We mentioned it yesterday and apparently in the wee hours of the night Microsoft released the Developer Preview of Windows 8. It is a pre-beta version of the new OS for developers to tinker with and Microsoft makes it clear that you bear the risk of using it, noting that it may not be stable or work correctly.
Microsoft provides several download options (64-bit, 32-bit, with tools, without tools, etc). There are a few system requirements for running the Preview that include:
- 1gb RAM on 32-bit systems or 2gb RAM on 64-bit
- 16gb of hard disk space on 32-bit systems or 20gb of hard drive space on 64-bit
- DirectX 9 graphics with WDDM 1.0 or higher drivers
- 1GHz or faster processor on either 32-bit or 64-bit systems
To take advantage of the touch input, you will need a screen that supports multi-touch. One last note on using the Windows 8 Preview is that you can't uninstall the Preview. To get rid of it, you'll have to reinstall your previous OS via restore or installation media.
If your feeling up to the adventure, you can find the Developer's Preview of Windows 8 here.
Thanks goes out to H3ALY for the tip!
