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TechReviewSource.com posted a hands on review on the final version of Windows 8



On August 1, Microsoft released Windows 8 to PC manufacturers. Starting yesterday, developers can download this final build of the operating system from TechNet or MSDN and reviewers like me are finally allowed to write about the final version of Microsoft's big gamble for the future of Windows. The public release of the operating system and PCs running it won't happen until its General Availability on October 26. I got an early look, and tested the latest version of the OS by upgrading an Intel-based Windows 8 Samsung tablet to RTM. The public can still get a pretty close idea of what Microsoft's re-imagining of Windows is like by downloading the Release Preview and installing it on any Windows 7–capable hardware.

Never has there been a more apt application of the acronym FUD—fear, uncertainly, and doubt—when it came to an approaching operating system. Uncertainty can certainly characterize a lot of people's thoughts about Windows 8, and one of the main uncertainties is that they're not sure whether it's a tablet operating system or a desktop one…because it's both. And that, for some reason, confuses people. Microsoft has often used the phrase "no compromises," meaning you get the best of both worlds, but a lot of desktop users will feel that their Windows 8 interface is compromised in favor of touch tablets.
  Hands On With Windows 8 RTM