Windows 8 debuts at Microsoft Build (live blog)

Microsoft shows off the next Windows, from the Metro UI to cloud services to hardware, at its Build conference in Anaheim, Calif. Plus: a look at IE10. CNET is there to bring you the news.

Jay Greene Former Staff Writer

Jay Greene, a CNET senior writer, works from Seattle and focuses on investigations and analysis. He's a former Seattle bureau chief for BusinessWeek and author of the book "Design Is How It Works: How the Smartest Companies Turn Products into Icons" (Penguin/Portfolio).

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Jay Greene

Sept. 13, 2011 4:50 a.m. PT

2 min read

Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft's Windows and Windows Live division, gives a preview of Windows 8. Microsoft

Editor's note: We used Cover It Live for this event, so if you missed the live blog, you can still replay it in the embedded component at the end of this post. Replaying the event will give you all the live updates along with commentary from our readers and CNET reporters. You can also read our summary story and individual posts, including our hands-on early look at Windows 8, as well as a story on the operating system's bold new look and feel. Also check out our slideshow for a tour of Windows 8.

ANAHEIM, Calif.--Just when many folks are getting used to running Windows 7, Microsoft's latest operating system, the software giant plans to unveil the first details of the upcoming Windows 8.

Microsoft will start taking the wraps off its next operating system at its Build conference Tuesday at 9 a.m. PT, and we'll be there to bring you the news, live from the Anaheim Convention Center. Microsoft holds these types of events--they used to be called Professional Developers Conferences--to give software developers guidance to create new applications for the next generation of its operating system.

This conference comes at a crucial time for Microsoft. PC growth is slowing as tablets, notably Apple's iPad, are displacing PCs for some applications. Until now, Microsoft has had no real competitive response. Build will be its best effort to change the conversation.

The company has already given a few peeks at Windows 8. At the D9 conference this spring, Microsoft unveiled a new interface that uses the same look--which Microsoft has dubbed Metro--as its Windows Phone 7 operating system. At that conference, Microsoft also gave a glimpse of its new touch interface.

Related links:
• An early, first look at Windows 8 (hands-on)
• Microsoft's bold new look and feel for Windows
• Take an early tour of Windows 8 (photos)
• ZDNet: Windows 8 unveiled
• Windows 8: Here's what we now know (and don't)

The company has since disclosed some other, more technical, details, such as faster boot times and the addition of its Hyper-V virtualization tool in the operating system.

On Tuesday morning, much more will be revealed, and as usual, we'll be using Cover It Live to bring you updates and photos from the event. You can go ahead and bookmark this page and come back to it, or sign up to get an e-mail reminder just before the event starts. The event kicks off at 9 a.m. PT.

Note: If you plan to watch the live blog from an iOS device or any other mobile browser, make sure you have JavaScript enabled. On iOS you can find that toggle in Settings > Safari. On Android, the setting can be toggled within the native browser's settings menu.

Editors' note: The initial, barebones version of this story was posted September 12 at 5:49 p.m. PT.