Geek Posted February 29, 2012 Posted February 29, 2012 <div class="KonaBody"><p><img src="http://osxdaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/windows-81.jpg" alt="Windows 8 Consumer Preview" title="windows-8" width="638" height="357" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-27854" /></p> <p>Microsoft released Windows 8 Consumer Preview today, a pre-release version of their next generation operating system. Windows 8 incorporates the touch-centric Metro interface while still maintaining access to the standard Windows file system and desktop, effectively merging their tablet UI and desktop UI into a single operating system. This is obviously a <a href="http://osxdaily.com/2011/08/30/windows-8-vs-mac-os-x-and-ios/">different approach</a> than Apple took while keeping separate iOS and OS X, but nonetheless Microsoft is bent on this strategy to compete with Apple’s offerings and the wildly successful iPad. </p> <p>To be fair, Windows 8 is actually a pretty decent OS with <a href="http://osxdaily.com/2011/06/02/6-features-ios-needs-from-windows-8/">some innovative ideas</a>, and with the freely available Consumer Preview anyone can download an ISO and install it themselves to give it a whirl. If you’re curious what’s been cooking in Redmond Washington, running Windows 8 yourself is the best way to find out. Dust off that PC and run it natively, or you can try installing it on a Mac with Boot Camp or <a href="http://osxdaily.com/2011/09/15/how-to-install-run-windows-8-in-virtualbox/">run it within VirtualBox</a> or <a href="http://osxdaily.com/2011/09/14/install-run-windows-8-in-vmware-mac-os-x/">VMWare</a>. Here are the general system requirements before getting started:</p> <p><strong>Windows 8 System Requirements</strong></p> <ul> <li>1 GHz CPU or faster</li> <li>1GB of RAM or higher</li> <li>16GB hard disk space</li> <li>DirectX 9 GPU or better</li> <li>Internet access</li> <li>Touch-screen to support multitouch features</li> </ul> <p>If you have hardware that meets the requirements (you probably do), download an ISO and start installing, the links below point directly to Microsoft servers.</p> <h2 style="font-size:1.2em;">Download Windows 8 Consumer Preview ISO</h2> <p>The product key for both versions is: DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J</p> <ul> <li>Windows 8 CP 64-bit – 3.3GB – <a href="http://iso.esd.microsoft.com/WCPDL/BD1B8A49393E30CC9C4E5C88457D73E964F1F3B18/Windows8-ConsumerPreview-64bit-English.iso">Download Now</a></li> <li>Windows 8 CP 32-bit – 2.5GB – <a href="http://iso.esd.microsoft.com/WCPDL/BD1B8A49393E30CC9C4E5C88457D73E964F1F3B18/Windows8-ConsumerPreview-32bit-English.iso">Download Now</a></li> </ul> <p>Don’t want to bother with downloading and installing a beta OS that you may not spend much time on? Check out the two videos below to see Windows 8 in action instead.</p> <p><iframe width="620" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/aebfjzdLxJA?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> <p><iframe width="620" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/jDYQmQ-phX8?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe></p> </div> <p><a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/OTdlQ9saBSUefe1SdIL5fFuair4/0/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/OTdlQ9saBSUefe1SdIL5fFuair4/0/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a><br/> <a href="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/OTdlQ9saBSUefe1SdIL5fFuair4/1/da"><img src="http://feedads.g.doubleclick.net/~a/OTdlQ9saBSUefe1SdIL5fFuair4/1/di" border="0" ismap="true"></img></a></p><div class="feedflare"> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/osxdaily?a=5d4ijAOIxYs:2YXDmk7p_e8:yIl2AUoC8zA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/osxdaily?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/osxdaily?a=5d4ijAOIxYs:2YXDmk7p_e8:V_sGLiPBpWU"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/osxdaily?i=5d4ijAOIxYs:2YXDmk7p_e8:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/osxdaily?a=5d4ijAOIxYs:2YXDmk7p_e8:D7DqB2pKExk"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/osxdaily?i=5d4ijAOIxYs:2YXDmk7p_e8:D7DqB2pKExk" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/osxdaily?a=5d4ijAOIxYs:2YXDmk7p_e8:7Q72WNTAKBA"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/osxdaily?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"></img></a> <a href="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/osxdaily?a=5d4ijAOIxYs:2YXDmk7p_e8:qj6IDK7rITs"><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/osxdaily?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"></img></a> </div><img src="http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/osxdaily/~4/5d4ijAOIxYs" height="1" width="1"/> View the full article
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