Microsoft has not done probably anything like this before. Windows 8 is so slick that it makes icons, menus, commands, apps slippery to climb up and slip from the screen as you zoom in the interface. It is so wonderful to take an action and navigate on this Metro interface. The Consumer Preview is turned out to be far better than the Developer Preview that was launched in September 2012. The OS is a full-blown departure from its earlier siblings with weird but beautiful features. You may like or love it, but Windows 8 would surely impress you with its surprises.
Gestures
One of the major overhauls noted in Windows 8 Consumer Preview was inclusion of gestures. A lot of keyboard and mouse equivalent actions can be performed through touch based gestures. Seven main gestures are felt on Windows 8.
Swipe Â
Swipe from the right to open the Charms bar that gives access to commands
When you swipe from the bottom to the top of the screen, the app bar opens Metro style apps. Similarly, you can swipe from top to bottom to close the bar. You can use ‘Windows logo+Z’ for this.
Press and hold
You can press and hold to activate a menu. Keyboard users can press Context menu key for this purpose. Press and hold action also surfaces information before taking an action.
SlideÂ
Vertically drawn slide gesture will let you scroll through webpages and lists and also when you want to move an object or you are drawing. Keyboard users need to navigate pages and list through Windows logo and left or right button.
Pinch and stretch
Zoom in by pinching or stretching on the beginning of a list, a particular area of a list or at the end of the list. As you stretch two fingers or make a pinch for taking zooming action.
Rotate
When you rotate your fingers on an object to turn the entire screen real estate or you may rotate any other physical object to turn the screen at 90 degree angle.
A lot more departures in Windows 8 Consumer Preview are in store for you such as inclusion of –
- Devices charm feature (to access the device for data access),
- Settings charm (to take basic actions like raising and lowering the volume or set up an e-mail etc.),
- A new Internet Explorer 10 with Consumer Preview,
- A SmartScreen Filter to detect scam and ‘refresh your PC’ option to perform a fresh installation of Windows
Aren’t they fresh, quick and amazing? There are many more options that you would like to try, touch and experience – and tell us how you feel. Till then, take a look at this official demo of Windows 8 Consumer Preview.
