Windows 8 'Beta': Microsoft Details New Features And Functions In Consumer Preview

On a sunny Wednesday afternoon at the Mobile World Congress conference in Barcelona, Microsoft execs offered another preview of Windows 8, the redesigned, touch-friendly, Metro-fied operating system that the company plans to release later in 2012. They also announced that a Consumer Preview -- a fancy phrase for "Beta Version" -- was now available for everyday users to try out on their home machines, as a way for PC owners to get acclimated beforehand to the giant sea change coming to their computers later this year.

The last time we saw something new from Windows 8 was way back in September, when the Red Sox were still in playoff contention and when Microsoft released a Developer's Preview of Windows 8, available for potential app designers to download, tinker with, and hopefully write some programs for. Five months and dozens of breathless posts detailing the process on the official Building Windows 8 blog later, the trademark "Metro" look remains the same -- big, colorful tiles that the user can swipe and touch, similar to the way one would on a Windows Phone device -- as does Microsoft's emphasis on cross-platform compatibility: Windows 8 works just as well on a desktop as it does on a tablet, or an all-in-one computer, or a laptop, we were told again and again.

So what, exactly, is new? What has changed since our last feature article about Windows 8, which details the major features, applications and design updates from Windows 7 to Windows 8?

First, and arguably most importantly, Microsoft revealed a wide commitment to the Cloud. Upon start-up, Windows 8 users will have the option to log-in through the cloud using a Windows Live ID: This makes their email, calendar, contacts and anything they've stored on SkyDrive available to them on any machine they sign into and also automatically syncs all of that stuff across all of their devices. Windows PCs still dominate the market in a way that Windows Phones and Windows tablets do not; syncing email and contacts and the like from your primary device -- statistically, probably a Windows PC -- could be a selling point and a huge boon for Microsoft's tablet and smartphone business in the future.

Speaking of the great cloud: We also got an in-depth look at the Windows App Store -- er, Windows Store with apps -- in the Consumer Preview. Just like on OS X, you'll be able to download apps from both Microsoft and third-party developers; these apps, which will range from games to utilities to productivity software -- can likewise be synced across all of your devices. In the CP of Windows 8, only free apps will be available for download, as paid apps will likely arrive with the official release later in the year. Microsoft is actively trying to entice developers to program Metro-style apps for Windows 8 to fill out this Store of Apps, having offered cash prizes and free Samsung tablets to developers in the past.

Microsoft's Internet Explorer has been the subject of mockery, ridicule, and even a practical joke claiming that its users were mentally deficient. Internet Explorer 10 has been totally redesigned as a full-screen Metro application for Windows 8, and its "Platform Preview 5" ships with the Consumer Preview you can download today. Like much of Windows 8, IE10 looks more like a mobile application than a desktop app, again blurring the boundaries between smartphone, tablet, and desktop computer.

Finally, Microsoft says it has made a number of usability changes, making both touch and mouse-and-keyboard use easier and more accurate. According to Engadget, President of the Windows Division Steven Sinofsky said that over 100,000 changes to Windows 8 have occurred between the Developer's Preview in September 2011 and the Consumer Preview announced on Wednesday, and many of these are likely small tweaks aimed at refining the overall experience of using Windows 8.

That said: This is still a Beta version, so it's likely there are still undiscovered kinks and flaws that still need to be corrected before the official release. The brave and the curious, however, can download the Consumer Preview from the Microsoft website here and are encouraged to report all such bugs to Microsoft.

And if you just want to look but not touch? Well, here's a "Product Demo" of Windows 8 from Microsoft:

And here are all the big, big changes coming to Windows 8 soon, from our September slideshow on the subject:

Comments

[Andreas Moser]

05:53 AM on 03/02/2012

I don't get the hype about Windows 8. My previous operating system seems to be much more advanced:
http://andreasmoser.wordpress.com/2012/03/02/windows-8/

[henrickson]

08:39 AM on 03/01/2012

I CAN'T WAIT TO DUMP MY WIN 7 MACHINE....FOR A NEW MAC. I'VE REPLACED TWO WIN MACHINES WITH MACS SO FAR...AND THERE IS NO COMPARISON. REALLY TIRED OF ALL THE PROBLEMS WITH WINDOWS. SORRY.

