Windows 8 revealed - special report
After years of development, Microsoft has taken another step toward making Windows 8 a finished product with the release of its consumer preview.. Designed to work on both tablets and PCs, the OS appears to be Microsoft's first step in freeing itself from the desktop - with heavy emphasis on touch and the new "Metro" style apps.
Hottest stories:
- Microsoft details how iPad app development compares to Windows 8
- For Microsoft, Windows 8 must ship in October
- Can we live without the desktop?
- TechRepublic: 10 reasons why Windows 8 may appeal to consumers
- Microsoft shows off Windows 8 business app 'concepts'
- Windows 8 beta: What works, what still needs work
- Is there a Plan B if Metro fails?
- Here's what's wrong with Windows 8
- Microsoft's business pitch for Windows 8 depends on tablets
- Shortcuts and surprises in the Windows 8 Consumer Preview
- TechRepublic: Five reasons businesses should adopt Windows 8
- Windows 8 Consumer Preview: a fresh start for Microsoft (Windows 8 close up - screenshots - gallery of apps)
- CBS News: Why Windows 8 will be good for your business
- CNET review: Windows 8 Beta: Hands-on with Microsoft's tablet-friendly OS
Additional features
Video
Galleries
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Microsoft's Office 365 hosted app bundle is FISMA-certified, making it potentially more appealing to U.S. government customers.
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Xamarin chief Miguel de Icaza answers five questions about XobotOS, the skunkworks project to port Android to C#.
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Microsoft is inviting Windows Phone developers to a developer conference in late June. Could both the Tango and Apollo operating systems be on the agenda?
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A Barnes & Noble filing about deliverables coming as a result of its new Microsoft partnership is chock-full of references to Windows Phone.
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Microsoft and startup Twilio are offering developers a way to incorporate voice and text messaging into their Windows Azure-hosted apps.
Elsewhere on the Network
Microsoft has launched the Consumer Preview of Windows 8. Here's what testers may see once the bits are downloadable.
Videos
News & Blogs
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Will Windows 8 PCs cost too much at launch?
Laptop makers are reportedly concerned about the higher costs of supporting Windows 8's touch-screen capabilities. The result could be that demand for Windows 8 PCs may not pick up steam until 2013.
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Microsoft: Media Center not part of 'the future of entertainment'
A new blog post from Microsoft fills in details about how Media Center will fit in Windows 8, as an extra-cost option. And it's pretty clear that Media Center is not part of "the future of...
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Is there a Windows-based Barnes & Noble reader in the works?
Microsoft and Barnes & Noble aren't talking product roadmaps (yet), but there are some clues indicating a Windows-powered e-reader/tablet from the pair could be coming.
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Microsoft and Barnes & Noble settle patent dispute; create new subsidiary
Microsoft and Barnes & Noble just became unlikely allies, settling a patent dispute and forming a new subsidiary in one fell swoop.
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Windows 8: How to touch-enable your existing PC without breaking the bank
It's easy to touch-enable your existing PC without breaking the bank. Here's one recommendation, but there is one downside to note.
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Could this be HP's Windows 8 business slate?
Business users: How does a 10.1-inch slate running Windows 8 Pro with eight to ten hours of battery life sound to you?
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When will Windows 8 ship? Readers make their predictions
Entries are closed in my Windows 8 release schedule prediction pool. Four finalists are still in the hunt, based on their accurate predictions so far. So when do these fearless prognosticators...
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8 things Microsoft needs to do to save Windows 8
The real world runs on real computers doing real work and those computers run Windows. Microsoft needs to remember that as they introduce Windows 8 to the real world.
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Windows 8 Consumer Preview vs. Windows 7: Benchmarked
Can Microsoft's upcoming operating system keep up with -- or even beat -- Windows 7, or does Microsoft still have work to do?
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Microsoft updates the public Windows 8 countdown calendar
The next public Windows 8 test build is due the first week of June., just in time for Computex 2012.
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Microsoft: Windows 8 'Release Preview' to land in early June
Microsoft will release a beta, near-finished version of Windows 8 in the first week of June, the company said on Tuesday.
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Intel's Ivy Bridge: Aggressive launch, but a lot of wild cards
Intel has a lot riding on the Ivy Bridge ramp. Are its targets too aggressive given the great wait ahead of Windows 8?
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Windows 8 tablets: Not open for business
I'd thought Windows 8 tablets one shot at the business market because IT administrators could deploy and manage them with Active Directory. Guess what? They're not supporting Active Directory on them.
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How to use a VHD to dual-boot Windows 8 on a Windows 7 PC
I wanted to try Windows 8 on my new Ultrabook, but I didn’t want to mess up a perfectly good Windows 7 installation with a beta OS. And then it struck me: I can boot Windows 8 from a virtual...
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What will it mean to 'manage' Windows on ARM tablets?
Will Windows on ARM devices find an accepting home in the corporate world? Microsoft has some manageability plans to try to keep consumers and IT admins both happy.
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Enterprise carries Microsoft until Windows 8 launch; Q3 strong
SQL Server and enterprise products more than hold Microsoft over ahead of the Windows 8 launch as company delivers strong third quarter.
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Windows 8: Fragmentation of the hardware ecosystem is inevitable
When it comes to the differences between Windows 8 and Windows RT, it's going to take more than a sticker to educate users.
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Unanswered questions about what's in Windows 8 editions
Microsoft's announcement that Windows 8 will ship in only two retail versions cleared up some uncertainty. But it left a handful of interesting questions unanswered.
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What's in the new Windows 8 Enterprise SKU
Microsoft has released a partial list of features in the coming Windows 8 Enterprise SKU for volume-license business users.
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Microsoft opens April beta of Windows Intune service to testers
Microsoft is accepting tester applications for the next version of its Windows Intune service for managing and securing Windows PCs -- and soon iOS and Android devices.
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