Windows 8 Consumer Preview

Windows 8 / Windows Server 2012 Resources

Today, Microsoft have released the Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012 release candidate (or Release Preview) builds to the public for testing and feedback.

I’ve compiled a list of the downloads that Microsoft has made available. If anyone has anything to add, leave a comment and I’ll add it to the list.

Windows 8 Release Preview – http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/release-preview

Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate – http://www.tomontech.com/2012/05/windows-server-2012-release-candidate-now-available/

Windows Assessement and Deployment Kit – http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=29929

Remote Server Administration Tools for Windows 8 – http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=28972

Windows Server 2012 Release Candidate now available

Today, Microsoft have made available the Release Candidate build of Windows Server 2012.

Here are the download links for English, French, Spanish, German and Japanese:

English: http://care.dlservice.microsoft.com/download/winsvr2012rc/6/D/7/6D72B71B-AB11-4C93-969D-83DBC5C1972F/8400.0.WINMAIN_WIN8RC.120518-1423_X64FRE_SERVER_EN-US-HRC_SSS_X64FRE_EN-US_DV5.ISO?lcid=1033&cprod=w8svrtn

French: http://care.dlservice.microsoft.com/download/winsvr2012rc/3/3/3/33303107-59F4-40F1-ADFB-FD6E4B0F3E12/8400.0.WINMAIN_WIN8RC.120518-1423_X64FRE_SERVER_FR-FR-HRC_SSS_X64FRE_FR-FR_DV5.ISO?lcid=1036&cprod=w8svrtn

Spanish: http://care.dlservice.microsoft.com/download/winsvr2012rc/2/C/C/2CC04B95-CADC-413F-83C4-61F508EEE522/8400.0.WINMAIN_WIN8RC.120518-1423_X64FRE_SERVER_ES-ES-HRC_SSS_X64FRE_ES-ES_DV5.ISO?lcid=1034&cprod=w8svrtn

German: http://care.dlservice.microsoft.com/download/winsvr2012rc/2/E/2/2E20F438-CB79-4295-9B6B-6FCC2FD4D09E/8400.0.WINMAIN_WIN8RC.120518-1423_X64FRE_SERVER_DE-DE-HRC_SSS_X64FRE_DE-DE_DV5.ISO?lcid=1031&cprod=w8svrtn

Japanese: http://care.dlservice.microsoft.com/download/winsvr2012rc/7/A/B/7ABBC7E6-53B8-4FE7-9DC1-7B1769A671E3/8400.0.WINMAIN_WIN8RC.120518-1423_X64FRE_SERVER_JA-JP-HRC_SSS_X64FRE_JA-JP_DV5.ISO?lcid=1041&cprod=w8svrtn

Samsung releases drivers for Windows 8 on Series 7 Slate

Today, Samsung have released drivers and guidance for installing Windows 8 Consumer Preview on their Series 7 Slate.

Included are firmware and driver update directions, system backup dirextions, an updated driver for the rotation sensor, and updated firmware for the touch screen.

All information can be found at http://www.samsung.com/global/windowspreview/

Pro-tip: Cisco AnyConnect VPN Client and Windows 8 Consumer Preview

If you’re like me and you use the Cisco AnyConnect VPN Client to access corporate resources, you may have noticed that it doesn’t want to work out of the box on Windows 8.

You might see error messages like “The VPN Client driver has encountered an error.” or “Cannot initiate VPN.”

Turns out there is a quick and easy fix for this.

From the Start screen type “regedit” or press the Windows Key+R and type “regedit” and press Enter to launch the Registry Editor.

Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESYSTEMCurrentControlSetServicesvpnva

Double-click on the DisplayName key, and remove the INF information from the display name so that it appears as Cisco AnyConnect VPN Virtual Miniport Adapter for Windows x64. (or the 32-bit / x86 equivalent)

Click OK. Close Registry Editor and launch the AnyConnect client. The connection should work normally.

Known issue with Windows 8 Consumer Preview and Windows Home Server 2011

There is a known issue between Windows 8 Consumer Preview and Windows Home Server 2011. The connector installation requires .NET 3.5, however, Windows 8 Consumer Preview ships with .NET 3.5 turned off. This is an easy fix and will enable the connector to install successfully.

1. From the Start Screen, select Desktop

2. Click the Windows Explorer icon (next to the Internet Explorer icon) on the taskbar.

3. Click on Uninstall or Change a Program on the Ribbon (may need to expand the Ribbon first)

4. Click Turn Windows Features on or off

5. Check the box for .NET Framework 3.5, and click OK

6. You’ll be notified that Windows needs additional files to install the requested feature. Click Download files from Windows Update.

7. Windows will download required files and when done click Close.

That’s it! Now, you can install the Windows Home Server 2011 Connector as you would on any other computer.

Windows 8–Developer Resources

Thought I’d pass this list along for anyone wanting to get started with Windows 8 and Metro style.

Developer downloads

Content	URL	Details
Windows 8 Consumer Preview Download	http://bitly.com/WIN8cp	Windows 8 Consumer Preview download (web installer or ISO’s), videos, and FAQ’s.
Developer downloads for Metro style apps	http://bitly.com/metroDwnld	Visual Studio 11 Express and the Windows 8 SDK + all the extra tools and SDK’s for Metro style app development.
Design assets for Metro style apps	http://bitly.com/MetroUX	100+ Photoshop files with common controls, shell components, tiles, icons, animation clips, color wheel references, and more.

