Windows 8 generated lots of buzz at today’s BUILD Conference and it left so many people jelly of the fact that everyone there got a Windows 8 powered Samsung tablet for attending. But that doesn’t mean Microsoft is leaving everyone else out in the cold. Microsoft may not be selling developer tablets but it is making the Windows 8 Developer Preview available for download so you can install it on a test rig or partition! If you also want to mess around with the developer tools and the Metro UI SDK, a separate Developer Preview with developer tools bundled in is also available. Just head over to
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/home/
and download the version that is right for you to get started. You will be doing a fresh install with the developer tools bunfle so don’t expect to upgrade your existing copy of XP, Vista, or 7 with that version. The regular Developer Preview allows you to transfer over your accounts and files from your existing OS install. It is also highly recommended that you install this on preferably a completely separate spare desktop or laptop, or at least on an isolated partition on your hard drive, as this is a pre-beta preview so there will be lots of bugs floating around that may completely crash your install at random. So go download the appropriate ISO and happy previewing!
How to close apps. The eternally perplexing question.