Chinese website PC Beta has released new screenshots from the Windows 8 Consumer Preview (beta) showing that the Start Screen wallpaper we’ve seen in the Developer Preview probably won’t be the only one available when we see the full beta later this month.  While full details of exactly what and how many wallpapers will be available, until Stardock get their way, the image of the new rings wallpaper isn’t an unpleasant one.

The screenshots also show a modified Charms bar with new icons and a slightly modified Control Panel, now called PC Settings, where the descriptive text from items has been removed.  Finally these is a screenshot reinforcing the news that the Windows Start Orb has now been removed from the desktop.  Rumour has it however that it reappears if you mouse over to the bottom left of the Windows desktop taskbar.

Much still isn’t known about the Windows 8 beta, probably too much frankly and there are a great many quite legitimate questions that people are asking.  It is clear though that Microsoft have done a great deal of work since last August when they would have signed-off on the Developer Preview build, and that they’ve taken on board much of the feedback they received from that build.

One piece of feedback concerned the blanket alphabetical way in which apps were treated in the search screen.  One of the new screenshots shows apps now arranged into categories, as per the current Start Menu.  It’s probably not a perfect implementation, but it is at least a significant improvement over what we’ve seen before.

What do you think of these screenshots and the new look?  Do you like it?  Why not tell us in the comments below.

Update: Someone has leaked all Windows 8 Wallpapers that Microsoft intents to ship with the consumer preview version of the operating system. You find them linked below:

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The wallpaper images have  been posted here originally.

New Windows 8 Wallpapers and Charms Bar Shown in Leaked Screenshots is a post from Windows 8 News, Rumors & Tips - The Latest Microsoft Windows 8 News, Rumours & Screenshots. Visit Windows 8 News, Rumors & Tips for the Latest Microsoft Windows 8 News, Rumors, Tips, Themes, Wallpapers & Guides.

The guys over at Neowin managed to record a live Windows 8 demonstration by a Microsoft employee over at this year’s CES. One of the interesting aspects of the demo is that Windows 8 is shown on multiple devices and in different versions. This includes features that have not been on film before, like Microsoft Music, new mouse gestures or background colors. And while that is probably nothing to get too excited about, it provides everyone with a nice impression of what Microsoft is going to deliver with Windows 8.

One of the most important things that I personally take away from the demonstration is the fact that Windows 8 will indeed launch in the Metro interface, even on desktop PCs and traditional laptops.

A cool feature that has been demoed on the day was the ability to zoom in or out of the Metro UI, which is a very interesting option to get a better overview of all installed apps in Metro UI. The zoomed out mode furthermore can be used to group and move apps around, which should work a lot better than in standard mode, as it may mean a lot of scrolling until you reach the new position for the selected app or group of apps.

According to the demonstrator, Windows 8 will not make any compromises when it comes to the desktop. It will be interesting to see if Microsoft will keep that promise. Another feature that was demonstrated on the day was the ability to display Metro apps and desktop apps side by side on the same screen, which opens the door for some interesting options.

Here is another demonstration session that has been uploaded by another user to YouTube. It is basically the same session, with the difference that this one is not cut off in the middle.

After watching the new Windows 8 video, has your impression changed or remained the same? Let us know what you think of the operating system.

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We’ve had a couple of leaked images over the past few weeks of various new features that we are expecting to see in the Windows 8 beta that is expected to launch sometime next year around February. The other week Microsoft decided to fill us in a bit more on the new Windows 8 app store. We discovered that Microsoft will have the ability to delete and stop apps running remotely and that Microsoft will also allow open source apps on their app store.

Now we have a few more leaked images of the Windows 8 app store, as well as a few of the upcoming Music app for Windows 8. The leaks come once again from WinUnleaked.tk

The screenshot below shows the application list in the Windows 8 store, and the one below it shows a new download manager for these apps

The next screenshots are from the new Music app that looks to incorporate the whole Metro UI into it once more. There’s not a whole lot, but it seems ok so far, and I’m sure it’ll be dead simple to use on tablets

The following screenshot then shows how the music app appears when a user uses the split feature in Windows 8

Of course since all these images are leaks, chances are that Microsoft are still working on tweaking all these apps, we’ll get our first proper official look at them hopefully in February when the Windows 8 beta is released.

