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Lock Screen
The Windows 8 lock screen: use your mouse or finger to drag it upward and reveal the login interface. Security features include picture lock, where you tap certain parts of an image to unlock the device.
Login
The login screen, one of the first glimpses of Windows 8’s “Metro” interface.
Tile Interface
Windows 8’s Metro interface offers large colored tiles linked to applications. It is meant for tablets as well as PCs.
Desktop Mode
Windows 8’s more “traditional” desktop mode.
Final Look?
It’s questionable at this point whether the final version of Windows 8’s desktop mode will look anything like this, stylistically speaking.
Metro
If Microsoft’s Metro style is familiar, it’s because the company’s already used it in Zune software and for Windows Phone.
Control Panel
Windows 8 will offer granular controls over all aspects of the system, in keeping with previous Windows editions. Microsoft is also working to integrate the “ribbon” interface into Windows 8.
Apps
Windows 8 will offer a variety of apps for downloading (such as this preinstalled weather app). Microsoft is already encouraging developers to think about the apps they want to build for the system.
Browsers
Windows 8 will offer two versions of Internet Explorer 10: a Metro-style app for tablets, alongside a traditional desktop app. The Metro version will be plug-in free.
Windows Store
Microsoft is integrating a Windows app store into Windows 8.
No Compromises
Microsoft executives have promised that Windows 8’s desktop and Metro/tile modes will coexist with “no compromises.” The company and its manufacturing partners will offer the OS on both x86 and ARM systems.
Remote Desktop
Windows 8’s remote desktop app.
Search
Microsoft will need to convince power users that Windows 8’s new interface can serve their needs, despite its dual role as a more lightweight operating system for mobile devices.
Release Date
Windows 8 is reportedly due for release sometime in 2012. A Microsoft partner recently told eWEEK that the operating system will hit store shelves closer to the end of the year, which would be in keeping with the release cadence of previous Windows versions.
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Microsoft has offered its Developer Preview of its upcoming Windows 8 to the world. This early glimpse of the operating system, while nowhere near finished, offers a one-of-a-kind perspective into Microsoft’s thinking when it comes to the next generation of Windows. For one thing, the company also intends Windows 8 to make substantial inroads into the tablet category, currently dominated by Apple’s iPad—and it plans to do so by offering a touch-centric “Metro” interface that consists of colorful tiles linked to applications. A more traditional desktop will operate in concert with this new interface, and users will have the ability to switch between the two whenever the need (or desire) arises. Windows 8 will run on both x86 and ARM systems, meaning it will appear on a wide variety of PC and tablet form-factors. At its BUILD conference, which ran from Sept. 13-16, Microsoft detailed some new additions to the Windows platform, including an app store for third-party applications. Windows 8 will also include two versions of Internet Explorer 10: as a “Metro”-style app (that’s plug-in free) and a desktop app that fully supports plug-ins and extensions. Nor is that all: trust that, over the next several months, Microsoft will reveal additional features and applications for everything from security to user interface to games. Nothing less than the future of the company is riding on how well this platform succeeds upon its release, which reportedly is coming sometime in 2012.