14 DAY TRIAL // The development of Windows 8 is advancing nicely towards the public beta release expected to arrive in late February, and screenshots that show the latest progress in the area have emerged on the web.
The images attached to this article, available courtesy of PCBeta, reportedly show Windows 8 Build 8158, which includes a modified Charms Bar.
Moreover, one of the screenshots shows a feature that was long said to be arriving in Windows 8, namely the App Store.
Those who already got a taste of Windows 8 Developer Preview will see no big changes in the Charms Bar in Windows 8 Build 8158.
However, the new OS iteration appears to lack the short menu that appeared above the Start button when placing the mouse cursor on top of it.
While the Start button was configured to take users to the Metro Start screen when clicked, the short menu would offer access to Search, Share and Settings, among other.
At the same time, the time and date appear to have been moved to the left of the screen, while the said short menu has been replaced with the bar to the right.
Rumor has it that Microsoft also operated changes to the manner in which users can make this bar emerge. Now people will have to bring the mouse cursor to the bottom right corner of the screen, and not the bottom left, as before.
As stated above, Windows 8 Build 8158 also brings along an App Store tile, though the storefront is expected to get detailed only tomorrow.
Another change that can be seen in the new Windows 8 build refers to the Internet Explorer 10 browser, which seems to have got the option to set automatic updates to arrive on devices.
Of course, the screenshots cannot tell too much of the changes that Microsoft might have operated under the hood, which are expected to be plenty, but we might be able to learn more on the matter in about a month or so.
Previous reports suggested that Microsoft would be gearing up for bringing the beta release of Windows 8 at CES in January, although it would make it available for the public only over a month later.
