All About - Windows8

The Windows 8 Developer Preview is open for anyone and everyone to try out. However, installing it somewhere — whether on an actual computer or on a virtual machine — is troublesome for many. Additionally, it is not a stable OS yet either. So a lot of things are simply not available or working properly. This is where the Windows 8 Simulator Beta comes in handy.

As the name suggests, it simulates the Windows 8 experience without you having to go through the trouble of dealing with the problems on an actual OS. It is a simple instance of Windows 8 running in its own little sandboxed application. It does no tinteract with the OS that it is running upon because it doesn’t actually behave like an OS. It is simply an application that has been designed to mimic the Windows 8 Metro look and feel and give you some of the same functionalities.

It gives you a real feel of the Metro UI and also allows you to experience web browsing and other things as you would experience it on the actual OS. It also has Facebook and Twitter apps.

However, the functions are still quite limited. You only have the Metro side of the OS, the web browser and some other functions. There’s no customization at all and you will only get a superficial demonstration of the OS. But it can be a great way to decide whether you really want to invest time and effort installing Windows 8 Developer Preview.