All eyes have been firmly fixed on the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona over the last few days as consumers watch eagerly to see what technology-related goodness is set to hit the shelves in the coming weeks and months. So far we have seen Symbian smartphones with whopping 41-megapixel cameras, a tablet device which comes equipped with a stylus, and a Samsung Beam smartphone which has the ability to project images, videos and presentations onto any surface. Exciting stuff.
Today is the big day for those of you who have been anticipating some fresh new Windows 8 bits to toy with: Following an official debut right next door to the Mobile World Congress - not specifically at it, it's a little side event at the Hotel Miramar in Barcelona - Microsoft has just officially released the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.
Remember those leaked SkyDrive features I touched on in yesterday's editorial? Well, much of them remain in rumor territory. However, Microsoft has confirmed two things: One, a major SkyDrive update is in the pipeline, and two, the rumor that we're getting a SkyDrive desktop client is spot-on. In a Building Windows 8 post written by two SkyDrive program managers, Microsoft detailed the SkyDrive Metro app, the service's tight integration with Windows 8, SkyDrive on the desktop, and fetching files through SkyDrive.com.
Following Apple's announcement of its upcoming Mountain Lion OS yesterday, people naturally began producing comparisons between the two OSes, whether in the form of a jestful "Windows 8 vs. ML" tweet, or a clarifying blog post that reminds you - since you didn't know - that desktop OSes are beginning to draw a great deal of inspiration from their mobile counterparts. But really, that's about the only true similarity between Mountain Lion and Windows 8. Beyond this, Apple and Microsoft's approaches are so vastly different that the colossal void that lies between the opposing directions they have taken is large enough to accommodate all of those comparison posts from yesterday. So, let me commence this actually sensible comparison between the two approaches to the desktop and tablet markets.
Microsoft has announced that a Consumer Preview of its highly-anticipated Windows 8 operating system will be released to the public on this month's leap year day - February 29th.
With the launch of Microsoft's newest operating system, Windows 8, nearing ever closer, it looks as though the Redmond company is looking to provide a platform which could prove to be a lot friendlier to developers and small software publishers.
You can buy apps for your iPhone and iPad from the App Store. You can buy apps for your Android device from the Android Market or Amazon Appstore. Soon, you can buy apps for your Windows 8 PC from the Windows Store.
Despite rumors suggesting that Microsoft would release a beta version of Windows 8 at CES in January, the company has now laid those claims to rest by announcing that it will give people a chance to test the software out in February.
We’ve come across an all-new app today for Windows 8 Developer Preview: it’s called BluePoison and it lets you unlock a variety of hidden features in Windows 8. Details after the jump!
With Microsoft's Windows 8 being downloaded half a million times in its first 24 hours of being available for download as a Developer Preview, it's fairly safe to say that there is a certain amount of interest in the fledgling operating system. Perhaps it's those fancy Metro-UI tiles that have all our heats aflutter, but everyone seems to want to give Windows 8 a whirl.