Source:

Winunleaked.tk

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While the official Windows 8 RTM is still a long way off and while we’re not expecting the Windows 8 Beta until the beginning of next year, I thought that I’d get together a few Windows 8 wallpapers to get you in the mood for it.

Now by no means are these the official Windows 8 Wallpapers, but there are some pretty cool concept graphics here that you might be interested in.

You can download the wallpapers as a pack from the link below

Windows 8 Wallpapers

Download

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Some of the screenshots will look very familiar to Windows 7 users, however notice the addition of a Ribbon to My Computer, and a greatly improved task manager.

To check out Windows 8 yourself, read how to install Windows 8 on a virtual machine.

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More Windows 8 Screenshots.

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After a few mistakes downloading and installing Windows 8 Pre-Beta on a virtual machine (no fault of Microsoft’s – just me being stupid), I eventually got it to install smoothly in record time.  Start to finish the whole process took me under 15 minutes, and that was using a SATA drive and not my SSD drive which was too small.

We’ll be publishing screenshots of all the new features we can find in Windows 8 Pre-Beta in the days to come, starting with the Windows 8 installation screenshots below.

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Windows 8 has been revealed yesterday by Microsoft on the Build Conference. The two hour long keynote was streamed live on the Internet, and is now available as a recording for users who may have missed it. We have already covered a lot Windows 8 wise, for instance how to install Windows 8, where to download the Windows 8 ISOs. We have also answered the most popular questions that you had regarding the new operating system.

With every Microsoft operating system, even with preview, beta and release candidate releases, come new wallpapers and other personalization files. Below are all wallpaper images that Microsoft has used in the presentation of the developer preview of Windows 8.

Six of the seven wallpapers have a resolution of 1920×1200, one a resolution of 1600×500.It is likely that Microsoft will continue to publish wallpapers for the new operating system when it comes out, just like they did with Windows 7.

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Windows 8 Build 8102 Wallpapers (pre-beta)

Download

Source: GateFan over at Deviantart.

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Microsoft has shown off the new Start screen for Windows 8, but other than a few older builds, we have yet to see what, if any, might be the changes that will come to the classic desktop experience in Windows 8. This may have changed as Winrumors has noticed a new taskbar setup in a Microsoft  “Flexible Workstyle” advertisement in one of the scenes.

In the video and screenshot (as seen below), the start button looks to be a bit flatter than the one in Windows 7 and the system tray appears to be completely gone. There is also what appears to be a clock in the middle of the taskbar surround by text. This is all interesting because in current builds of Windows 8, the system tray is still present and everything is seemingly in its place.

I guess the big question is, would Sinofsky allow a slip like this and might this just be a concept and not a working build? We should see for ourselves soon enough as Microsoft is expected to be delivering a preview or beta of Windows 8 at the upcoming BUILD event in September. Click here for the video and judge for yourself.

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Mosaic Mango Editon is based on the popular Mosaic project which we featured at the start of last month.

Mosaic adds Windows 8 Metro UI widgets to the Windows 7 desktop, and Mosaic Mango Edition gives the widgets  a Windows Phone 7 Mango look & feel.

Mosaic - Mango Edition

Download

To read more about the project, click here.

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Over on our sister site Windows 7 News & Tips, Martin reviewed a new application called Pulmon that allows you to add Metro UI tiles from Windows 8 to your Windows 7 desktop.  Pulmon is in beta, so make sure you backup before you install this utility.

Click here to read Martin’s review.  We’ve also added the download to our download section.

Pulmon

Download

More: Pulmon

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The talk is more frequent and more serious…The next installment of the Windows OS family is slowly being shown out of the development room. Hundreds, no thousands of users are quietly waiting to see what new features will be available in the new state of the art program, which Microsoft hopes will change the opinions of critics. Sure Windows 7 was/is a success. But what have you done lately?

With Apple and Google running through the forest and bringing back dramatic hardware or programs Microsoft must strut its stuff. So here are some Windows 8 Wallpapers that you can look at and download in anticipation of the strutting.

