Microsoft has released a test beta of Windows 8 for anyone curious enough to try. As expected, the new OS from Microsoft features heavily around gesture interfacing in an order to accommodate the new line of Windows 8 tablets which are slated to start hitting stores both this year and next.
The new Metro user interface (UI) for Windows 8 continues on the Live Tile theme from the Windows Phone platform. Windows 8 takes the format one step further with multiple screens available that provide a similar function to the customisable desktops introduced in Apple’s OSX Lion.
Anyone who prefers a more traditional UI can opt to use that as well. The classic windows UI for Windows 8 is extremely reminiscent of Windows 7. It’s attractive and smooth, but above all it’s familiar. We think we’ll be seeing a lot of early PC adopters play around with the Metro UI for a while before settling back in to the traditional Windows layout. Of course tablet and, to a lesser extent, laptop users will be getting something out of the new Metro template, as will anyone who doesn’t use their PC for anything more than casual browsing and social media management. But overall we think desktop users will be sticking with what they’re used to for some time yet.
An interesting note regarding the new gesture commands is that they’re applicable with both touchscreens and with a standard mouse setup. Swiping right to left with a cursor works just as if you were using a fingertip, which could definitely prove interesting when it comes to UI streamlining.
There’s also USB 3.0 support, which has us wondering if Microsoft is expecting to start making its Windows Phone line USB 3.0 compatible. That would definitely be cool, but possibly unrealistic for the time being.
If you’d like to check it out for yourself you can grab it here. It’s currently available in English, Japanese, Simplified Chinese, French and German. System requirements are apparently the same as for Windows 7.
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