps along the way as it marches toward final release.

Download Windows 8 Consumer Preview

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