Windows 8 Consumer Preview Available for Download

by Andrew Cunningham on 2/29/2012 9:45:00 AM
Posted in Microsoft , Windows , Windows 8

Adventurous Windows users can now download the Windows 8 Consumer preview from Microsoft's web site using the link provided below. The preview version of the new OS is available for 32-bit and 64-bit PCs, and can be downloaded either in ISO format (for buring to a DVD or converting to a USB stick using the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool) or as a setup file, which Windows Vista and Windows 7 users can use to pull down the OS from the Internet.

If you prefer to explore these things vicariously (there's no shame in it, really), our coverage of new Windows 8 features has been fairly extensive up until now - you can find all of our previous Windows 8 articles by following this link. A more complete, in-depth look at the Consumer Preview is forthcoming, and should be ready at some point next week.

Source: Microsoft

Print This Article 13 Comments View All Comments Post a Comment downloading by kensiko on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 I would have preferred a link to an Iso, but I guess it will download the necessary files. I will stop it before it install Windows over my current installation, I plan on using VirtualBox. kensiko Reply RE: downloading by kensiko on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 ah I found a link to the Isos:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/iso kensiko Reply RE: downloading by Andrew.a.cunningham on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 All of it's on the page. Enjoy! Andrew.a.cunningham Reply RE: downloading by kensiko on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 Downloaded, installed, running 5 minutes later ! That's what I call a fast installation ! (VirtualBox and ISO and SSD) kensiko Reply 32 bit? by n0b0dykn0ws on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 I thought Windows 7 was the last release with a 32 bit version. Or did they change their mind?

n0b0dykn0ws n0b0dykn0ws Reply RE: 32 bit? by ananduser on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 Why do you care ? Your win8 license covers both versions of the software for your personal use. It might be a redundant choice for you, but some may use it. ananduser Reply RE: 32 bit? by Kristian Vättö on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 I think the problem is that you can't update from a 32-bit version to a 64-bit version without doing a clean install. There are still plenty of people running 32-bit systems so it would be a huge hassle if people were forced to do a clean install. Kristian Vättö Reply RE: 32 bit? by freedom4556 on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 I guarantee that they changed their minds, assuming that was ever the case. With tablets the target, and ARM support being a new feature, the x86 tablets will almost certainly be 32 bit due to their modest hardware. Besides, it's not like their trying to defragment the platform, they're adding ARM support, so now it's Windows, WOW64, and WOA. At least Itanium's done for. freedom4556 Reply RE: 32 bit? by johnsonx on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 I doubt the issue with dropping 32-bit x86 has anything to do with hardware any more. I'm pretty sure the number of machines out there that could reasonably expected to run Windows 8 that aren't 64-bit capable is vanishingly small; all the current low-power x86 CPU's that might be used in a Win8 tablet are 64-bit capable as well.

The issue continues to be legacy software. Home users probably don't run into anything stuck on 32-bit that really matters, but businesses often depend on ancient software that just isn't going to run on 64-bit windows for one reason or another; XP Mode and other compatibility solutions aren't always compatible or practical either. Sure, one day those old programs will have to be replaced, but in the meantime Microsoft isn't going to want to have sales of Windows held back because of this issue. johnsonx Reply RE: 32 bit? by Ryan Smith on Wednesday, February 29, 2012 Windows 8 is very specifically intended to run on anything that Windows 7 ran on. Which means a 32bit version is necessary. Ryan Smith Reply Subject Comment Post Comment Please login or register to post a comment.
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Download Android applications on your PC directly from the Android Market

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If you’ve always wanted a way to download an application from the Android Market directly to your PC, boy do we have the right thing for you. An Android developer by the name of redphx sent us an email today, introducing us to APK Downloader. It’s a Chrome extension which allows users to download application APK files directly from the Android Market to their desktop.

In order to use the APK Downloader extension, you’ll need the latest version of Chrome on your computer. Then you will need to disable the browser’s SSL error warnings, enter your device ID number, email and password. Your email and password are stored locally on your computer and are only used when the Chrome extension tries to grab the Android Market cookie to download the APK file from the Android Market. Once your setup is complete, simply browse the Android Market with your Chrome browser on your PC, find an app you would like to download, and click the APK Downloader icon which appears in the address bar when you are on the application page.

At first, we couldn’t think of any real reason to use APK Downloader, but then we realized that there are plenty of Kindle Fire users who do not have access to many of the applications that are only available on the Android Market, plus there are many apps which are made available only for specific devices. Come on, do developers really think that all those Tegra games can not be played on devices with Qualcomm chips?

I don’t think the APK Downloader extension for Chrome is going to change anybody’s life, but it will be handy tool for those of you who have devices with limited access to the Android Market and simply want to enjoy their applications on as many device as possible.

Give APK Downloader extension a try and let us know what you think.

Source: codekiem

Nick is a tech enthusiast who has a soft spot for HTC and its devices. He started HTCsource.com (the first HTC blog) back in 2007 and later joined the Android and Me family in the summer of 2010. Tagged#android market#APK Downloader#chrome extension#video .nrelate .nr_sponsored{ left:0px !important; }.nrelate .nr_sponsored{ left:0px !important; } 27 Comments Join the discussion!Sort by DateRating 100Taylor Wimberly 19 hours ago Thumb upThumb down +4

Sounds like a cool hack, but I bet the Device ID still blocks devices that aren’t supposed to access the Market. I guess that could be spoofed though. My guess is Google finds a way to disable this soon hah.