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You can download the Wallpapers by clicking the link below.

16 New Windows 8 Wallpapers

Download

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We’ve had a couple of different Windows 8 themes and wallpapers now on Windows8news. But this time I think I’ve got the best solution for you all. I’m sure most of you cannot wait until Microsoft release the first beta for Windows 8, but I’m afraid that’s still a long way off. However we have been given brief glimpses at what Windows 8 will look like, between the new Tablet UI and the leaked builds that we’ve seen. Based on all these leaks Windowsxlive have managed to come up with a great little package that will make your desktop look and feel just like Windows 8.

It’s called Windows 8 UX Pack 2.0 and it basically skins Windows 7 to give it the distinctive look and feel of Windows 8. This also includes the new tablet UI which is achieved by using the Metro theme which we’ve mentioned here before.

What’s really handy about this pack is it’s all in it’s own installer package so you only have to run one installer and it does the rest for you. Much easier than downloading and installing all the various separate components yourself.

It’ll even let you choose from various different options when installing the skin so you can customise it to your liking. Then a couple of moments after you hit install, your computer should have the look and feel of Windows 8. Your wallpaper will have changed, you’ll notice your user icon in the bottom right corner and everything will have a slightly flatter theme to it.

Don’t forget about that Tablet UI, to get it you need to click and swipe in from the right corner (or at least that’s what did it for me). You’ll find there’s a whole load of options which you can play around with.

And then once you’ve had enough with this new skin, simply run the installer again but this time choose uninstall and everything should return to normal.

So of course you want to try this out now. The download link is below (only works with Windows 7 i’m afraid)

Windows 8 UX 2.0

Download

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We’ve found another Windows 8 Theme to help you fill the gap until you can run Windows 8 legally as part of the Windows 8 testing program.

This Windows 8 theme contains:

- 8 Wallpapers.
- Windows 8 Start (New Style/ no more orbs).
- Windows 8 Longhorn Style Explorer.
- Windows 8 Logon Screen Style.
- Windows 8 System Properties.
- Taskbar Properties.
- Quick launch blue hovering(pinned feel).
- Taskbar Icon blue hovering(pinned feel).
- Taskbar Folder group will be Library Icon.
- Taskbar Group Size in 3 to be iconize.
- Shut down Button Startmenu( 7 Styler).
- New Search (7 Styler).
- Windows 8 (7 Styler) User Icon.
- Explorer Library Icon (7 Styler).

Ultimate Windows 8 Theme Collection

Download

Source: link

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Enterprising designer Jozef has put together a very impressive Windows 8 Tablet Concept, called ‘Windows Slate 8‘ that attempts to combine the power of Windows 7 with the simplicity of Windows Phone 7.

It has a very appealing design and some of the elements would work well in Windows 8, for which preview videos are now available.

What do you think of Jozef’s design?

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More: Jozef’s blog

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Not everyone thinks this will be a good desktop interface and it looks aimed at tablets.  I found three free programs that can let you get a feel for the Windows 8 interface on your current Windows 7 desktop.

Mosaic

Mosaic is in the alpha stage – so it’s still pretty limited.  I found that it works best on the 32 bit version of Windows 7 over the 64bit version.  Since it’s still in the alpha stage, a lot of the
widgets currently lack functionality.  It’s very basic in terms of what you can do with it, but you get a good idea of the look and feel of the Metro UI on your desktop.

In addition to the widgets you can pin applications and websites to the desktop.  The tiles can be positioned where you want them and you can scroll to the right as you add tiles.

Mosaic

Download

Zetro VS

This program is more of a Windows 7 theme based program.  However unlike other Windows 7 themes that usually are prepackaged, this one requires a bit more work.  You have to run a patch file and then move a copy of the theme to the themes folder in Windows.  I found Mosaic easier to run and did a better job at mimicking the Metro UI tiles, as I ended up installing three different things to get the end result.

In the end you get a lot more functionality out of the tiles however.

Zetro VS

Download

STDU Explorer

In addition to the tile based start screen, Windows 8 will be adding a ribbon interface into the explorer window.  The STDU Explorer adds a ribbon interface for Windows Explorer.  It is not the same as the ribbon interface for Windows 8, but it will give a user the idea of what it will be like to use the ribbon in Windows Explorer.

