14 DAY TRIAL // On February 29th, Microsoft made available for download the Consumer Preview version of its upcoming Windows 8 operating system.
The hype around this release has been high, and the amount of downloads it has registered in the first hours of availability prove it.
According to Microsoft, the platform has been downloaded 1 million times during the first day of availability alone.
Given the fact that this is only a pre-release version of Windows 8, albeit the beta flavor, the interest it already registers appears amazing.
Microsoft's Windows 8 Consumer Preview brings along a variety of changes when compared to what the Developer Preview had to offer.
There are appearance changes available in the new platform release, along with performance improvements and the like.
For example, the Windows 8 Consumer Preview brings along a new Start Screen, based on the same Metro UI as the Start menu in Developer Preview, and also provides users with the possibility to change its background color and art work.
The Charms bar in Windows 8 Consumer Preview was changed as well, and the Start Menu button was removed, only to be replaced with an orb to enable fast access to the Start Screen or the Desktop.
Users will also be able to move fast between the latest used apps, and will benefit from new personalization features as well. The Task Manager and PC Settings windows have been modified too.
Additionally, users benefit from access to the Windows Store, to get a taste of some free Metro-Style applications released for the platform. Not to mention that they get the chance to have a look at the latest IE10 release, as well as at Bing Maps, Xbox Live and other applications that Microsoft put inside the release.
Windows 8 Consumer Preview will be followed by another platform release in summer, while the final OS flavor is expected to arrive in fall.
If you haven’t got the chance to download the Consumer Preview already, you’ll find it available on Softpedia via this link. You can learn more on how to install the OS through this post.