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Microsoft Signing Off on Windows 8 Build 8250 as Preview

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It's soon time for a fresh coat of Windows.

Windows 8 will soon be in the hands of the public for those who don't mind experimenting on non-production machines. According to the Verge, Microsoft will be signing off on the Windows 8 Consumer Preview build that will be released next week.

Microsoft supposedly will be putting the latest touches on this Windows 8 version that is expected to carry the build number 8250. The release is expected to happen at the company's Mobile World Congress event in Barcelona at 3 p.m. CET (9 a.m. ET).

Also expected to hit on February 29 are the beta versions of Windows Server 8 and Visual Studio 11.

If you have an older or non-essential computer (or room for a spare partition), this weekend would be a good time to get it prepped for the free preview software.

Read more from @MarcusYam on Twitter.

Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam
Marcus Yam served as Tom's Hardware News Director during 2008-2014. He entered tech media in the late 90s and fondly remembers the days when an overclocked Celeron 300A and Voodoo2 SLI comprised a gaming rig with the ultimate street cred.
40 Comments Comment from the forums
  • madooo12
    I have a partition ready for a month

    when Win8 DP came out I didn't have a spare partition so I installed it instead of my OS about 19 hours after it came out

    currently I'm running ubuntu but I'll be sure to get Win8 CP once it comes out
    Reply
  • skyline100
    Looking forward to it.
    Reply
  • bin1127
    I hope the only improvements made isn't just the metro interface. I'll find a computer to try out the preview.
    Reply
  • confish21
    Really looking forward to a full format and install. Just free me from this Vista contraption.
    Reply
  • My favorites are "Windows To Go" and Hyper-V (on client editions).
    Reply
  • PuckerFactor
    All that money, all that programming, all those resources to draw upon...and the GUI looks like some secretary knocked it all up on PowerPoint.
    Reply
  • theconsolegamer
    confish21Really looking forward to a full format and install. Just free me from this Vista contraption.Vista is pretty much stable now.
    Reply
  • JOSHSKORN
    not looking forward to it. I love Windows 7. I'm not in a hurry to upgrade until the jury has reached a verdict on Windows 8. Windows Vista was so bad I was in a hurry to upgrade to Windows 7.
    Reply
  • friskiest
    I'll rather see trolls in here than someone telling her best friend's step mom or whatever got money from fishy sites.
    Reply
  • nebun
    can't wait....my partition is waiting for it :)
    Reply