Microsoft has released a taste of its new operating system, Windows 8, to the general public. After an earlier preview only available to the developer community, and a new logo face lift, the consumer preview is available for download. A lot of additions are available with this new version. One feature getting a lot of buzz is built-in cloud storage with Microsoft’s Skydrive to be able to access pictures and documents from anywhere. The ability to make some files public or private will appeal to home and office users, alike.
The star of the show is the new “Metro” interface that Microsoft has a lot riding on. Metro, an interface more akin to the style of Windows Mobile and is more suited for tablets, is the keystone for the success of Windows 8. Microsoft is adding it’s own Windows Store to the new OS to compete with iTunes and Google’s mobile app storefronts, and will be the only method of adding new application icons to the interface.
You can check it out at Microsoft’s Customer Preview.