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Microsoft Windows 8 public beta scheduled for February 2012 release
Microsoft has announced the release of Windows 8 public beta in February next year. The software giant has recently revealed this during a developer’s conference, and adds that their app portal, dubbed the “Windows Store”, will also launch together with the beta, and offers free Metro-styled apps.
Microsoft has announced during a developers’ meeting on 6 December at San Francisco that a public beta version of Windows 8 operating software will be released in late February. Based on the announced date, it appears that Windows 8 should be on schedule to launch near the end of 2012. Since last year in September, some 13 million copies of Windows 8 Developer Preview had been distributed, which is a considerably large fraction in the entire market of Windows-powered PC, given its infant stage of release.
While news of the beta release is certainly delighting, most of the limelight during the conference falls on Microsoft’s new app portal called the "Windows Store", which will launch on the same day as the Windows 8 beta. If there is one thing to be happy about, it will be the fact that all the apps are free, at least for now, though it is reported that all of it will cater to the tablet-oriented Metro-styled application, while legacy applications for Windows 7 or earlier will be sold through the developers on their own websites.
Source: Tom's Hardware
