Microsoft: Pre-Release Windows 8 Launching in "Coming Months"
Microsoft: Pre-Release Windows 8 Launching in "Coming Months"
Posted 08/16/2011 at 8:27am
| by Paul Lilly
18
Comments
Print
Itching to get your hands on a copy of Windows 8? You won't have to wait much longer, or at least that's the case if you're willing to roll the dice on beta software being stable. Microsoft announced in a blog post yesterday that a pre-release version of Windows 8 is slated to ship real soon, which likely means a beta build is just around the corner.
"We've been hard at work designing and building Windows 8, and today we want to begin an open dialog with those of you who will be trying out the pre-release version over the coming months," Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky stated in a blog post. "We intend to post regularly throughout the development of Windows 8, and to focus on the engineering of the product."
Microsoft's calling the open-communication initiative "Building Windows 8," or "B8" for short. The ultimate goal is "to have a two-way dialog with you about design choices, real-world data and usage, and new opportunities that are part of Windows 8," Sinofsky says.
Sinofsky goes on to state that "Windows 8 reimagines Windows," but promises Microsoft is fully committed to making sure that Windows 8 supports all Windows 7 hardware and software.
More like this
GordonGenius
August 25, 2011 at 1:03pm
If you download Rainmeter (rainmeter.net), you can find an awesome, customizable, Windows 8-like skin calle Omnimo. I'll be ready on my Windows 7 netbook if an whe Windows 8 comes out!
Download: http://omnimo.info/
winmaster
August 18, 2011 at 11:42am
I don't understand why everone thinks this is unusual for Microsoft to release a new OS so soon after Windows 7. Except for the XP-Vista gap, this follows their pattern closely.
JohnP
August 16, 2011 at 12:32pm
I am a Technet subscriber so I should see this sooner rather than later. I have a ton of leftover hard drives so I will dual boot for a while and let you know the results...
So far nothing is listed in the subscriber downloads.
Tarkooka
August 16, 2011 at 11:58am
windows 8 being released this soon would be suicide
7 is barely ahead of xp and vista may have faded but many still use it
i even have some casual pc friends who just surf the web that still think vista is the newest version
i REALLY think they should dedicate this to tablets as android did with honeycomb
mobiles, tablets and desktops should have dedicated operating systems
i hate to say this but the best example is what apple has done with iphones, ipads and macs
Neufeldt2002
August 16, 2011 at 10:25am
"Microsoft's calling the open-communication initiative "Building Windows 8," or "B8" for short. The ultimate goal is "to have a two-way dialog with you about design choices, real-world data and usage, and new opportunities that are part of Windows 8," Sinofsky says."
I thought that they weren't interested in user feedback?
Cregan89
August 16, 2011 at 12:59pm
Haha yeah, just another example of a tech news website twisting the words of a "Microsoft Customer Service Representative" into a wild accusation.
blkpanthr
August 16, 2011 at 12:26pm
It will most likely be released for technet subscribers, but no public beta like windows 7.
tornato7
August 16, 2011 at 10:21am
I expect MPC to release a full review as soon as the beta is released
TommM
August 16, 2011 at 9:22am
I am not even remotely interested in Windows 8. From what I've read so far, it's primarily focused to accomodate various devices like smartphones, netbooks and cloud computing. I don't use any of that stuff.
I Jedi
August 16, 2011 at 8:36am
I can appreciate Microsoft's push to release new OS's a lot faster, but I see some drawbacks to this. Namely that there is going to be an outcry from the average consumer over their precious Windows 7 being obsolete in their eyes.
TerribleToaster
August 16, 2011 at 9:23am
I'm more concerned about how much it costs for the OS with this faster release schedule. It would be hard to stomach paying ~$150-200 (USD) every year to keep an operating system up to date when it use to cost ~$150-200 for a few years. Are they going to lower prices for the consumer?
