Two weeks ago, Microsoft confirmed that the public beta of Windows 8 will arrive in February 2012, missing the projected date by a mere month. Now a batch of leaked screens has surfaced, seemingly backing up Microsoft's release schedule by revealing the final build of Windows 8 beta -- a build which the company will supposedly sign-off with love an affection by the end of the month.
Unfortunately, this first batch only contains three screen grabs showcasing the new InstallPrep, new themes, and the new Metro-themed start page. The latter picture reveals a few pre-installed apps from the Windows Store like Reader, Weather Beta, Paint, Video, Photos, and more. The second screen showing the Themes window looks slightly different than the Windows 7 version, sporting "flattened" themes and an easier way to select a desktop background.
A separate batch of Windows 8 Beta screens can be found here. These aren't quite a colorful, merely depicting the post-Setup "out of box" experience where end-users configure personal and PC settings. First the user establishes a name for the PC and then the Start screen theme color. After that, end-users go through the motions of setting up Windows 8 on their desktop or laptop -- Windows Update, automatic updates etc. -- and then log on.
