Microsoft Windows 8 Developer Preview

[Michael Hill]

Somewhat off-topic, but I thought some people here would be interested in the Microsoft Windows 8 Developer Preview. It's absolutely free and available from Microsoft, but expires on 3/11/2012 (from what I've read). Just beware that this is pre-beta, so expect bugs.

http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/apps/br229516

They say all Windows 7 programs/apps should work on Windows 8. The main purpose of the Developer Preview is so people can start programming "Metro-Style" apps.

[sanddrag]

I downloaded but have not installed. I'd be interested in hearing from anyone who has tried it, just generally what you think of it.

[Dkt01]

Running it as a virtual machine, it seems very similar to Windows 7, but the metro start menu seems weird and/or out of place. I don't care for the hidden shut down, either. The control panel seems like an attempt at using the metro menus, but they gave up halfway and made a link to the original control panel.
The socialite and weather apps are nice, though.

[Fireball9199]

I threw it on one of my junkers last night, it seems pretty nice, but it is not ready for anyone but devs to start working on their applications, as the metro ui is still quite clunky.

EDIT: After I installed it on my main machine, it runs much better, in fact, i am posting from it right now.