It’s a simple download of an install package.  This is a standalone application and will not run if you open up Explorer normally.  You will have to click on the executable to get the ribbon.

STDU Explorer

Download

Many people are not that excited to see the new interface that Windows 8 promises to bring us.  However using these three free tools can pave the way for someone already using
Windows 7, to make a transition easier.  Just keep in mind that these are all still development tools and will not reflect the actual user experience with Windows 8 once released.

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Windows 8 isn’t quite here yet, but that doesn’t mean we can’t start prepping ourselves for its release. I know many of you all love to customize your desktops with various themes and wallpapers, so it’s never to early to start!  I’ve put together a little pack of Windows 8 wallpapers for you guys so you can get started. Now these aren’t the official Microsoft Windows 8 wallpapers, because obviously Windows 8 hasn’t been released yet.

However some of them are taken from the Windows 8 leaks and others are just concept wallpapers for Windows 8. Either way they all look brilliant and if you’re looking to spice up your desktop they should do just that.

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You can download the Wallpapers below

Windows 8 Wallpaper Pack

Download

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The core issue that is keeping the majority of Windows users away from changing their theme is the complexity of the procedure. While it takes just a click to install basic new themes under Windows 7 that change the wallpaper, color scheme and maybe some sounds, it is not as easy to switch to a full theme.

Why? Because Microsoft has built-in protections into the operating system to prevent tampering with core operating system interfaces. Before it is even possible to start changing themes under Windows it is necessary to patch those system files.

This meant running one or multiple programs back in the days. To make matters worse, some programs were not compatible with 32-bit versions and some offered different program versions for that. Lots of confusion in this regard.

The Windows 8 Skin Pack 1.0 For 7 is different. It comes with an installer that takes care of everything, if you want. It patches the uxtheme.dll automatically before installing all necessary theme files to turn Windows 7 into Windows 8.

Take a look at a screenshot of a Windows 7 Professional system after installing the Windows 8 theme on the system.

The theme installs the new Windows 8 login screen, wallpapers, taskbar modifications and a lot more.

Installation of the theme is a breeze. I recommend you create a system restore point before you start the installation though. This is a disaster recovery option then, to turn back to the old system if the installation goes wrong.

The easiest way to do that is to click on the start button and enter restore point in the search box there. Select Create a restore point from the search results and follow the instructions on screen.

You can download the theme installer directly from Windows 8 News. Everything is packed into a zip file. Just extract the contents and run the installer afterwards. You can unselect items if you like, but it is not recommended due to compatibility reasons.

8 Skin Pack 1.0 For 7

Download

You are asked to restart the PC afterwards, and will be greeted with the new Windows 8 log on screen after you have done so.

The Windows 8 theme comes with a full Aero theme and an Aero lite theme, which is a basic theme. It is possible to switch between both easily with a right-click on the desktop and the selection of Personalize.

What we really like about the theme is the super easy way to install it. Please note that you need to uninstall the theme to undo all the changes made to the operating system. It is not enough to switch to another theme, as some modifications have been hard coded into the system files.

All system files are restored during uninstallation, and now traces of the theme are left on the system.

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We were contacted today by one of our readers who has installed the latest Windows 8 Build 7989 on his tablet pc.  Below are the screenshots that we were sent along with some commentary for each exclusive screenshot.  Thank you very much Israeleet for sharing.

For more Windows 8 News & Rumors, remember to subscribe to this site using one of the options at the top of the right sidebar.

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It is one thing to read and talk about Microsoft’s upcoming operating system Windows 8, and an entirely other thing to see it in action. If you are interested in Windows 8 you – by now – must have seen the less than five minute long preview that made the rounds a few days ago. You can watch that video here ( Microsoft unveil Windows Next Tablet UI )

But four minutes is not really enough to showcase a new operating system like Windows 8, even if it is only the touch UI, tablet UI, mobile UI or whatever you would call it at this point in time.

Microsoft have released a 32 minute video of the Windows 8 partner preview event in Taipei, Taiwan at Computex 2011. Microsoft corporate Vice president Mike Anguilo demonstrates Windows 8 live, and we have it all on tape.