[Stu11]

08:46 AM on 03/01/2012

no problems with windows 7 but I doubt you know the difference between a software and a hardware problem.

[Cael]

08:59 AM on 03/01/2012

AND THE MORE PEOPLE WITH MACS THE MORE PROBLEMS IT WILL HAVE....

ALSO YOUR CAPS LOCK KEY SEEMS TO BROKEN, SO IS MINE.

[writersbloc]

06:10 AM on 03/01/2012

I don't know the ins and outs and ups and downs of this whole Windows 8 business. I have a Zune HD. It's nice. The interface is attractive and easy to navigate. I think MS did a good job on it. But when it comes to everyday computing, it's my MBPro and my iPhone and my giant iMac at work.

[Chuck Dick]

12:14 AM on 03/01/2012

Apple has done it the right way, by creating a completely separate tablet environment, then slowly melding it with Mac OS X. Why is MS forcing the two worlds together right off the bat, shoving it down our throats? I don't need XP behind my Metro interface. If I want a desktop OS, I'll go to my desktop in the office.

[Stu11]

08:19 AM on 03/01/2012

Its not the windows xp its a windows 7 environment. But either way ms jumped years ahead of apple on this one even though the interface kinda looks bad

[elicourey]

12:42 PM on 03/04/2012

windows 7 is a windows xp environment.

[Cael]

09:47 AM on 03/01/2012

Please explain how they are shoving it down our throats when you can just turn it off and use the old classic desktop. Please please explain.

[MBryant]

11:07 PM on 02/29/2012

One subtlety of Windows 8 that may be very successful is the ability of corporations to lock down the legacy PC side of computers they own - while users can still customize the metro side and in fact integrate them with phone, pad, social networking apps, and game console. I've been using the WIndows 7 phone for more than a year and the integration is quite nice, the GUI is pleasing. With Windows 8 - even if you can't install Windows apps on your PC side - you'll be able to download free and cheap safe apps from the market and customize your metro side and interface and it will feel ike your computer and not some cookie cutter thing. In this way - users will be happier - and have a more phone like, customizable experience on their desktop - and I.T. depts will be happier as they'll be able to control the installation of non-licensed and potentially dangerous user software on corporate owned computers without having a insurrection on their hands. It's interesting to see people saying it's using a pad as a computer rather than a big phone -for a WIndows 7 phone user - it looks like the phone taking over the desktop...

[NHBill]

02:35 AM on 03/01/2012

So far Enterprise seems to be just buying iPads and not caring about integrating with legacy PCs.
It all just might be too late for MS in the mobile space.
No one hates their Android or iPhone so much that they thirst for a Windows Phone.
I think the music stopped and there are only two chairs left.

[MBryant]

07:41 AM on 03/01/2012

"So far" and "the music stopped" seem a little contradictory - sure, the IPad is cool - but it doesn't mean IT depts or consumers are so thrilled with it there is no room for imporvement. As for hte "music stopping" on tech innovation that's not happened for ten thousand years or so - whether Microsoft is hearing the music well is another issue. I don't work for Microsoft and chose the Windows phone - just because it doesn't have double digit market share doesn't mean it's done - it has influence over the leaders and Microsoft is very dominant on the desktop and newly dominant in game consoles they aren't to be dismissed out of hand in any game. This is an active game where products turn over - I'm sure there were people who loved their Blackberrys like you do your Droid or IPhone a handful of years ago who were saying the phone game is over and Blackberry is obviously the ulttimate. Integration (with storage, social sites, resources, media content, other devices, peripherals, workspaces, your house & car, etc..) and development tools are important - Microsoft has been hit or miss on integration but they have a lot of experience with it and they are good at development tools.

