14 DAY TRIAL // Some of you might remember that, back in February, Microsoft promised there would be a free version of Windows 10 for Raspberry Pi 2 owners.
Well, day one of the Microsoft Build 2015 conference has just ended and Raspberry Pi owners can call themselves victorious. The Windows 10 IoT Core Insider developer preview just got launched for small devices such as the Raspberry Pi 2 and is available for download.
Microsoft does note that the preview is pretty rough around the edges and places its hopes on the active community to pitch in and help by providing constructive feedback which will hopefully pave the way towards a full release sometime in the near future.
The Raspberry Pi Foundation’s low-cost computer was a major hit when it got launched back in 2012, and now the new Raspberry Pi 2 includes a more powerful processor and twice as much RAM capacity.
You too can help test Windows 10 on the Raspberry Pi 2
So far, users have been able to install official copies of Windows on the Raspberry Pi without resorting to tricks and hacks, and now Microsoft is also delivering a version of Windows 10 that supports the platform.
Another interesting piece of information is that Microsoft is also partnering with Arduino, the makers of the ever-present DIY boards, in order to bring them into the ever expanding Windows family.
So Arduino users will be able to tap into all the goodies the software has to offer, including cloud computing, the familiar user interface, image processing, and so on.
Going back to the Raspberry Pi announcement, the conditions for the developer program point out that users can only run one copy of Windows licensed this way. In order to be able to start the testing process, you will need to follow this link and sign up in order to be offered access.
But don’t forget, we’re still talking about a preview build here, so you will probably find that some drivers or other key elements are missing from the whole affair. Nevertheless, don’t forget to send your feedback to Microsoft, in order to help with the development and improvement of a stable version that might get released at a later date.
This is what your Raspberry Pi 2 running Windows 10 will boot up to (you can run the x86 version on your desktop): pic.twitter.com/td1qonbdhX
— Steve T-S (@stroughtonsmith) April 30, 2015