The demonstration has caused some confusion in Germany, where several popular media portals such as Heise reported that Windows 8 would only support UEFI and not traditional BIOS anymore.

It is very unlikely that Microsoft will make Windows 8 only compatible with UEFI, and there are a number of reasons for that. It would first and foremost mean that everyone with a traditional BIOS would have to switch hardware to run Windows 8, which would drastically reduce the number of users who would want to upgrade to the new operating system. It is estimated that more than 99% of computer users run a traditional BIOS and not UEFI.

Microsoft a few days ago mentioned that Windows 8 would run on the same hardware as Windows 7, which would torpedo that claim. From what we gathered, it is likely that the Heise reporter misinterpreted the words of Mike Anguilo. What Mike said was that Windows 8 will require UEFI on ARM systems, and that it will be required on PCs that want to address hard drives larger than 2.2 Terabytes.

Note that Mike did not say that PCs with 3 Terabyte hard drives need Windows 8. He only mentioned that UEFI would be needed if the space beyond 2.2 Terabytes needed to be used as well.

So, Windows 8 will run on standard BIOS and UEFI just fine.

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At the AllThings D9 event yesterday, Windows Chief Steven Sinofsky has unveiled the new tablet UI for Windows 8 (which is still currently called Windows Next).  As people had hoped it’s based on the Windows Phone ‘Metro’ UI which many people have said would translate very well to a tablet.

The interface will run separately to the main Windows desktop, which will still exist, but will use its own apps.  These will need to be written in either HTML5 or Javascript.  This comes as a surprise as many people might have expected the same or similar development languages to Windows Phone to be used.  This would, in theory, make it much simpler to port applications across to the new platform.

The new interface has been designed “from the ground up” to work with touch, and it’s very attractive too.  There are different sets of virtual keys for different form factors (smartphone anyone?) and different onscreen keyboards too.

You control apps just by swiping them around, for instance you can multitask just by swiping apps to the center of the screen and snap them much in the way you can with Windows 7.  Microsoft have introduced what they call “fuzzy hit targeting” to accommodate the fact that fingers are much less precise than a mouse.  The goal is to get legacy apps to work much better with touch.  This will be a very welcome addition.

Everything works in a way that will be very familiar to Windows Phone users, if you look at the demo video (there’s a link at the end of this article) then you’ll see that apps don’t just appear, but swoop into view.  In fact all the desktop items appear and move in a natural, flowing way.  Microsoft have brought the same gesture controls they use with Windows Phone so the interface seems to respond to the strength of your touches, prods and swipes.

Internet Explorer is built into the new system and has been designed to run tablet apps full screen, all tablet apps will run in the browser.  Microsoft have said this new interface won’t just be limited to tablets either, so convertible laptops and multi-touch desktops will also get the benefit of having it on board.  The comparison will inevitably be made with Google’s new ChromeBooks in this regard, though being Windows all apps are stored offline.  It may also reignite some complaints about Internet Explorer being central and vital to the new OS.  How will other browsers fit into this tablet space?  Will they even be able to?  My guess is not though, as Microsoft will no doubt say those browsers aren’t designed for touch or tablets and will still be abailable to be used as the primary browser on the desktop if users prefer them.

Sinofsky did confirm a few things that we already know.  These include that Windows 8 / Next is being engineered to run on very low power devices.  He also said there was no word yet on when the operating system would be available.  We would normally expect this to be announced early next year.

All in all this is a very attractive UI and one that’s bound to win fans and followers.  Once again Microsoft have gone their own way, though there is a hint of Blackberry’s new tablet in this too.  It’s great to finally see Microsoft taking tablets seriously and I am certainly looking forward to testing this on my own tablet PC.

You can check out a video of this new UI in action below.

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Microsoft is currently working on completing Milestone 3 of the Windows 8 development process. This basically means that a lot can – and will – change in the coming months. The user interface is no exception to that, even though it looks cleaner and more professional than that of Windows 7 already.

When the first desktop screenshots of Windows 8 appeared, several designers began to create themes for existing operating systems.

