consumer preview

Customers in 38 countries around the world can now download Metro-style apps for Windows 8 from Microsoft's Windows Store. The tech company announced today that it is forging ahead with its goal to "deliver a global service" with its app store.

"We want to support developers regardless of where they are, and give customers apps that match their interests, including local offerings," Antoine Leblond, Microsoft's vice president of the Windows Web Services team, wrote in a blog post.

The Windows Store, which launched in preview mode in February, offers both free and paid apps, … Read more

The Windows 8 Metro Start screen can quickly get overrun with a huge number of tiles, making it hard to find the app you need. How can you manage this mishmash?

Users who have taken the Windows 8 beta for a spin already know that the Metro Start screen poses certain challenges. For every app you install -- Metro or non-Metro -- one or sometimes several tiles are plopped onto the Start screen. Each Web site you pin gets its own Start screen tile. Displaying features such as Administrative Tools adds even more tiles.

Windows 8 is designed with a … Read more

People who just can't work in Windows 8 without the classic start button may want to check out a free app called Start8.

Designed by the folks at Stardock, Start8 tries to merge the convenience of the start button with the functionality of the new Metro environment. As such, it moves beyond the standard start menu with some unique features of its own.

You can download Start8 from its dedicated Web page and install it in the current beta, aka Consumer Preview, edition of Windows 8. Installation is quick and simple. After the app is installed, you'll see … Read more

Firefox on Windows 8 will be designed to work in both the Metro and desktop environments. But getting there won't be easy.

While most software aimed for Windows 8 will be Metro apps or classic desktop apps, Firefox will fall into a third category, according to a blog post last Friday by Mozilla developer Brian Bondy.

Firefox will be considered a "Metro style enabled desktop browser." That means it will offer the power and flexibility of a classic Windows app when used on the desktop--but can also take advantage of Live Tiles and other Metro features when … Read more

The Windows 8 desktop starts off as a clean slate with no clear access to the applications and features you need. Here are some tips on how to create the familiar desktop you know and sometimes love.

Accessing your desktop from the Metro Start screen is just a simple matter of clicking the tile for desktop. You'll then see the familiar interface with just the Recycle Bin on the desktop itself and icons for Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer on the taskbar.

Setting up the desktop OK, let's say you want to first populate the desktop with shortcuts … Read more

Don't have a dedicated PC on which to install Windows 8? No problem. Just install the OS virtually on an existing PC using a free virtual machine utility.

Various VM applications will let you install an operating system in a virtual environment on your Windows desktop or laptop. But not all are free and not all support the latest Windows 8 beta.

A product such as VMWare Workstation 8 supports Windows 8 but costs $200. Microsoft's own Windows Virtual PC is free but won't accept Windows 8 as a guest.

Instead, you can use Oracle's VirtualBox … Read more

The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is off to a hot start.

Proud parent Microsoft tweeted yesterday that 1 million copies had been downloaded since the beta hit the Web on Wednesday. The beta was released on the same day the company demoed the software at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain.

Windows users were clearly curious to sample the beta, especially after tasting the Developer Preview launched last September. A work-in-progress peek into Windows 8, the Developer Preview raised hackles among many who found it geared more toward touch-based tablets than desktops and laptops.

The company touted on Wednesday that … Read more

Those of you who couldn't make it to Spain for yesterday's Windows 8 Consumer Preview demo can now catch all the action through a series of online videos.

The event at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona wasn't Webcast live, but Microsoft has posted several videos on its newsroom page showing off all the major highlights. Most of the videos can be viewed online or downloaded in a few different formats, though the "broadcast" links provide the highest quality.

The videos kick off with the entire 90-minute keynote with Windows President Steven Sinofsky introducing the … Read more

Microsoft made it clear today why Windows 8 on an Intel-based tablet will be different from competing tablets based on ARM chips.

After speaking in Barcelona for close to an hour today about how Windows 8 on Intel and Windows 8 on ARM (WOA) will be the same, two Microsoft executives addressed, albeit briefly, a much more sensitive topic: why they're also very different.

Windows 8 marks the first time that a mainstream Windows operating system will run on processors from ARM chip suppliers like Qualcomm, Texas Instruments, and Nvidia in addition to those from Intel and AMD.

First, … Read more