Developer Preview

Windows 8 will hit the market in the fourth quarter, according to a Fujitsu product road map.

Touting its upcoming notebooks and tablets in a press conference yesterday, the company displayed one slide that showed a Win8 launch destined for "Q4 2012." Revealed by Italian blogging site NetbookItalia (English translation), the slide also showed a tablet with a Metro user interface, suggesting that Fujitsu is prepping a Windows 8 tablet for the same time frame.

In fact, as some reports have pointed out, the slide may actually be referring specifically to the debut of the Fujitsu tablet, meaning the new more

The next beta of Windows 8 will apparently give us a healthy dose of Metro apps, whether we want them or not.

Microsoft plans to release the Windows 8 Consumer Preview--basically, a pre-release version of the new OS available to anyone who wants to download it--on February 29. Microsoft is reportedly finalizing the Metro apps that will be bundled with the new OS. Citing "sources familiar with Microsoft's plans," the Verge revealed the current list as:

• Calendar
• Camera
• Mail
• Messaging
• Music
• People
• Photos
• SkyDrive
• Video

These are just the apps known so far, so there could be more more

Microsoft has already cooked up a special Bing page tempting users to check out its upcoming Windows 8 "Consumer Preview."

The first clue is the video of a betta fish swimming from one edge of the screen to the other. Thought of as Microsoft's mascot for beta versions of new operating systems, that particular fish swam its way onto the desktop of the beta for Windows 7 in 2009.

But other more obvious clues are the hot spots and links scattered across the screen that refer specifically to Windows 8 Consumer Preview. Since the page is still a work more

Windows 8 activity among developers and other early adopters has fallen over the past three months, says a new study from ad network Chitika.

Looking at ad impressions for the Windows 8 Developer Preview on its own network earlier this month, Chitka found that they were measurably lower than ones seen in September.

Specifically, the new data compared impressions during the week of December 4 with those found toward the end of September, shortly after Microsoft launched the Developer Preview to the public. The stats released on September 26 showed a healthy jump in online activity in just a one-week more

Will the average Windows PC user jump to Windows 8 next year or snub the new OS as a platform geared more for mobile devices?

Weighing in with a strong opinion on that question is research firm IDC, which recently unveiled a list of its top ten predictions for 2012. Key among them was one forecast eyeing doom and gloom for Windows 8, certainly in the desktop arena.

The next version of Windows will be Microsoft's first attempt to offer the same operating system for both PCs and mobile devices. IDC expects Windows 8 products to hit the market more

A public beta of Windows 8 will launch in late February of next year, says tech news site The Next Web.

Citing "sources close to Microsoft," TNW pointed to February for the beta's debut but said the release date for the final version of Windows 8 remains a mystery, though it's expected to ship next year.

Mary Jo Foley of CNET sister site ZDNet said she's heard that the beta would appear after next month's Consumer Electronics Show, which runs from January 10 to 13, but Foley said she isn't aware of any specific dates.more

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer really wants to sell you on Windows 8, touting features ranging from a new lock screen that still shares updates to the benefits of the controversial Metro user interface.

In a demo and discussion of the new OS at the Dell World conference on Friday, Ballmer focused on four key features, according to a report from Information Week, though some of it was ground that's already been covered.

Some of the folks who received free Windows Developer tablets at Microsoft's Build conference last week are already trying to turn a tidy profit from them via eBay.

A quick search on the online auction site today for "Windows Developer tablet" scored four of the Samsung devices, each selling for a cool minimum of $2,000. Microsoft handed out the tablets as freebies last Tuesday to the more than 5,000 people who attended the developers conference at which the company demoed its upcoming OS.

Related stories:
• Windows 8 rules at Microsoft Build (roundup)
• Windows 8 Developer Preview: Come and get it

Those of you interested in taking the current flavor of Windows 8 for a spin can now download and install the Developer Preview edition.

Being demoed at Microsoft's Build conference this week, the Developer Preview is a prebeta version showing off the operating system at its current stage. Though technically designed for developers, no registration is required, so anyone can download and install it.

Related stories:
• Windows 8 debuts at Microsoft Build (live blog)
• An early, first look at Windows 8 (hands-on)
• Take an early tour of Windows 8 (photos)
• Windows 8 to offer both Metro and desktop interface