Windows 8 Consumer Preview: A melding of the experience of laptops, mobile devices

Microsoft tweeted that more than 1 million copies had been downloaded in the first 24 hours the beta version became available. Here’s a look at what the unique features, told through photos and screenshots from our colleagues at The Verge and the Associated Press.

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Steven Sinofsky, president of Windows and Windows Live attends the Windows 8 Consumer Preview presentation during a press conference at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. A test, or beta, version of the revamped operating system has been unveiled Wednesday in Barcelona, nudging it a step closer to its anticipated release next fall.

Emilio Morenatti / ASSOCIATED PRESS

Microsoft calls the new tiled design theme of Windows "Metro."

The Verge / The Verge

The five features that Microsoft has called out are: Integration of touch, keyboard and mouse control; the Windows app store; cloud services that link PCs and Windows Phone; Internet Explorer 10; and new hardware capabilities.

/ The Verge

Microsoft is not calling the release of the Consumer Preview a "beta" version of the new operating system but the standard background (shown) features a beta fish.

The Verge

To run Windows 8, users will need a computer with the same specs required to run Windows 7. According to Microsoft, that means at least a 1GHz (or faster) processor, 1 GB of RAM, 16 GB or hard drive space, and a Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device.

Microsoft / DAPD

Microsoft touts the new operating system as “fast and fluid.” While the new system has been out in developer previews since the fall of 2011, the company only released a preview version to average users in February.

Julie Jacobson / AP

Corporate Vice President of Windows Program Management, Julie Larson-Green attends the Windows 8 Consumer Preview presentation during a press conference at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Spain, Wednesday, Feb. 29, 2012. Windows 8 may be one of the most important launches in Microsoft’s history, as the company doubles down to keep its core business successful.

Emilio Morenatti / ASSOCIATED PRESS

The system’s introduction reinforces Microsoft’s commitment to mobile, with its Windows Phone integration and moves to unify the tablet/PC ecosystem. That way Microsoft keeps one foot in its core business, PCs, while moving ahead into the more portable device market.

The Verge / The Verge

The interface is another obvious move toward that unified vision of the future, since the elements of the design are already central to Windows Phone as well as the latest Xbox Live interface.

The Verge / The Verge

While Windows 8 is being marketed as a friendlier, more general system, the consumer preview comes with some caveats. Microsoft recommends that only “experienced PC users” who feel comfortable using experimental software and backing up their data try out the early build.

The Verge / The Verge

Touch is a huge part of Windows 8, as Microsoft is using the system on both its tablets and computers, and has built touch capability into every part of Windows 8.

The Verge / The Verge

Microsoft has been careful to note that users who prefer their mouse or keyboard won’t have to compromise because of the touch system.

The Verge / The Verge

If you step into one of Microsoft’s retail stores, the first thing you notice — apart from the space’s striking similarity to Apple stores — is the company’s attempt to translate the Metro look to the store’s decor.

The Verge / The Verge

In the new Windows 8 world, tablets and PCs will have similar layouts.

The Verge / The Verge

In the first 24 hours the preview version was released to the Web, 1 million copies were downloaded.

The Verge

Microsoft didn’t offer a set timeline for the final release of Windows 8, though it’s expected to land something this fall.

The Verge

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

epa03714567 A Thai Buddhist family take an offering of lotus flowers to pay respects to a giant Buddha surrounded by more than 1,000 smaller Buddha statues at a Buddhism Park, on Vesak or Visakha Bucha day, in Nakhon Nayok, north of Bangkok, Thailand, 24 May 2013. Buddhist devotees throughout the world offer blessings at temples to mark one of the holiest days in Buddhism, commemorating the birth, enlightenment and the death of Buddha. EPA/BARBARA WALTON

Photos of the day

Buddhist Wesak festival, prisoners-of-war reunion, bridge collapse, world’s largest Lego model and more.

A portion of the Interstate 5 bridge is submerged after it collapsed into the Skagit River dumping vehicles and people into the water in Mount Vernon, Wash., Thursday, May 23, 2013 according to the Washington State Patrol. (AP Photo/Skagit Valley Herald, Frank Varga)

I-5 bridge collapse in Washington state dumps vehicles, passengers into river

No fatalities reported; collapse over Skagit River shuts down main route between Seattle and Canada.

SILVER SPRING MD: MAY 18
from left to right, Bodybuilders Jorge Villatoro, Sidney Bumbrey, Eric Holmes and Ron Coleman show off their most muscular poses for the judges at the 2013 Musclemania - Capital Tournament of Champions Contest held at the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center in Silver Spring, Maryland on May 18, 2013.
(Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Flexing their muscles

Dozens of bodybuilders came out to Silver Spring to compete in the 2013 Musclemania Capital Tournament of Champions.

epa03714543 US actress Carmen Electra arrives for the Life Ball gala, at the airport Schwechat, in Vienna, Austria, 24 May 2013. The 21th Life Ball, an annual fundraising charity event for HIV and Aids projects, takes place at the Vienna City-Hall on 25 May 2013. EPA/HERBERT NEUBAUER

Eye on entertainment

Carmen Electra, Barbara Eden, Sharon Stone, Goldie Hawn, Jaden Smith and more.

A police forensics officer investigates a crime scene where one man was killed in Woolwich, southeast London May 22, 2013. British Prime Minister David Cameron has called a meeting of his government's emergency Cobra security committee after the killing of a man in south London, his office said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth (BRITAIN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Terrorism cited in London cleaver attack

Two assailants hacked to death a British soldier on a busy southeast London neighborhood street Wednesday afternoon before delivering an apparent...

MOORE, OK - MAY 22: A street of tornado destructed homes is reflected on a puddle of water on May 22, 2013 in Moore, Ok. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post)

Assessing tornado damage in Oklahoma

Amid great destruction, residents of the Oklahoma City suburb of Moore begin to assess the severity of the twister that hit Monday.

WASHINGTON DC: MAY 22
Contestant Travis Rumans, 31 dances with his beloved glow sticks for talent at Penn Social in Washington, DC on May 22, 2013. The contestants help raise over $15,000 for the Children’s National Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
The Mr. DC pageant is a fundraising event to benefit Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals.
The qualifications for the Mr. District of Columbia finalists is that they must live, work and attend school in the District of Columbia between the ages of 21-30 who are unmarried, intelligent, and dapper in a suit.
(Photo by Marvin Joseph/The Washington Post)

Mr. D.C. Pageant contestants compete for charity

Contestants in the Mr. D.C. Pageant, a fundraising event, helped raise more than $15,000 for the Children’s National Medical Center.

A Burrowing owl tries to perch on a protective rope in a public park in Cooper City, Fla. Monday, May 20, 2013 as rain falls. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Animal views

Fun and fascinating creatures around the world.

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