Windows 8 has been a long time coming. Running on from the success of Windows 7, the last of the desktop-focused operating systems, Microsoft have been planning the next big leap behind closed doors since 2009.

Whilst there are a lot of exposés and articles on the features and changes with Windows 8, I’m a bit too hardcore for that. My hard drive has been wiped, and Windows 8 will be my primary and only OS for as long as I can put up with it. This series of articles will cover what life is really like with the Developer Preview of Windows 8.

It’s important to stress that this is a very early iteration of the OS – it’s still very similar to Windows 7, but quite a few individual things have changed, both on the surface and underneath. I’m running this on an i7 2600k box with 12GB of RAM and a range of hardware and accessories, and I’ll be running everything from essential apps to games and a range of legacy and third-party software to give it a thorough test.

Windows 8 is also much more tablet-focused, but it’s absolutely critical that it works well on standard desktop setups of a keyboard and mouse. Not everyone will be buying a brand-new touch laptop or monitor for the upgrade, certainly not businesses. So whilst I may not be getting the best experience, I’ll be getting the same one that most Windows 8 users will get.

Read on to see my first impressions….