Windows 8 Developer Preview: Come and get it..!!!

The new Windows 8 Start Screen (Credit: Microsoft)

Those of you interested in taking the current flavor of Windows 8 for a spin can now download and install the Developer Preview edition.

Being demoed at Microsoft's Build conference this week, the Developer Preview is a prebeta version showing off the operating system at its current stage. Though technically designed for developers, no registration is required, so anyone can download and install it.

The Windows 8 Preview is being offered in three different packages--a 64-bit version with various developer tools, a 64-bit version of just the operating system, and a 32-bit version of the OS.

All three come as ISO files--image files of the contents of a CD or DVD. Since each of the packages is several gigabytes in size, you'll need a DVD if you want to burn the files to a disc.

In Windows 7, you can burn the ISO file to a DVD by double-clicking it to open the Windows Disc Image Burner. For older operating systems, you can use a tool such as ISO Recorder to burn the file.


Since this is a prebeta version, you'll want to install the OS on a spare PC or in a virtual environment so that it doesn't interfere with your production or work machine.



What's next after the Developer Preview?

Speaking at the Build conference yesterday, Steven Sinofsky, senior vice president of Microsoft's Windows division, confirmed earlier reports that Windows 8 will next segue into one beta version, followed by one Release Candidate. Assuming all goes well, we can then expect the final RTM (release to manufacturing) edition sometime after that.
Sinofsky didn't reveal a specific timeframe for the beta or Release Candidate. However, the company has been expected to launch the beta at the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show in January.

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Windows 8 to tap heavily into Windows Live

Windows 8 will integrate directly with Windows Live. (Credit: Microsoft)

Windows 8 will let users more easily and seemlessly bridge the gap between online and offline by directly tapping into Microsoft's Windows Live service.

In an Inside Windows Live blog posted yesterday, Chris Jones, vice president for Windows Live engineering, shared some of the features and benefits of the new Windows Live integration in Microsoft's upcoming OS.

Right off the bat, Windows 8 prompts you to log in with your Windows Live ID. If you allow it to do so, Windows Live can then automatically store your Windows profile, settings, and other key files in the cloud. This gives you the ability to synchronize those settings with any Windows 8 PC in which you're logged in, ensuring that you retain the same preferences from one PC to another. Microsoft is also promising the same synchronization between PCs and mobile devices running Windows Phone 7.

Windows 8 will also integrate more smoothly with SkyDrive, Microsoft's online storage site. Documents, photos, and other files that you create locally can be saved to SkyDrive, accessed from any PC, and even shared with other people that you designate. Microsoft will reportedly still limit SkyDrive users to 25 gigabytes of space for most files but offer unlimited storage for photos or Office documents.

The new operating system will further rely on the new Metro UI to let you access and share different information, whether it's online or offline. Booting into Metro will show you tiles for key services, such e-mail, calendar, and contacts. The e-mail feature can connect to multiple accounts, such as work and home. The Calendar can also display appointments for work and home as well as those of friends, family, or colleagues with Windows Live accounts.

People is Microsoft's new address book, which ties together all your contacts, including those from Facebook and LinkedIn. And the new Photos app in Windows 8 can show you photos from your local PC, another PC, SkyDrive, and other services.

The company is also opening up Windows Live and SkyDrive to developers who want to incorporate those services into their own applications or devices.

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Rare Look Inside Microsoft's Redmond Office

You've seen what the offices of Blizzard and Google look like, now here's a sneak peak at some parts of Microsoft's Redmond campus. The "grounds comprise over 300 acres, with about 40 buildings housing nearly 14,000 offices."

Common employee areas such as the Meeting Rooms building are situated throughout. The cafeteria has an al-fresco dining area with a rocky waterfall. One Microsoft Way also serves as a tourist attraction.

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WWE

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Hindi (Albums)

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Over a Million Total Android and iPhone Apps Launched

A report has surfaced from Appsfire that claims that since the Android OS and iPhone launched there have been a total of a million apps for both platforms combined launched onto the market. There are a few caveats for these numbers though.




First, the apps that are on both platforms were countered twice. The second is that apparently only 80% of those apps are still active today. With the majority of them, likely to be duplicates and stuff that no one really wants the amount of usable apps that people actually download is likely much smaller than that 800,000 number.
The split of apps gives Android 48% of the total number launches. iOS is a bit higher at 52% of the apps ever launched. It’s interesting that the iPhone has been around a lot longer so Android is coming on strong.

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