Windows 8 DP Reaches 3M Downloads

Microsoft has announced that the Windows 8 DP has reached over 3 million downloads since it was first released. Of course this should be to no surprise to people considering Windows is the most popular operating system out there.

I’d imagine that nearly all the developers and Windows enthusiasts have all grabbed a copy of Windows 8 Developer Preview by now. Of course the main reason people are downloading the new operating system is to get a look at the new Windows 8 interface. Developers will also be looking at what apps they can create which will utilise the new features in Windows 8.

For those wanting the absolute best experience out of Windows 8, you'll probably want to use a device with a touchscreen like a tablet or an all in one desktop with a touchscreen.

Microsoft has said that they’ll be releasing the first Beta of Windows 8 in February which is expected to have a few changes from this developer preview. Microsoft stressed that the Windows 8 Developer Preview is far from finished and has a lot of work still to be done on it.

Let’s see if this DP lives up to the hype and expectations set forth by Microsoft.

Installing Windows 8 Developer Preview From A USB Stick

Hey Guys,

This guide will walk you through how to install Windows 8 from a USB Stick. Essentially, this will make installing Windows 8 much faster, portable and easy to install on those devices without optical drives such as Net books.

1. First off you'll want to grab yourself a copy of the Windows 8 Developer Preview.

2. Next, download the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download Tool. While this tool is specifically mean't for Windows 7, it works just fine with Windows 8. This tool will let you copy your Windows 8 ISO to your USB Stick. 

Note: You'll need to have a USB Stick with at least 8 GB of space. Make sure there is absolutely no data on it as this till will delete it.

3. Simply follow the instructions the tool provides you with when you run it. Essentially you'll wipe your USB Stick, copy the ISO and then make it boot-able.

4. Plug the USB Stick into the computer you want to install Windows 8 on and boot from it. Sometimes you may have to tweak some settings in your BIOS or select your boot device by entering the boot menu at start up (Generally you hit F10 or F2 at start up, it depends on your computer). Once you’ve done this, all you have to do is follow the Windows 8 installation instructions.

2012 Battle.net World Championship Event

Blizzard Entertainment is proud to announce the 2012 Battle.net World Championship, a major global eSports event featuring some of the best pro-gaming competition in the world. Slated to take place in Asia toward the end of 2012, the Battle.net World Championship will host this year’s StarCraft II and World of Warcraft Arena World Championship tournaments. Blizzard gamers and eSports fans from around the world will be invited to attend and witness some of the most skilled pro players on the planet battle it out for cash and glory.

We’re excited to be showcasing Blizzard eSports on a truly global stage this year. We're also heavily focused on getting Diablo III, Mists of Pandaria, and Heart of the Swarm into players’ hands as soon as possible. In light of our jam-packed schedule, we’ve decided to hold the next BlizzCon in 2013.

More details about the 2012 Battle.net World Championship and BlizzCon 2013, including specific dates and locations, will be coming in the months ahead.

Blizzcon 2012 Cancelled

Looks like this year Blizzard Entertainment fans from all over the world will have to find something else to do late October 2012. Anyone who goes to this event every year has already heard the terrible news, there will be no BlizzCon this year. Sadly this year no one will be able to go because Blizzard  Entertainment decided to not have Blizzcon this year due to lack of content and things to release to get people excited. Instead, this year Blizzard will be hosting the Battle.net Tournament and pumping massive work into the three upcoming games they have coming out this year, Starcraft 2: Heart of the Swarm, Diablo 3, and World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria.

World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria Revealed

The 4th World of Warcraft expansion set, Mists of Pandaria, has been unveiled! In Mists of Pandaria, players will be able to explore an all-new continent while reaching new heights of power on their way to an increased level cap of 90. In addition, adventurers can choose whether to side with the Horde or the Alliance as World of Warcraft’s first neutral race -- the pandaren -- and master the ways of Pandaria’s ancient martial arts as the all-new monk class.

For more information, visit the new World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria website for screenshots, information about the new features, concept art, the announcement trailer, and more.

How To Install Windows 8 Developer Preview

Hey Guys,

Here is what you need to do to get Windows 8 Developer Preview up and running.

• First off, be sure to download a copy of Window 8 Developer Preview and Virtual Box.
• Once you've installed Virtual Box, it's time to setup your virtual machine. You should see the screenshot below when you start up Virtual Box. Click on the New icon (top left in blue) and this will begin the setup wizard.

• Hit Next and it'll then ask you what it is you want to install. Fill in the details as I have in the screenshot below. Note, select Windows 7 64-bit, not other Windows OS as this won't work. There will probably be an update for Windows 8 soon enough, but it's an option at the moment.

• After you've filled all this in, hit Next and you'll be asked how much RAM you want allocated to the Virtual Box. Depending on how much RAM you have, you might want to increase or decrease this.

• Next, you'll be allocating a virtual hard drive for Windows 8 to run on. The default is 20 GB and this should be plenty. Unless you already have prepared a partition or Virtual Drive, it's easier just to let Virtual Box do the work for you. I opted for a VHD in this case instead of the default Virtual Box Drive, but that shouldn't make a difference. 

• You'll also be asked if you want a Dynamic Drive or Fixed Drive. I'd leave it as a Dynamic Drive. This means that the drive will increase in size until it reaches the max size you allocated for it.

• After that, you'll be asked what size you want the drive to be. I left mine as the default, 20 GB.

• Once you click Next, you'll be asked to confirm that you want to create these virtual drives. Go ahead and confirm this and then we can get on to installing Windows 8.
• Once you get back to Virtual Box, you'll see a new Machine has been added. Highlight that machine and then click Start. This will boot up the machine and run the first boot setup wizard. It's now that you'll be asked where you would like to install and OS from. Select the Windows 8 Developer Preview ISO image from wherever you saved it.

• Click Next and the Windows 8 setup wizard will begin. Just simply follow the steps and then accept the license agreement.

• Windows will ask you if you want to upgrade or do a custom install. The answer here is to select a Custom Install as we are installing the OS from scratch.

• You'll then be asked to confirm where it is you want to install Windows 8. The Virtual hard drive you created earlier should be the default option.

• After this, Windows 8 will begin to install itself. All you have to do it wait and let it do it's thing and enter information asked. Congrats, you've now installed Windows 8 on your system. Enjoy!!

Windows 8 Developer Preview ISO Download Links

Below are the download links to the Windows 8 Developer Preview released by Microsoft for Developers and Windows enthusiast to play around with. To download Windows 8 Developer Preview, click on the relevant links below.

Windows 8 Developer Preview with developer tools English, 64-bit (x64)

Windows 8 Developer Preview English, 64-bit (x64)

Windows 8 Developer Preview English, 32-bit (x86)

System Requirements:

The Windows 8 Developer Preview works great on the same hardware that powers Windows Vista and Windows 7:

• 1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor.
• 1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2GB RAM (64-bit).
• 16GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20GB (64-bit).
• DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver.
• Taking advantage of touch input requires a screen that supports multi-touch.
• To run Metro style Apps, you need a screen resolution of 1024 x 768 or greater.