The latest is called 8 Skin Pack for 7. It was posted on Deviantart where it is available for public download. The theme looks very professional, which can be attributed to the fact that it goes beyond what standard themes can offer in Windows 7.

Here are the basics that you need to know before you start installing the Windows 8 theme:

• It works on both 32-bit and 64-bit editions of Windows 7 SP1, works better under 32-bit according to the developer.
• It is compatible with all language versions of Windows 7.
• It is necessary to patch system files before you can install the theme.
• Before you do that, create a backup of your system.

8 Skin Pack 1.0 For 7

Download

The developer has posted links to all necessary files and tools on the theme’s page.

If you ask me, then I’d say that this is the best looking Windows 8 theme so far.

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Image Credit: Neowin

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It is at times as this that I wish that Microsoft would make it impossible for people to leak information about the upcoming operating system. Not because I’m not excited about what the new operating system brings, but about the unfair advantage that some websites get by posting screenshots and other information.

The full Windows 8 installation process from an early M3 build leaked yesterday on Chris123′s NT Corner. It shows screenshots of a stylish installation process that seems to guide the user through the installation by suggestion recommended settings.

Windows 8 will for instance use recommended security, network and locale settings unless you select to customize those options. Most users on the other hand will probably go with the default settings which means that they won’t have to do lots of configuring during installation to install Windows 8.

If you want, you can keep the default recommendations which would mean that you would only had to enter the Windows 8 product key and a name for the computer to complete the installation.

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You may also be interested in earlier leaks of the Windows 8 Upgrade Installation, the leaked Windows 8 Screenshot gallery or all previously leaked Windows 8 screenshots.

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A video was uploaded to the popular video hosting website YouTube the other day that demonstrates a new feature called pattern logon. It basically replaces the standard password with a pattern based login in which you have to click on, or touch, squares in a specific sequence to log on.

The video is not safe for work and I suggest you do not watch it if you are easily offended. That said, it is still on Youtube and the nsfw part is around the 20 to 25 second mark.

It is probably enough if you watch the first ten seconds or so anyway considering that the logon happens during that time.

You can view the full video over at Youtube

Pattern based logon is similar to Android’s pattern passcode. It is likely that this method will be part of the touch version of Windows 8. It is not clear yet if it will be included in all versions of the operating system.

The video originated from the My digital life forum.

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Several Windows 8 videos have been posted in the last days, and we would like to use this post to give you a quick overview of the videos that have been posted. In general, you find two kinds of videos on the Internet about Windows 8.

Many videos have been made after the Windows 8 Milestone 1 leak which show that version of the operating system in detail.

And then there are videos that have been made by partners or other participants of the development process.

Lets start with the Milestone 1 builds first. The following two Windows 8 videos have been posted on Youtube in the past 24 hours. Both show the leaked Windows 8 build 7850 in detail.

It is rather unfortunate that we cannot embed a video of a Milestone 3 build of Windows 8 as well on our site.

The German magazine Winfuture has posted a demonstration video that showcases one of the latest Windows 8 builds. To be precise, the build that they show is build 7955 of Windows 8.

You can play the HD version of the video right on this page.

Have you discovered additional Windows 8 videos? Let us know in the comments.

Windows 8 Videos Released is a post from Windows 8 News, Rumors & Tips - The Latest Microsoft Windows 8 News, Rumours & Screenshots. Visit Windows 8 News, Rumors & Tips for the Latest Microsoft Windows 8 News, Rumors, Tips, Themes, Wallpapers & Guides.

Images have surfaced on winfuture.de of a new Genuine Center in early builds of Windows 8.  This appears, for the moment, to simply be a single place accessible from the Action Center where a user can check if their copy of Windows is genuine, enter or change their product key and activate it.

This does seem a lot of effort to go to, just to replace features that already exist in a perfectly usable form, so I would like to know what intentions Microsoft have for this ‘new’ feature.

The question I ask this is after the recent release of screenshots showing what appears to be the new Windows app store, a feature sure to be back-ported to Windows 7 too.  A Genuine Center would imply that Microsoft intend to use this panel to allow the user to monitor more than just the copy of Windows itself, otherwise it’s just adding bloat to the operating system.