[jgeurian21]

11:38 AM on 03/01/2012

"So far Enterprise seems to be just buying iPads and not caring about integrating with legacy PCs."

I love how you offer 0 facts to back this assumption up. Given the rise in revenue from OEMs like HP and Dell with enterprise sales and also the increase revenue of enterprise products from MS, actually it would appear that enterprise are still buying MS related products. Dell had massive increases in its sever/enterprise hardware in 2011. Sure they are buying iPads, but they are not desktop,laptop or server replacements.

[StinkyPete0279]

11:00 PM on 02/29/2012

At a quick glance I saw "Like much of Windows 8, IE10 looks more like a mobile application than a desktop app, again blurring the boundaries between smartphone, tablet, and desktop computer"....apparently the writer of this piece spent about five seconds quickly clicking on things and didn't go any further in-depth since IE10 only launches in that mode from the start screen. Good to see HP is still going in-depth with their tech section.

[Dennis C Latham]

10:48 PM on 02/29/2012

SWEEEEEEEEEET !!!!!!

[anthonyCA]

10:45 PM on 02/29/2012

This is not your grandfather's windows! I have been part of the developers testing program since last year and I'm glad it's finally ready for the public. It's beautiful, logical and simple. It brings the attractive, useful concept of 'live tiles' currently available on its award-winning cousin, WIN7 Mobile, to laptops, desktop PC’s and tablets. I encourage the doubters to not blindly bring up ancient old issues--that were actually fixed while you were sleeping--and not diss it until you at least tried it.

[ProudToBeVeryLiberal]

10:53 PM on 02/29/2012

The thing I love the most about Win 8 is the ability to use a conventional screen with mouse and keyboard besides a touch screen on the same computer or classic desktop besides Metro. In other words, you can have the second screen acting as a control surface for the first. Imagine, for example, that you're an audio or video professional. The second screen could be in horizontal position and act as your virtual mixer, or as a touch tablet for Photoshop, After Effects etc. The sky is the limit.

[Amadahy]

11:35 AM on 03/05/2012

Wow. As a 38 y/o IT professional who has been using Windows since 3.1, I don't really feel the grandfather description is appropriate here. LOL

[anthonyCA]

12:02 PM on 03/05/2012

Hah. I was referencing the Oldsmobile commercial.

[The Man on the street]

09:34 PM on 05/31/2012

Compared to the "un-entrenched" youth market desperate desired by Microsoft, Apple, Google, et al, 38 is *ancient*!

[DRaymond]

08:26 PM on 02/29/2012

Honestly I am looking forward to 8 and the hardware that will come with it. The tablet market up to this point has been based on the idea that the tablet is a large phone and not a small PC. Apple did this essentially because their iOS business model was more profitable that their Mac business model. And android followed suit because it was either that or build the ChromePad. The idea of a tablet that integrates really easily into your Active Directory enterprise, one that runs the exact same software (not sort-of-like the same software) as desktop and laptop computers is an interesting possibility, and if they pull it off will be very attractive to the SMB and enterprise IT market. In a few years you might find people laughingly talk about the old days when people bought tablets that were nothing but big phones.

[theveggiedude]

09:33 PM on 02/29/2012

I think it will lead to some confusion, at least in the short term. Windows8 on tablet (with ARM chip) is not the same Windows8 on the desktop (with Intel chip) in that it can't run legacy Windows software. Yes, it will look and behave the same, but it is fragmented. In the long run, if they come out with the same software to run on both platforms it should work out - but expect a bumpy ride for a lot of users not used to these types of changes.

[ProudToBeVeryLiberal]

10:25 PM on 02/29/2012

Commonality of applications is irrelevant. What's good about Win 8 is integration, which goes deeper than iOS with OSX. But hey, what's good for Apple is bad for MS, right? ;)

[iamwired]

08:24 AM on 03/01/2012

Sounds like you will be able to switch beween the two types at bootup. Read that somewhere a couple of months ago.

[KodiakT]

08:20 PM on 02/29/2012

As long as I have an option to change back to the windows classic themes I could care less.

