Download Windows 8 Consumer Preview

Windows 8 consumer preview was already released sometime, we have managed to get our hands on the download links of Windows 8 consumer preview ESD files. Currently only the 64 bit or 32 bit version of Windows 8 is available for download. You won’t be able to download the ARM version of Windows 8.

Without further writing here are the download links.

Here are the download links to ISO files

English

64-bit (x64)                    Download (3.3 GB)
Sha 1 hash — 1288519C5035BCAC83CBFA23A33038CCF5522749

32-bit (x86)                    Download (2.5 GB)
Sha 1 hash — E91ED665B01A46F4344C36D9D88C8BF78E9A1B39

Product Key:   DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J

Chinese (Simplified)

64-bit (x64)                    Download (3.4 GB)
Sha 1 hash — DF69B851F9A81DECBB16648CC452461894416EB0

32-bit (x86)                    Download (2.6 GB)
Sha 1 hash — E29A2072745A48C14A1C2E5A61F5230841BEDB45

Product Key:   DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J

French

64-bit (x64)                    Download (3.3 GB)
Sha 1 hash — A9358E6799ABEEF29EDBA054AD34849C02C7F51F

32-bit (x86)                    Download (2.5 GB)
Sha 1 hash — 2EF8013B9F50B93AEAC8068F4827E2C1DC0DC0B1

Product Key:   DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J

German

64-bit (x64)                    Download (3.3 GB)
Sha 1 hash — DB1003A47C266697B3832BE2A23319988EE34495

32-bit (x86)                    Download (2.5 GB)
Sha 1 hash — 91075AEA665C5D6F42A24714B3A3390762C94457

Product Key:   DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J

Japanese

64-bit (x64)                    Download (3.3 GB)
Sha 1 hash — A8F0DB12CAECEA0BE8B27EA124F2234212D9103A

32-bit (x86)                    Download (2.5 GB)
Sha 1 hash — C8A322ED86058086207CAAECD46B4DDACF9E247A

Product Key:   DNJXJ-7XBW8-2378T-X22TX-BKG7J

Windows 8 consumer preview contains lot of new features including the much anticipated Windows Store from where you can download Apps, new set of wallpapers, lock screen, no start orb and lot more.

Windows 8 Minimum Hardware System Requirements

Windows 8 consumer preview has just been released and Microsoft has posted the system requirement for the same on official blog. The hardware requirements for Windows 8 is similar to Windows 7 and you can run it on 1 GB of RAM and 1 GHz processor. Here are the complete system requirements as posted by Microsoft-

• Processor: 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster
• RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit)
• Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
• Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device or higher

Further to run Metro style apps your screen should have a minimum resolution of 1024*768 and 1366*768 for snap feature.

Some other new features in Windows 8 requires new requirements which aren’t available in most of the PC’s right now. Here are those features-

• Secured Boot requires a new UEFI BIOS, which is not available broadly on PCs yet, but is starting to be made available. If your machine does have UEFI, you can enable it via BIOS settings.
• BitLocker does not require but performs more seamlessly if your PC has a Trusted Platform Module(TPM). Machines that have this sometimes require it to be enabled via BIOS settings. BitLocker To Go requires a USB flash drive that meets performance criteria evaluated at installation time.
• Hyper-V requires a 64-bit system with second level address translation (SLAT) capabilities and an additional 2 GB of RAM. You can also enable SLAT via a BIOS setting.
• Some games and other software require graphics capabilities compatible with DirectX 10 or higher (including some games available in the Consumer Preview and in the Windows Store.

Microsoft has also posted a set of PC’s on which they have been testing internally-

• HP Elitebook 2760p convertible (Note: This PC is 1280×800 and so does not support snap.)
• ASUS EP121 tablet (Note: his PC is 1280×800 and so does not support snap.)
• Dell Inspiron Duo convertible
• Lenovo x220t convertible
• 3M M2256PW 22” display (Note: The raised bezel can make it harder to swipe along the edges)
• Samsung Series 7 slate

Lastly the post reads that you can upgrade your Windows 7 to Windows 8 consumer preview, but there is no rolllback, and all those running Windows 8 developer preview can upgrade to Windows 8 consumer preview by just using the migrate option.

Steven Sinofsky now in the Race to be the Next CEO of Microsoft?

Steven Sinofsky the man behind every bit of the upcoming Windows 8 Operating System from Microsoft,could very well be in the race to become successor to Steve Ballmer the CEO of Microsoft corp.

Just a day before the launch of Windows 8 consumer preview Reuters came up with a long post suggesting that if Windows 8 becomes an instant hit like its predecessor,Steven Sinofsky holds a strong chance against the current CEO Steve Ballmer to become the next Steve of Microsoft,according to Frank Artale, the  managing director at Seattle-based venture capital firm Ignition,founded by a group of former Microsoft executives,stating that  he thinks Sinofsky has both “the tech chops” and the “panache and showmanship” needed for the job.

Before getting into the Windows division Sinofsky had a successful run at the Office department,which is one of the most profitable products for the company,successfully delivering Office 2003 and 2007 gaining the reputation as a “shipper”.Then went on to the Windows division in 2006,after which he was eventually made in charge in 2009.

Though according to the critics he might not got the “charisma” or ” technical brilliance”  of Bill Gates or ” incisive analytical ability” and “forceful personality” of Ballmer,Windows 8 success would surely boost his chances of becoming the next Steve of Microsoft.