Latest beta version of Windows 8 is another step towards the revolution coming this fall

The announcements were all over the Internet yesterday and finally around supper time Microsoft released Windows 8 Release Preview into the wild.

Here is the download site Windows 8 Release Preview Site. Have fun!

Installation

It installed very quickly on the computer I’ve been using since February for the Consumer Preview.It took less than an hour from start to finish.

There was literally nothing for me to do, except ignore the warning on one screen that my Acer T231H touchscreen was not compatible which was then listed as compatible in seconds. Hey, it is a beta right?

I personally would not install this on the only computer I owned because each new version wipes out the last one. That’s the way the cookie crumbles with Beta versions.

The downside is toe Release Preview wipes the computer hard drive but I knew that and stored my files on SkyDrive first.

Windows 8 is installed on a Dell XPS 630i, which has an Intel Quad Q 9300 at 2.5 GHz with 8 GB RAM, NVIDIA GeForce 9800 GT and an old Western Digital hard drive. It machine had been used for testing before Windows 8 since it was too slow for Vista or Windows 7.

The Windows 8 apps had to be reinstalled along with iTunes and Applian Suite but a nice feature is you do not need to use Administrator accounts for loading software. Thank you Microsoft.

How does it work?

Windows 8 Release Preview is as snappy as the last one. The screens work smoother. I’m dying to load it on a laptop which will happen this weekend. That will give me a chance to see if multi-touch works with the Synaptics touch controller on most laptops.

FLASH PREDICTION

Sales of laptops and anything that does not have a touchscreen monitor will plummet over the summer until they start shipping screens with multi-touch. Why spend $700 for a laptop that will be worth $200 in October?

I used it for about 2 hours last night and I like it slightly more than the Consumer Preview.

Unlike most of the reviewers, I upgraded my monitor to a multi-touch Acer T231H and use a Logitech Wireless TouchPad. You will need those two options to make Windows 8 fly.

What I liked so far

Music is better than the previous version. It immediately found music and videos on other computers on my home network and they played smoothly.

 All my pictures in one place

You will love this. Windows 8 integrates all your photos from the computer, network, SkyDrive, Facebook, Flickr, Photobucket and Google.

It also integrates all your People in one place. OMG that is daunting.

The news application sports big clear pictures and the navigation works better. The other news apps work like they should.

Everything seems to work more smoothly. Windows 8 feels more and more like a finished product.

Technical advantages of Windows 8

There are some things that make Windows 8 faster and better like:

• Smaller memory footprint: uses memory more efficiently and requires less memory to run.
• More-efficient performance: consume less of the CPU’s resources than previous incarnations do. That’s how they are going to put Windows 8 on tablets and smartphones.
• Reduced disk-space requirement:  great for SSD C drives.
• HyperV integration: a replacement for VMware.
• SkyDrive integration: unlimited Cloud storage of photos that will change the way we work.
• Improved multimonitor support: ability to adjust and set the location of the task bar.

(List from PC World)

Apple has met the enemy and it is Windows 8

Tim Cook was whistling past the graveyard this week when he dissed Windows 8. He told Apple devotee Walt Mossberg of the Wall Street Journal,

“In my view, the tablet and the PC are different,” said Cook during an on-stage interview at the All Things D conference on Tuesday. “Products are about trade-offs. And you have to make tough decisions, you have to choose. The fact is, the more you look at a tablet as a PC, the more the baggage from the past affects the product.”

Windows 8 is going to revolutionize computing because it will jump from the two worlds of tablet/smartphones and desktops to one world with the same operating system and user interface – Windows 8.

Apple knows the religion – make it simple, make it elegant.

Microsoft is about to move the ball into a whole new ball field.

In any event, the boss just went by and said I wasn’t working so I’ll quit for now and write more on Saturday.

If you’re dying to know more, read the CNET article or the one from PC World where I ripped the photos for this story. Remember the boss?

All photos copyright PC World

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