Windows 8 First Look

Windows 8 Metro Display
Minimim Requirements to install Windows 8

The official Windows 8 has been released. We already tested on the Windows 8 and it works relatively the same requirements as in Windows 7 or Vista. Of course, having a touchscreen enhances your Windows experiences thanks to the multi-touch gesture.

  • 1 GHz or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor
  • 1 GB RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
  • 16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)
  • DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver
  • Fully support touch features with a touchscreen display


Tutorial

Lock screen

When you turn on the PC for the first time, you will see the lock screen, but unfortunately displays no clues about what to do next. Simply touch or click on the mouse to trigger the login screen. Enter your username and password from the onscreen keyboard or USB keyboard.

Basic navigation

Windows 8 launches with its new Metro interface, all colourful tiles and touch-friendly apps. And if you're using a tablet then it'll all be very straightforward: just swipe left or right to scroll the screen, and tap any tile of interest.

Don't see what you're looking for? Try moving your mouse cursor to each of the four corners on the screen to reveal more options! Where's the desktop? Try the top left corner and move your mouse downward.

Apps Grouping

The Start screen apps are initially displayed in a fairly random order, but if you'd prefer a more organised life then it's easy to sort them into custom groups.

You might drag People, Mail, Messaging and Calendar over to the left-hand side, for instance, to form a separate "People" group. Click the magnifying glass icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to carry out a "semantic zoom", and you'll now find you can drag and drop the new group (or any of the others) around as a block. Right-click on the block to give a group name.

Windows Store or Marketplace

The Windows Store lets you tap into the broad customer reach of Microsoft Windows. The Windows Store is a marketplace where you can buy or sell apps to customers practically anywhere in the world.

Can I download Windows 8 Release Preview for Free?

Yes, download Windows 8 RP is available from Microsoft Download Page. It's a beta version so it will be expired, but no expiry date specified yet.