Reply 20NasLAU 15 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0

This is exactly my concern. I downgraded phones so there are some apps that could technically work on my phone but I’m not allowed to download. I don’t see much use for this app for me at this time.

Reply 70Justin Shapcott 12 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0

It basically uses the same mechanism as the Android Market client app, so I doubt they would block it in any way that would not be easily circumvented.

Reply 99Nick Gray 6 hours ago Thumb upThumb down +1

That’s why I mention it would be great for people with multiple devices. I’m sure most people with the Kindle Fire or other android devices that don’t have access to the market do have at least one device with market access.

Reply MattGuest 19 hours ago Thumb upThumb down +5

Why would Google want to block this? You are using their market place to “sideload” apps onto the Kindle Fire. What Google should try to stop is Amazon using their operating system and completely stealing Google’s revenue.

Reply 32professandobey 16 hours ago Thumb upThumb down +3

Google is all about openness. They view this not as a problem for them to stop in a blocking sort of manner, but rather a problem for them to stop by being more competitive in an open system.

Reply 53txbluesman 18 hours ago Thumb upThumb down +1

Sounds cool. Now I can get a couple of those apps that my daughter wanted on her Kindle.

Reply 68jak2rocks 18 hours ago Thumb upThumb down +1

Hmm… I don’t see many people benefiting from this. But, who knows? At least it’s available for those who need it.

Reply 16artesea 18 hours ago Thumb upThumb down +1

I could see it working where you might have patchy 3G on your phone whilst having 100 meg broadband on a work PC, or little allowance left and seeing the app is 50mb. But otherwise I’m happy to just hit send to device.

Reply 97spazby 18 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0

Sounds like a cool idea, will fiver give it a try…

Reply sidGuest 17 hours ago Thumb upThumb down +1

thanks for the info, really helpful

Reply 51Adam Clark 15 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0

not working for me. I couldn’t disable ssl.

Reply 36Dragonithe 15 hours ago Thumb upThumb down +4

This might removes the need for market eneblerer and a rooted device to get those stupid us only google apps

Reply parnoGuest 11 hours ago Thumb upThumb down +1

what if this tool is just collecting your access codes / ids ?

Reply 70Justin Shapcott 10 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0

It does look to route all download requests to the developer’s server before sending off to the Market. Since the developer knows how to encode the request, the developer also knows how to decode it on the server and store values. Not saying that’s what is happening, just that it is certainly possible.

Reply redphxGuest 10 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0

Hi Justin,
I’m redphx, the developer of this extension.
I have to open a new tab to http://codekiem.com/apk-downloader/download/#….. because that is the only way to make this extension work. If you’re a web developer, I’m willing to explain why I did that.
And about the “encoded request”, because I put it after the hashtag, so that infomation won’t be sent to my server, then I can’t get that data.
If you have any more questions, don’t hesitate to ask :)

Regards

Sorry for my bad English

Reply 70Justin Shapcott 10 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0

Got it. Thanks for the info.

Reply 3Y314K 9 hours ago Thumb upThumb down -1

Been looking for something like this for a while…

Any chance of getting a addon for FireFox ???

Reply 3Y314K 9 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0

or why not have spoofed or open accounts just for this program for us that don’t want to have to keep a Android Market log in… All we want is the download the APK (Specially on free apps)…

Reply 94kwills88 10 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0

This can also make it easier to just have your apk on your SD card and save some space, there are a lot of 45mb apk’s out there.

Reply 93kazahani 9 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0

Samsung Vibrant = abandoned in a lonely corner running 2.2 FroYo. This is magical for me.

I’ll use it till it stops working.

Reply hector manzanarezGuest 7 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0

I’m sorry but if you’re still running 2.2 something is wrong with you. Go to xda and update. Now.

Reply 99Nick Gray 7 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0

Rooting and rom flashing isn’t for everyone.

Reply 99Nick Gray 7 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0

Just downloaded a few apps with my G2′s credentials and sideloaded them on my HTC Flyer. I love that my Flyer has honeycomb, but I don’t understand why developers don’t allow many phone apps to be visible for HC devices.

Reply 87Hall Lo 4 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0

Pretty neat. Esp. for those US only apps

Reply 87Hall Lo 4 hours ago Thumb upThumb down 0

Sorry wrong reply but I think maybe its becoz they dun want to have an app thats supposed to be used on phones to be “enlarged” to the big screens of HC tablets?

Reply SomeoneGuest 53 mins ago Thumb upThumb down 0

Android Market’s ToS
3.3 You agree not to access (or attempt to access) the Market by any means other than through the interface that is provided by Google, unless you have been specifically allowed to do so in a separate agreement with Google. You specifically agree not to access (or attempt to access) the Market through any automated means (including use of scripts, crawlers or similar technologies from time to time) and shall ensure that you comply with the instructions set out in any robots.txt file present on the Market website.
http://www.reddit.com/r/Android/comments/q56bt/apk_downloader_download_apk_files_on_android/c3uwsfl

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