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Windows 8 Release Preview puts gadgets in the backseat

Nothing is as fascinating as the thing you can't have yet. Between Windows 8 Release Preview and a deafening cavalcade of iPhone 5 rumors, the current gadget crop didn't stand a chance this week.

This week's roundup of top-rated gear includes everything we've awarded three-and-a-half stars or above in our rating scale, and you can browse all of them in our slideshow. But first, read through our unrated Windows 8 Release Preview, written by Seth Rosenblatt. Seth has spent a lot of time with the new Windows preview, and he's played with the two-screen, app-centric … Read more

How to add Media Center to Windows 8 Release Preview

Microsoft has followed through on its promise to remove Media Center from Windows 8. But you can still install it in the new Release Preview.

Those of you who downloaded yesterday's Windows 8 Release Preview will notice that Media Center is missing from the list of apps on the Start screen and Apps screen. A new Windows FAQ page explains how to grab it for free via the following steps:

From the Metro Start screen or Apps screen, hover to the upper right or left corner of the screen until you see the Charms bar. Click on the Search … Read more

Windows Store, you're still clumsy, despite Windows 8 boost

Yesterday's Windows 8 Release Preview brought a few tweaks to the Windows Store, but shopping at the virtual store still doesn't feel user-friendly.

Those of you who download the new Release Preview will find changes scattered around the Windows Store. Navigation seems to head the list, as described in a new Microsoft blog.

The Windows 8 beta version of the store offered a breadcrumb, a path that shows you where you've been so you can return to a previous page. Microsoft felt that users didn't see or use the breadcrumb, so it removed that in favor … Read more

Windows 8 due 'for the holidays,' but will biz bite?

Microsoft dropped some hints today that the commercial release of Windows 8 could come sooner rather than later, but critics are worried that it's not very business friendly.

Announcing the Windows 8 Release Preview, Microsoft's Steven Sinofsky wrote today in the Building Windows 8 blog that the final version is, at the very least, on track.

"If the feedback and telemetry on Windows 8 and Windows RT match our expectations, then we will enter the final phases of the RTM (release to manufacturing) process in about 2 months," Sinofsky wrote. (Windows RT refers to the version … Read more

Latest Windows 8 shows promise if hardware and apps can keep up (hands on)

Windows 8. It sounds so innocent.

The name of Microsoft's coming operating system implies just another version of an OS once much loved and now much maligned. But Windows 8 means much more to Microsoft: It's a bold attempt to build an Apple-proof operating system, to unify devices that have so far been separate, and to reclaim its right to envision the future of computers.

For Microsoft to succeed with Windows on all platforms, Windows 8 has to work. The changes in today's Release Preview take a step in the right direction, tightening up the operating system … Read more

Where to get the Windows 8 Release Preview

Microsoft has pulled back the curtain on the penultimate update to Windows 8 today, the last step before it gets shipped to manufacturers. Read CNET's Windows 8 Release Preview First Take on the new touch-pad drivers, new default apps, and improved features, and then go see for yourself. You can get the release candidate for free.

Download it from Microsoft's own site or CNET's Download.com.

Related video:

Windows 8 Release Preview expected to land tomorrow

Thanks to an accidental blog post, Microsoft officials may have tipped their hand that the Windows 8 Release Preview -- the final public test build of Windows 8 -- may hit a bit earlier than many expected.

Microsoft officials have been promising for weeks that Windows 8 Release Preview would be available for download during the first week of June. But a post today -- now pulled -- on a new Windows Hardware and Driver Developer blog -- outlined plans for availability for the Release Preview with a "download here" link that slated to go live on tomorrow. … Read more

Windows 8 tinkering points to news, sports apps

With a June unveiling fast approaching, Microsoft continues to refine its Release Preview for Windows 8.

The latest tidbit to emerge about the early version of the forthcoming Windows interface is the apparent inclusion of Metro-style apps for news, sports, and travel, according to The Verge, which cites a screenshot posted to WinUnleaked.tk (registration required). For those of you keeping track, this is from Windows 8 Release Preview with Media Center Build 8400.0.x86fre.winmain_win8rc.120518-1423, according to WinUnleaked.

Last week, we learned of other tweaks and changes in recent internal builds of Windows 8, including the removal … Read more

Windows 8 Metro apps freshen up for Release Preview

Microsoft is tweaking its core Metro apps for the upcoming Windows 8 Release Preview.

Already showing up in the newest internal builds of Windows 8, the updated apps offer new features, changes to the user interface, and the removal of the "app preview" title, says The Verge. Included in the revamp are the Windows 8 Mail, Calendar, People, and Messaging app; the Photos App, the Music app, and the Microsoft Reader.

Some of the updates are floating about internally at Microsoft but are not available for the Windows 8 beta, aka Consumer Preview. Instead, Microsoft will unveil them … Read more