How do you predict the future? It’s easy: There’s going to be a Windows 9 in a few years – unless Microsoft pulls an Apple and just goes with, “The New Windows,” or “Windows,” or something. As for what might be inside Microsoft’s future operating system, however, that’s a whole ‘nother ballgame.

It’s not that hard to get caught up in some childlike fantasy when asked to predict the future path of Microsoft’s main OS. You know – Windows 9 will allow your desktop to transform into a giant robot, or Windows 9 will be an on-the-fly hybrid OS that transforms into a simpler version of Metro for free-floating tablet devices and the full-fledged Windows 9 when these devices are connected up to a dock/keyboard setup.

Honestly, I kind of like the robot idea.

But let’s get serious. What’s the likely future direction of Microsoft Windows? Even considering that the general consumer reaction to Windows 8 – assuming it’s not just a Band-Aid for tablets while Microsoft devotes the core of its resources to a completely revamped version of the OS – will likely play a role in what Microsoft decides to do within its big follow-up.

Like a Sith to a Jedi, a Cylon to a human, an Apple to a Gordon Mah Ung, every good thing said about Windows 8 seems to be matched by an equal and opposite reaction: Something bad. To trade in our angel wings and prop up our Google Hangout devil horns for a moment, there’s plenty about Windows 8 that you just aren’t going to like.

Unless you’re one of those stalwarts still clinging to Windows XP as if it was a stuffed animal from your childhood that you need to squeeze just to sleep at night, the announcement of a new Windows operating system usually summons up one singular question: When can I upgrade?

Note, we said usually. For Windows 8’s errors are so flagrant and its annoyances so widespread, this might be the first operating system in your Windows lifetime that you’re going leave right there on the retail shelf. That’s right. We said it. Microsoft’s not only created a new operating system; the company has also created a healthy amount of doubt in the minds of potential purchasers.

Read on for some of the main ingredients that make up our tasty Windows “8-erade.”

We’ve gotten our arms full of data and dust in our attempts to unearth some of the more noteworthy features of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview. And the following list of twenty awesome items represents the must-do tweaks and must-check-out, new features of Microsoft’s latest operating system. 

Happy Windows 8 Consumer Preview day! Or, rather, happy day-after-Windows-8…. you get the idea. As an astute Maximum PC reader, you’re no doubt itching to get your hands on a not-quite-final build of Windows 8 to tinker around with.

But here’s the problem: You like using your current operating system. In fact, you probably have a great number of files, applications, and games all intertwined with your current operating system. And the absolute last thing you want to do – aside from learning how to use the Metro UI (we kid, we kid) – is back up everything within your operating system, wipe your drive, and introduce a fresh-faced Windows 8 into your life as your primary OS. Just think of all the application reinstallations you’ll have to go through!

Luckily, you have two awesome options when it comes to testing out Windows 8 without mucking up your primary Windows installation, settings, files, or any of that. You can split your current hard drive storage setup to create an extra, blank partition – Windows 8 goes there. Or, if you just want to monkey around in a self-contained environment within your current operating system, you can install Windows 8 onto a virtual PC.