Read more here: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/08/01/releasing-windows-8-august-1-2012.aspx

Josh Bryant

Cybersecurity Product Leader and internationally recognized Speaker at several Information Security conferences and events with over 26 years of experience as a proven leader in Cybersecurity, Product Management, Threat Hunting, Incident Response, IT Management, IT Architecture, IT Operations, IT Engineering, and Messaging Systems, on a global scale, across a diverse set of industries in both the Public and Private sectors.

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The post Windows 8 released to manufactures, and general availability announced. first appeared on Fix The Exchange!.

Here are some screen shots showing the new look of the Consumer Preview:

First boot now has a fish…

New color and logo for the install…

You're not asked to enter a product key.

You can now choose a background color.  In the Developer Preview you were stuck with the green.

Logging in…

Start screen has quite a few new apps on it compared to the Developer Preview.

The Pinball FX2 caught my eye… it was too slow and not playable inside my VM.

The Messaging App is basically the new MSN Messenger or Live Messenger, whatever they're calling it these days.

The People app lets you connect to several social networking and E-mail Services.

Maps is powered by Bing… big shock there right?

The Video app looks pretty cool, lets you buy or rent movies.

The weather app is still beautiful.

I could probably take a million more screen shots, but it's a lot more fun if you download, install, and try it out for yourself, so I'll leave it at that.   Enjoy!

Josh Bryant

Cybersecurity Product Leader and internationally recognized Speaker at several Information Security conferences and events with over 26 years of experience as a proven leader in Cybersecurity, Product Management, Threat Hunting, Incident Response, IT Management, IT Architecture, IT Operations, IT Engineering, and Messaging Systems, on a global scale, across a diverse set of industries in both the Public and Private sectors.

192.168.2.21:30040

The post How-To: Install Windows 8 Consumer Preview on VMWare Workstation 8 first appeared on Fix The Exchange!.

The Windows 8 Consumer preview is available for download here.

It is available in 5 different languages, including English, Chinese, French, German, and Japanese.   The 64-bit ISO is 3.3GB and the 32-bit ISO is 2.5GB.   Product key is on the download page.

Josh Bryant

Cybersecurity Product Leader and internationally recognized Speaker at several Information Security conferences and events with over 26 years of experience as a proven leader in Cybersecurity, Product Management, Threat Hunting, Incident Response, IT Management, IT Architecture, IT Operations, IT Engineering, and Messaging Systems, on a global scale, across a diverse set of industries in both the Public and Private sectors.

192.168.2.21:30040

The post Windows 8 Consumer Preview available today! first appeared on Fix The Exchange!.

UPDATE: If you came here because the Windows 8 Consumer Preview was released today (02/29/2012), this guide is good for this new release too!  There are a few cosmetic changes to the install, but everything is essentially the same.
 
You will need:

• VMware Workstation 8 (30-day Free Trial available, $99 to upgrade from version 7, $199 to buy new)*.
• Windows 8 Developer Preview UPDATE: Or Windows 8 Consumer Preview (Free download!)**

*This will NOT work on Workstation 7, if you haven't already, you need to upgrade before continuing.  If you don't want to upgrade, the Windows 8 Developer Preview will install on VirtualBox 4.1.2, which is free.
 
**I used the top download, Windows Developer Preview with developer tools English, 64-bit (x64).
 
 
Step 1: Create the Virtual Machine

From the VMWare Workstation 8 home screen, click "Create a new Virtual Machine" or hit "CTRL+N".

Select "Custom (advanced)" then click "Next".

Select "Workstation 8.0" then click "Next"

Browse to the location you saved the Windows 8 Developer Preview .iso file, select it, and click "Next".

Select "Microsoft Windows" then select "Windows 7 x64" in the "Version" drop down box, and click "Next".
Note: If you're trying to install the 32bit version, just select "Windows 7".  The Windows 8 Developer Preview isn't even a Beta version yet, so don't expect to see it in this list anytime soon.

There's no key, and we won't be using the "Easy Install" feature, so just click "Next", we'll turn the "Easy Install" off later.

