The Windows 8 Release Preview (here's the Windows 8 download) has now been released.
Windows 8 is the next version of Microsoft WindowsOperating Sytemfamily and a true successor of Windows 7.Windows 8 has been completely "reimagined from the chipset to the user experience" to connect more with the user. It features the Metro interface that is designed for touchscreen input similar to that in Windows Phone and on the Xbox 360. A version of Windows 8, called Windows RT, also adds support for the ARM processor architecture .
Although the Windows 8 Release Preview is far from finished (with more changes to the desktop user interface still to come before RTM at the end of July), this is an operating system that has matured significantly since the Consumer Preview release in February.
Windows 8 employ a new user interface Metro Style. The Metro will feature a new tile-based Start screen similar to the Windows Phone operating system. Each tile will represent an application, and will be able to display relevant information such as the number of unread messages on the tile for an e-mail app or the current temperature on a weather application. Metro-style applications run in full-screen, and are able to share information between each other using "contracts. There are numerous improvements to the way you switch apps and open with the mouse, significant improvements have been made to the Mail, Calendar, People and Photos apps; the addition of Flash to Metro-style IE; more Metro apps to try out; more attractive live tiles and a better range of colours for personalising the Start screen.
Running the Windows 8 Release Preview
First of all, Windows 8 Release Preview is only for x86/64 PCs, and there isn't an ARM version that you can download and try out, since there aren't any ARM devices that will run it.Download and installtion of Windows 8 Release Preview is simple enough.You can start the installation directly from the web page, instead of having to download an ISO file and burn that to an optical disc. You can still burn an ISO if you want, and the installer can also create a bootable USB stick so you can download Release Preview once and install it on multiple machines. Upgrading to Windows 8 from Windows 7 you can keep programs, Windows settings, user accounts and files. While upgrade from XP, you only get accounts and files.Hardwrare Requirement
Windows 8 Release Preview will work on the same hardware that powers Windows 7.
The minimum requirement of Windwos Release Preview is 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster processor RAM: 1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit) Hard disk space: 16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)Graphics card: Microsoft DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM driver.
Additional requirements to use certain features:
- To use touch, you need a tablet or a monitor that supports multitouch.
- To access the Windows Store and to download and run apps, you need an active Internet connection and a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768.
- To snap apps, you need a screen resolution of at least 1366 x 768.
Windows 8 Download
Windows 8 product key
If you install Windows 8 Release Preview using the Windows 8 Release Preview Setup program, you won't need to enter a product key—the setup program automatically provides the product key. If you create installation media, start your PC from the media, and then install Windows 8 Release Preview, you'll need to enter this product key: TK8TP-9JN6P-7X7WW-RFFTV-B7QPF.
Personalize
Once you've typed in the product key and agreed to the license and your PC will reboot a couple of times. The Personalize settings are the first screen you see. There are six abstract designs to choose from and 25 colour schemes to choose between, the on-screen slider shows both the colours in each scheme. 
There are also new images you can use for the Lock screen.The touch and mouse gestures don't change dramatically from Consumer Preview; they just work better. Swipe from the right edge of the screen and you still get the charm bar; Search, Share, Start, Devices and Settings. You can do the same thing by leaving your mouse pointer in the top or bottom right corner; first the charms appear as white outlines, then if you don't move your mouse they disappear.
-580-100.jpg "windows 8")
The labels under each app thumbnail (which look so much like TechRadar's new caption style that we're flattered) make the app switcher clearer and the way the Start screen thumbnail pops up as soon as you drop the mouse into the lower left corner of the screen makes it feel more like a rectangular Start button than an unwelcome reminder of Metro.
The Settings charms for Metro apps get labels as well. Instead of saying Start or Mail at the top, the bar is now labelled Settings, with the app name greyed out at the top. are clearer; the options for the Start screen settings are now Tiles and Help rather than Settings and Help and seeing the word Screen makes it more obvious that this is where you change screen brightness than a number and a sun-ray brightness icon.
The Keyboard icon is replaced by the name of the keyboard layout you're using. If there's any choice between cute but confusing and obvious, Release Preview picks obvious.
Others options here have extra options. The Volume bar gets a mute button as well as a slider and instead of turning notifications on or off, you can hide them for one, three or eight hours while you get some work done. This will become more important if you get a lot of mail or calendar alerts to deal with, although they pop up in the top right corner of the screen where they're too not in the way.
It's handy that the first time you put a USB stick in, you can choose whether to open Explorer or do something else, and that will happen automatically next time you insert it. But it could easily get annoying with too many toasts (as Microsoft calls them) popping up.