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I decided to take a break this past week, recharge the batteries and play around a bit with Windows 8. Shown above are shots taken during installation of the Windows 8 Developer Preview edition. I chose to install the full 4.8 GB 64-bit image with developer tools version (download link).

Although there are techniques to install Win 8 on VirtualBox, I instead opted to use a spare drive to test and experience native speed performance. I was pleased with the snappy performance, and the included Metro sample apps had a clean, uncluttered appearance – a first for Windows in my experience.

At this juncture, whilst I think Windows 8 would be great tablet interface, I am still not quite convinced it is the right approach for desktop computing. But it appears that Microsoft has thought of this: The inclusion of a desktop feature that displays the tried and true classic Windows screen should ease the transition for users that are uncertain on how to use the Metro style interface.

As I will be reporting my findings in a bit more detail on this topic in the near future because Metro is relevant to tablets, but I recommend you give Windows 8 a go yourself — especially if you are an IT professional or software developer.