Microsoft’s Windows 8 Release Preview will become available in the first week of June, the company revealed at its Windows Developer Days conference in Japan late Monday.
Microsoft’s next-generation operating system arrived as a freely downloadable Consumer Preview in February.
The difference between that version and the Release Preview might not be very big in terms of new features, but we definitely expect bug fixes and improved stability, as Release Preview is usually the last major version of the OS before the final release.
Windows 8 is expected ship later this year as three main editions: Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro, and the tablet-based Windows 8 RT.
Check out our impressions of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview here and in the gallery below.
Here's what greets you every time you log into your Windows 8 machine. Yes, the tiles are customizable, though it's a little unwieldy in practice.
Sharing is arguably Metro's most powerful feature. Although the sharing option is only populated with Mail right now, once Windows 8 apps get going, you'll see options here like Facebook, Twitter and all the rest -- in every app.
Many apps, like the native Finance app, look beautiful in Metro.
You can still get back to the familiar desktop anytime you want in Windows 8. Note the absence of a Start button, which you get to by mousing into the lower-left corner.
Bing Maps, like all Metro apps, makes use of the entire screen. Right-clicking brings up options.
You can see which apps are running by pointing your mouse to one of the left corners and then moving it alongside. Right-clicking an app lets you stop it.
The side action menu slides out via the side and is the same no matter what app you're in.
The consumer preview of Windows 8 still has lots of bugs in it, as evidenced by this screen shot of the email app.
Since the entire screen in Internet Explorer is dedicated to showing you the web page, right-clicking twice shows you the tabs that are open.
Messaging ties with your People app, bringing in contacts on Windows Messenger or Facebook.
The Windows 8 Photo app has built-in integration with Flickr, but it wasn't working on our device.
Your 25GB of free SkyDrive space is easily accessible via a live tile, and it integrates with the Photos app, letting you avoid sending large email attachments by uploading pics to SkyDrive.
The Weather app also looks beautiful in Metro.
Through settings, you can make changes to your Windows profile, which will show up -- apps and all -- on any Windows 8 machine you log into.
Yep, you still need to download Flash to get your browsers to play many videos, like those on YouTube.
You can customize your Start menu with specific apps, even if they're desktop-only apps like the browsers seen here.
The video hub doesn't just show video files -- it also promotes content as well. Whether that's a plus or a minus is up to you.
Solitaire was available on our Consumer Preview device via Xbox Live, though Microsoft said it couldn't guarantee it would be in the general release.
Microsoft designed Windows 8 to be comfortable to use either by touch or with a mouse and keyboard. We found some functions counterintuitive, but it's still a powerful interface.
Reference: http://on.mash.to/I9ZhXC
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