Gadgetory

hi I'm Seth Rosenblatt and today we're checking out Microsoft's most ambitious operating system yet the windows 8 beta also known as the consumer preview is in fact rockin a traditional Windows core with the Metro tiled interface means that Microsoft has created the first unified OS for both PCs and tablets and it's got the sink to back it up Windows 8 is big gutsy and there's a whole heck of a lot to show you it may even freak you out just a little bit it's ok you may not like it but trust me you're gonna want to see this there are two big changes to Windows the first and most obvious and the one that's most likely to hurt your brain just a little bit is the touch interface Windows 8 is all kinds of touchy-feely after logging in the first thing you'll see is this new Start screen we saw a rough version of this back in September but now the tiles are interactive and they update in real time more on that in a sec here's how you navigate around swipe in from the right edge and the windows 8 charms will appear these include the instantly recognizable search share start to return to the Start screen devices and settings once you've launched at least one app you can swipe in from the left edge to return to the last open app pinch to zoom out and get a global view of your app groups you can also create new custom groups and move apps around a quick swipe in and then back out on the left edge shows you thumbnails of recently used apps as well as your Start screen at the bottom so yes the start button is hidden but no it's not really that hard to get to it takes about the same effort to get to the Start screen from either edge the left and right edges are for settings so the top and bottom are for the apps themselves an internet explorer for example this means that your location bars at the bottom and your tabs are up top on the Start screen you can get a list view of all your apps in mail you can set up accounts including non Microsoft ones like Gmail create folders sync and more it's a little confusing to note that app settings will often appear under the setting charm even when most settings are accessible from the top or bottom edges so clearly there are some workflow snags that Microsoft hasn't quite worked out yet so what's that second big change Windows 8 is such a loser it's arguably the most social desktop OS out there from the login screen where you can see your calendar and email notifications and set other apps to appear to the real-time updates to your tiles on your Start screen Windows 8 is anything but a static input only experience search is global and includes data from all your apps that have activated these search api hooks of course just being windows you can easily tweak those settings part of being social is syncing and Windows 8 is sync happy connect a Microsoft account such as hotmail or live and you'll be able to sync settings nearly instantaneously from one Windows 8 to another throw in the app syncing from the Windows Store and you've got one heck of a mobilized system SkyDrive will help you keep your file sync to okay fine you can poke it with a stick how does it work with a mouse and keyboard simply connect your traditional interface peripherals and bam scrollbar the screen automatically knows when your mouse is pushing one of the edges and will scroll you through your groups hotkeys get a lot of love in Windows 8 all of the combos for Windows 7 work in Windows 8 even in the Metro interface if you miss Windows 7 or just want the precision of a spreadsheet you can jump to the familiar Windows 7 style desktop with the desktop tile notice that apps here can be designed to appear more like traditional windows so ie10 and Metro is touch tacular while ie10 in desktop mode looks like ie9 even though both ie10 skins are powered by the same engine and have the same features short version Photoshop and other high-precision programs have nothing to worry about those are just two of the biggest changes in Windows 8 but there are tons more security gets a lot of attention and you can choose one of three logins password pin or set a picture login perfect for tablets there's also stuff you're likely to never encounter that's acting you like trusted boot for double-checking system integrity and smart screen to protect you from phishing and Malware there are features like refresh that will reinstall windows 8 without deleting your data multiple monitors support for showing start on one screen and the desktop on the other and more Windows 8 is a heck of a Hail Mary pass if it lands like Vista Microsoft will be in a world of trouble it doesn't look like that's gonna happen though hardware makers are on board Redman says developers are investing heavily in it and it's earning its buzz because there's nothing quite like it out there Windows is ready for you to touch it question is while waiting for the unified desktop mobile experience have people already moved too much into mobile to care for CNET I'm Seth Rosenblatt with your first look at Windows 8 beta