Microsoft have been very keen to crack down on piracy and in recent years they have been tremendously successful.  Despite this fact, there are still a great many pirated copies of Windows available for sale on the black market in countries such as China.

With every new Windows release Microsoft will inevitably look again at product activation and other anti-piracy technologies in the operating system and tweak things.  This could simply be the next evolutino of that though I can’t help but feel they have other and bigger plans for it.

What is Windows 8 “Genuine Center”? is a post from Windows 8 News, Rumors & Tips - The Latest Microsoft Windows 8 News, Rumours & Screenshots. Visit Windows 8 News, Rumors & Tips for the Latest Microsoft Windows 8 News, Rumors, Tips, Themes, Wallpapers & Guides.

Three screenshots of the Windows 8 update installation have leaked earlier last week. While that’s not that spectacular since there is nothing to see user interface wise, it reveals two interesting information.

The first screenshot for instance reads “Get your computer ready for Windows 8″ which confirms that Microsoft is – at least currently – referring to the next windows as Windows 8. There is no guarantee yet that they keep the name as the final name for the operating system, but it is an indicator that they very well may.

The second screenshot lists the file version (6.1.7850.0) and the installation date (23.09.2010). The build string indicates that the build is an earlier build, considering that Microsoft has shown build 6.2.7867 on this year’s CES.

Microsoft apparently has reached milestone 2 in the development phase of the operating system. The latest reported build string is 6.2.7917.0.winmain_win8m2.110125-1757.

Windows 8 Update Installation Screenshots Hit The Web is a post from Windows 8 News, Rumors & Tips - The Latest Microsoft Windows 8 News, Rumours & Screenshots. Visit Windows 8 News, Rumors & Tips for the Latest Microsoft Windows 8 News, Rumors, Tips, Themes, Wallpapers & Guides.

To celebrate the launch of Windows 7 and (hopefully) the start of some news from Microsoft on Windows 8, Windows 7 Themes have pulled together a mega pack of 1250 Windows 8 Wallpapers:

The wallpaper package includes a lot of different wallpapers: dual-screen, panorama (ultra-wide wallpaper), firefox, mac, windows vista and 7, cars, nature, underwater scenes, gaming, 3D, CG, sexy babes, etc.

1250 Windows 8 Wallpapers takes up quite a lot of filespace, so the authors have pulled together a torrent to make it easier to download the wallpapers.

More: Wallpaper Download Link

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There’s been no sign of any official news or Windows 8 media, but that hasn’t stopped talented designers pulling together their own.  Rajesh Patel has created six Windows 8 Wallpapers that are available for download:

[Start slideshow]

More: Tweaking Windows

(Unofficial) Windows 8 Wallpapers is a post from Windows 8 News, Rumors & Tips - The Latest Microsoft Windows 8 News, Rumours & Screenshots. Visit Windows 8 News, Rumors & Tips for the Latest Microsoft Windows 8 News, Rumors, Tips, Themes, Wallpapers & Guides.

We have our first set of Windows 8 Wallpapers! The Windows 8 Transformation Pack is from the same team who pulled together some of the early Windows 7 Wallpapers.

Within the pack are are Windows 8 Wallpapers and Windows 8 Login Screen backgrounds.

Windows 8 Transformation Pack

Download

More: Windows 8 Transformation Pack

Windows 8 Transformation Pack is a post from Windows 8 News, Rumors & Tips - The Latest Microsoft Windows 8 News, Rumours & Screenshots. Visit Windows 8 News, Rumors & Tips for the Latest Microsoft Windows 8 News, Rumors, Tips, Themes, Wallpapers & Guides.

The following video was not created by Microsoft, but by a UI team in Copenhagen.  It nevertheless still shows some amazing new user experience features that would really make Windows 8 an amazing advance in the Windows series.

Check it out below!

Copenhagen User Experience from Copenhagen Concept.

Unofficial Windows 8 Concept Video is a post from Windows 8 News, Rumors & Tips - The Latest Microsoft Windows 8 News, Rumours & Screenshots. Visit Windows 8 News, Rumors & Tips for the Latest Microsoft Windows 8 News, Rumors, Tips, Themes, Wallpapers & Guides.