I Jedi
August 16, 2011 at 1:33pm
@ TerribleToaster
I share your concern in this matter. I, like you, don't want to be paying enormous amounts of money every few years just to stay current with the latest and greatest that Microsoft has to offer; however, with that said, I think people need to look at upgrading from more of a security standpoint, not a feature standpoint. Sure, if there is a really great feature(s) you want, and you can justify to yourself that spending that much money to upgrade to a new OS because of it is worth it, go ahead. I also, though, believe that everyone should consider the security standpoint more so when considering to upgrade to a new version of Windows.
As we all know, Windows XP is a very old OS, and it has its share of security flaws that Windows 7 does not. So much so, that hackers, script kiddies, malware makers and the likes continue to target Windows XP the most. This could be do to Windows XP's popularity amongst the average consumer still, but I believe that it has to do with the fact that Windows 7, in a nutshell, is a lot harder to beat down than Windows XP. Yes, Windows 7 has its flaws, but when upgrading to a new OS, you should always ask yourself, "Does this new version from Microsoft offer much more security than my current version?" If the answer is a resounding yes, you should upgrade. Of course, you could say that every new version of Windows has a bit more security added to it, but I'm talking about significant vulnerabilities.
The key of thumb is not to upgrade to the coolest and newest thing, but to evaluate the feature aspect, the capability aspect, and most importantly, the security aspect of the OS at hand.
TerribleToaster
August 17, 2011 at 9:49am
I upgrade to ensure compatibility more so than for security reasons.
Cregan89
August 16, 2011 at 12:56pm
Windows Vista was released in 2006. Windows 7 in 2009. Windows 8 is scheduled for 2012.
And I just checked, and Windows 7 Home Premium is priced at $99 OEM, or $199 Retail if for some reason you decide to go that route.
So it sounds to me like $100-200 every three years. Not ~$150-200 every year.
TerribleToaster
August 17, 2011 at 9:46am
Nice cherry picking on your data. You left out Wins XP, the predecessor to Vista. From 2001 (5 years). Or if you are the large number of people (including some of MS's high command) you thnk of Win7 as the true sucessor to Xp (so from 8 years). Now before that Windows had a ton of OS's, but the major one was Win95 (6 years) and before that Windows 3 in 1990 (5 years). Going from about 1-2 major releases a decade (about a 5 yaer+ cycle) to 3-4 years (a 3 year cycle) between major releases is a big difference. And since major players in the software industry already do a yearly release schedule (i.e. AutoCAD) it's not farfetched for MS to go down to yearly releases.
Ad far as prices go, I'm assuming you are buying an OS, not getting a new computer. But if you really want to lower the price floor, I got Win7 for $39.99 with all my discounts when it came out. Retail is still $200 and my worry is that it will stay at that level (as long as they can contiune compatiblity between new versions of their OS, I don't really care if they go to a yearly cycle). And that's the thing about it, you can't possibly know yet whether that they will reduce prices or not as their release scheudule continues to speed up. They very well may reduces prices and my worrying is for naught, but we don't know, hence I worry.
someuid
August 16, 2011 at 8:47am
They should just offer a separate GUI update and leave the base OS alone. Charge $50 and folks will eat it up and we won't have to re-engineer our networks around new features we can probably do without for the time being.
Connect with MaximumPC
Featured Content
We introduce Intel's latest class of tablet killers and review 4 of the first Ultra...
This month's issue
Feature
11 Hardware Hacks
Feature
Overclock Your CPU
How-To
Supercharge Your Smartphone
Build It
A Powerful $830 Rig
Most Commented Articles
Latest Max PC Tweets
- maximumpc: HUD-Sporting "Google Glasses" May Hit Streets This Year http://t.co/TDXjJowZ3 hours 6 min ago
- maximumpc: Nvidia Releases WHQL-Certified 295.73 GeForce Drivers http://t.co/NVMWruHO4 hours 39 min ago
- maximumpc: http://t.co/BVVfRA3B4 hours 40 min ago
