Microsoft discloses Windows 8 Beta

Microsoft Wednesday released its “Consumer Preview” of Windows 8, and before Windows President Steve Sinofsky finished his presentation to reporters at Mobile World Congress 2012, downloads had begun in 70 countries.

Windows 8 faces not one, not two, but three separate challenges in its quest to prove a worthy successor to Windows 7. The first challenge was created by Windows 7 itself.  The second challenge is Windows holds a dominant share of the operating-system market, its competition is no longer primarily Mac OS X; now it needs to push back against Apple’s iOS and Google Android. The Third Challenge is making Windows a viable competitor on tablets. Windows 8 doesn’t have the traditional “Start” menu, and applications are spread across a mosaic of tiles in a design Microsoft calls “Metro” – seen as an attempt by the company as a scramble to preserve its market share. And executives said it powers up on PCs in eight seconds, much faster than the previous version. Windows 8 users are greeted by a start screen of colorful, touchable tiles linked to applications, which facilitates tablet use. For power users and traditionalists, the desktop interface that defined previous Windows releases is accessible through a single tap or click. The software can be downloaded at http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/consumer-preview

“It’s beautiful, it’s modern, it’s fast, it’s fluid,” said Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft’s Windows division. “Windows 8 is a generational change in the windows operating system.”

Microsoft executives have already been encouraging third-party developers to build apps for Windows 8, which features an app storefront similar to those offered by Apple and Google. Apple is also moving features from its iPhone and iPad software over to its Mac software. That trend will be particularly visible in Mountain Lion, the new Mac operating system that’s expected to be released this summer. Windows 8 will also be the first Microsoft software in a long time besides its cell phone software that will run on non-Intel style processors. But the creation of a robust, mobile-centric “Windows 8” ecosystem spread across everything from tablets and PCs to smartphones.

Windows 8 could inspire more PC makers to design machines that combine the convenience of tablets with the utility of a notebook computer. These devices would be similar to the so-called “ultrabook” computers that offer a Windows-based version of Apple’s lightweight MacBook Air machines. Once Windows 8 is available, the ultrabook line could be expanded to include machines equipped with a screen that swivels off the keyboard to take advantage of the system’s touch controls and provide a tablet-like experience.