Metro style app developer content

Content	URL	Details
Windows Dev Center home	http://bitly.com/DevCtr	Links to Metro style app, Desktop app, Hardware, and IE development.
Metro style app development home	http://bitly.com/MetroCtr	Links to key resources for designing, developing, and selling Metro style apps.
Product guide for developers	http://bitly.com/PGwin8	Windows 8 Consumer Preview Product Guide for Developers.
Official documentation	http://bitly.com/MetroDocs	Comprehensive docs, articles, quickstarts, roadmaps, tutorials, checklists, developer agreements, and whitepapers covering all aspects of app design, development, and selling: · Getting started · Planning apps · Designing UX for apps · Developing apps · Packaging apps · Debugging and testing apps · Selling apps · API reference · Concepts and architecture · Language reference · End-to-end apps
Design resources	http://bitly.com/DesignUX	Design principles, UX design patterns, detailed UX guidelines, downloadable design assets, assessing usability.
Selling apps in the Windows Store	http://bitly.com/W8Store	Windows Store markets, developer agreements, and checklists to prepare.
Developer downloads for Metro style apps	http://bitly.com/DwnldsMetro	Visual Studio Express and the Windows 8 SDK + extra tools and SDK’s for Metro style app development.
Metro style app samples	http://bitly.com/MetroSmpls	Over 200 official samples from Microsoft are available in multiple programming languages. You can copy code inline, upload new code, rate, and leave comments.
Developer forums	http://bitly.com/MetroForums	Developer forums for Metro style apps covering designing, developing, and selling apps.

Blogs for developers

Blog Name	URL	Details
Building Windows 8 blog (B8)	http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/	An inside look at how, what, and why different features of Windows 8 are being built. This blog is written by Windows President Steven Sinofsky together with members of the Windows engineering team.
Windows Store blog for developers	http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsstore	All about doing business in the Windows Store. Members of the engineering team who’ve built the Windows Store write posts along with Antoine Leblond, Vice President of Windows Web Services.
Windows 8 app developer blog (D8)	http://blogs.msdn.com/b/windowsappdev	Explores best practices for coding and designing Metro style apps. It is written by the team of developers who are building Windows 8.
IE blog	http://blogs.msdn.com/b/ie/	Windows Internet Explorer Engineering Team Blog.
Inside Windows Live blog	http://windowsteamblog.com/ windows_live/b/windowslive/	The engineering being Hotmail, Messenger, SkyDrive, and Windows Live.
Visual Studio Blog	http://blogs.msdn.com/b/visualstudio/	The official source of product insight from the Visual Studio Engineering Team.
The Windows Blog	http://windowsteamblog.com/	Consumer and general interest topics.

Windows Server “8” Beta released

This morning, Microsoft announced the release of the Windows Server “8” beta. Windows Server “8” is the successor to Windows Server 2008 R2 and is a member of the Windows 8 family.

Microsoft has four pillars around the release of Windows Server “8”:

– Windows Server “8” goes beyond virtualization – With this release, Microsoft is building an infrastructure capable of running much more than a simple virtual machine. Features are being built in that enable new public and private cloud based scenarios.

– Windows Server “8” brings the power of many servers and the simplicity of one – New features are added that enable users to take better advantage of commodity storage, provide simplification to server management, and provide uptime in a better and more cost-effective manner.

– Windows Server “8” is designed for every app and every cloud – Server “8” will enable flexibility in deploying applications on-premise or in the cloud or a combination thereof using similar tools and frameworks. Windows Server “8” will be highly scalable and elastic providing for better density and efficiency, as well as providing a better platform for hosting providers.

– Windows Server “8” enables the modern workstyle – Server “8” enables enterprises to offer access to corporate data and applications on any device while providing a secure and seamless experience no matter where users are in the world.

Microsoft’s Bill Laing has a post for more on Windows Server “8” that I highly suggest reading.

If you want to download and evaluate Windows Server “8”, click here.

Download the Windows 8 Consumer Preview and Server “8” Beta

In the interest of speed, here are the download links for Windows 8 Consumer Preview and Windows Server “8” Beta.

5MB ESD Download link – http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/download

Windows 8 Consumer Preview ISOs – http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-8/iso

Windows Server “8” Beta – http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/hh708764.aspx

RSAT Tools for Windows 8 Consumer Preview – http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?id=28972

Microsoft releases Windows 8 Consumer Preview

Today at an event in Barcelona, Spain at Mobile World Congress, Microsoft have announced the availability of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

The consumer preview builds on the developer preview that was released last year during Microsoft’s Build conference. While the previous release was aimed at being mostly an API complete release, today’s release is about consumers and the features consumers will be using within Windows 8.

I don’t yet have an exhaustive list of what’s included in the Consumer Preview, but I wanted to touch on some of the key themes involved with Windows 8:

Metro-style interface – Continuing with the design experience as introduced with Windows Phone, Microsoft is bringing Metro to the desktop with Windows 8. This is huge. Microsoft is give Windows a radical facelift and this doesn’t even begin to include the improvements to the Windows desktop.
Touch-centric interaction – Windows 8 is designed to be touch-centric. What this means is that Microsoft is intending for touch to be the primary interaction, but they haven’t forgotten about mouse and keyboard users either. The Consumer Preview is expected to contain many improvements for mouse and keyboard users.
App Stores are all the rage – Following in the steps of the Windows Phone Marketplace as well as Apple’s Mac App Store and the Android Market, Microsoft is introducing the Windows App Store. The App Store will be used for distributing new Metro-style Apps as well as a listing service for Desktop apps.

A key word that Microsoft has used over and over again is “reimagined.” Windows 8 is exactly that. Reimagined.

For more about Windows 8 or to download the Windows 8 Consumer Preview, visit http://preview.windows.com