Windows 8 Consumer Preview Official Demo AVAILABLE!

[daigong]

Anyone try this?? trying to catch up with the iPhone OS / Android set. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-GB/windows-8/consumer-preview



Could be a make it or break it for Microsoft. Then again, i'm still using XP as with every company I worked for

Drop your thoughts and rants here!!

[frblckstr1]

I have it on my Tablet (ACER W500, 10" 1280x800, 2GB RAM, 32GB SSD) and on a laptop (ASUS N53, 15.4" 1920x1080, 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD)

The ASUS with its two video cards (nVidia and Intel) has a problem with the Intel video driver but otherwise runs.
The ACER has no problems (it's also one of the test machines Microsoft seems to be using)

The laptop is more to see how W8/Metro works on a laptop, and you really need to get used to it. With a mouse it will be no real problem to hit the left and right side corners, but with only a trackpad it is a bit more diffcult.

The Tablet is a joy to use with W8/Metro: responsive and intuitive.

I have used Tablet PC's starting in 2003 with the TC1000 (yes there where real full bown PC tablets before the '?Pad' was even thought of) and I always liked the concept.
The TC1000 had a digitiser so you could actually write on it making it easier to produce content, but no touch yet.
The current crop of tablets is focussed more on consuption then producing, but it works.

This CP version feels slightly slower to boot on the ASUS (about 5s instead of 4s), but now its more stable (previously shutdown would at times stall forcing me to do a power-off)
The boot-speed (e.g. startup to login from shutdown) is so fast I do not use hibernation anymore, no need: selecting on the picture or typing your password takes longer then the whole startup process!

The developer preview was usable already, but this CP looks to be really stable (and the Market is now working also).
Only 'problem' I have is the region your account is having within Microsoft: I have one in the US and one outside, the market and XBox parts react on that (same 'problem' exists on WP7) giving you sometimes different content (I hate region lock).

Reallt want to try some ARM devices also (I have a ASUS Transformer also).

To me this is finally getting somewhere like ST-TNG: networked devices that can also run on their own when needed.
E.g. it can be a primary device as well as a companion device.