It has been rumored that Microsoft would be releasing a beta of Windows 8 in the fall. Specifically, it is rumored that a beta release will happen at this year’s BUILD event that will take place in September. While there has been previous talk that a pre-release of Windows 8 arriving in the fall, this new information helps to confirm that Microsoft is still on track for a fall release.
In a post to kick off a new blog, Steven Sinofsky, said that there will be a beta of Windows 8 in the “coming months”. The blog post talks about what to expect from Microsoft over the next few weeks as they prepare for BUILD and post BUILD blog posts.
The post also responded to criticism about how quiet they have been so far with features for Windows 8. In a nut shell, Sinofsky said that they have learned from past mistakes about unveiling features too early and not delivering. He states:
We’ve heard people express frustration over how little we’ve communicated so far about Windows 8. We’ve certainly learned lessons over the years about the perils of talking about features before we have a solid understanding of our ability to execute.
With BUILD rapidly approaching, Microsoft is about to become much more vocal about Windows 8 and what all it will bring to the table. Until Microsoft officially announces the feature set, everything is a rumor at this point.
Microsoft expects Windows 8 to be a major release and they have previously shown off their tablet interface which shows a lot of potential. But, what Microsoft has up its sleeve for the desktop experience, remains to be seen.