I refuse to use all the aero bits of 7 and i will refuse to use 8 - If the GUI is locked and dis not allow an old style interface then it will finally be time to say goodbye to windows.

[Sanders McGrillin]

08:27 PM on 02/29/2012

I am with you 100% on that

[WilliamTheV]

09:29 PM on 02/29/2012

there is no windowing system on the metro side, so that theme is locked, on the traditional desktop side though, You can always change to the classic theme. It was available in the dev preview as well.

[ProudToBeVeryLiberal]

10:30 PM on 02/29/2012

What's really cool about Win 8 is that if you have two screens connected to your computer, you can have the classic desktop on one and Metro on the other. And if your second screen is touch-capable, the sky would be the limit as for applications. Your second screen would become a control surface for the first. Extremely cool! Beat_that, AppIe...

[esosa233]

08:12 PM on 02/29/2012

The windows GUI has been around for decades without squabble or clamor because it simply works. I don't understand the thought process behind changing something that already works, thats already fine. I mean this GUI is 'colorful and pretty' but I do not want to see it on my desktop. it ruins the easy see all feeling I get when I log into my computer and trades it for uncomfortable blocks, I mean on a tablet its amazing but on my PC think again, PCs were and are not made for social networking, if I want social networking I'll open a browser, but It doesn't help me when I get unnecessary facebook updates when I'm working on a report.

[ProudToBeVeryLiberal]

08:19 PM on 02/29/2012

Oh my...

Once again, Win 8 can work in the classic desktop mode, totally bypassing Metro. Granted that if you only use that, Win 8 might not be much of an upgrade, though the much enhanced search features and the new task manager alone are IMHO worth the price of admission.

[theveggiedude]

09:41 PM on 02/29/2012

I would not say it's worth the price of admission, until I know how much the price of admission is gonna be, especially if this user wants to bypass Metro.

[Nathan Ottenson]

10:27 PM on 02/29/2012

I have to disagree with one particular part of your comment (..the easy see all feeling I get when I log into my computer.." Arguably the live tiles are much more efficient at providing that 'easy see all feeling' With the classic desktop you need to go digging into a browser or application to get relevant information. With metro the relevant information is updated regularly and appears on the live tiles. There has been a lot of resistance over this overhaul windows but frankly it seems like a lot a fuss over nothing. Many people, will use it and adapt and never want to return (regardless of how much they resisted it in the beginning).

[DoubtingTobi]

08:08 PM on 02/29/2012

Ultimately, I want functionality but I am a sucker for semi-transparency, rounded corners and all but my focus to be subtle. This dare-I-say-retro interface, not so much. But I'm sure it'll be customizable to some extent.

[gdauth]

07:51 PM on 02/29/2012

Pathetic, wonder if it still has memory leaks?

[StinkyPete0279]

11:03 PM on 02/29/2012

Wonder if what, in particular, still has memory leaks?

[Amadahy]

11:44 AM on 03/05/2012

Windows 8. LOL

Microsoft products are notorious for having memory leaks. Google "Microsoft memory leaks" and have fun taking the next 5 years of your life to review the search results.

[BlueZoo]

07:38 PM on 02/29/2012

I was ready to give up entirely on Microsoft due to Vista and then I got a new computer that came out with Windows 7 already loaded on it. I could not be happier and have loved Win7 every minute I've had it! I've had zero problems and have had 7 since it came out. I'm not so sure about Win8 with Cloud, though... I'll see what the Beta users have to say about it!

[jalaroc]

03:46 AM on 03/01/2012

can't play empire at war on 7, which is my only gripe.

[bryanzth]

07:36 PM on 02/29/2012

Oh, I see. With Vista 8, you can still have the classic interface. Then it still looks like Vista 7. And you will have paid all that good money, learning curve and all the time and trouble, when for all it is...

MS Windows 8 is really only Vista 7.5??? Golly gee whiz (golly cheese whiz?)

I knew it.

BZ.