Give your VM a name, and click "Next".

1 CPU and 1 Core are fine, you can give it more if desired.  Click "Next".

2 GB of RAM is recommended for 64bit, if you're installing 32bit, use 1GB.  Click "Next".

Choose a network type, I like to use "Bridged", and click "Next".
 
Select "LSI Logic SAS" and click "Next".

Select "Create a new virtual disk" and click "Next"

Select "SCSI" and click "Next"

The recommended minimum is 20GB, specify a size, select "Store virtual disk as a single file" and click "Next".

Accept the default and click "Next".

Uncheck "Power on this virtual machine after creation", and click "Finish".

Step 2: Remove the Floppy from the VM.

Edit the VM Settings for the VM you just created.

Select "Floppy" then click "Remove".

Note: If you do not do this, the installation will fail.

Step 3: Power on the VM and install Windows 8 Developer Preview.

Install boot screen:

Select your language and click "Next".

Click "Install now".

Check the "I accept the license terms" box and click "Next".

Click "Custom (advanced)".

Select the disk and click "Next"

This screen takes approximately 10 minutes to complete.

Give your PC a name and click "Next"

I used the express settings.

You can logon with your "Windows Live ID" if desired.   If you don't want to, or don't have one, click "Don't want to log on with a Windows Live ID?".

If you're not going to use a "Windows Live ID" Click "Local account".

Create a user name and password, then click "Next"

That's it!  Now you can play around with Windows 8 without worrying about breaking anything.   You'll probably want to install the VMware Tools, click the "Desktop" square before telling Workstation 8 to install the tools.   If you get an error message about the "Easy Install", power the VM off, edit the settings, and remove the Floppy drive.  Sometimes it adds itself back in there after the install, even though we removed it beforehand.

Josh Bryant

Cybersecurity Product Leader and internationally recognized Speaker at several Information Security conferences and events with over 26 years of experience as a proven leader in Cybersecurity, Product Management, Threat Hunting, Incident Response, IT Management, IT Architecture, IT Operations, IT Engineering, and Messaging Systems, on a global scale, across a diverse set of industries in both the Public and Private sectors.

192.168.2.21:30040

The post How-To: Install Windows 8 Developer Preview on VMware Workstation 8 first appeared on Fix The Exchange!.

Notice how it suggests you search for the error online.

Josh Bryant

Cybersecurity Product Leader and internationally recognized Speaker at several Information Security conferences and events with over 26 years of experience as a proven leader in Cybersecurity, Product Management, Threat Hunting, Incident Response, IT Management, IT Architecture, IT Operations, IT Engineering, and Messaging Systems, on a global scale, across a diverse set of industries in both the Public and Private sectors.

192.168.2.21:30040

The post Windows 8’s new “BSOD” first appeared on Fix The Exchange!.

Keep an eye on the Windows Dev Center, as the download will be posted there.
 

I'll be downloading it and writing up a full review as soon as I can.
 
 

Josh Bryant

Cybersecurity Product Leader and internationally recognized Speaker at several Information Security conferences and events with over 26 years of experience as a proven leader in Cybersecurity, Product Management, Threat Hunting, Incident Response, IT Management, IT Architecture, IT Operations, IT Engineering, and Messaging Systems, on a global scale, across a diverse set of industries in both the Public and Private sectors.

192.168.2.21:30040

The post Windows 8 Developer Preview Available Tonight first appeared on Fix The Exchange!.

Windows 8 is set to use almost 50% less RAM than Windows 7.  It shed a few processes, and uses significantly less CPU resources.
 

Josh Bryant

Cybersecurity Product Leader and internationally recognized Speaker at several Information Security conferences and events with over 26 years of experience as a proven leader in Cybersecurity, Product Management, Threat Hunting, Incident Response, IT Management, IT Architecture, IT Operations, IT Engineering, and Messaging Systems, on a global scale, across a diverse set of industries in both the Public and Private sectors.

192.168.2.21:30040

The post Windows 8 to use fewer resources. first appeared on Fix The Exchange!.