Windows 8 Test Version Expected in February 2012 Launch

Windows 8 will be officially released in 2012, but the actual expected date for the completion and shipment of the upcoming Microsoft operating system remains, the online marketplace for Metro-style Windows 8 applications.
Apple's Mac App Store and iTunes Store already operational and selling both computer and tablet applications. Still, no information has been imparted yet on precisely what will be in the public beta of Windows 8, the feature set not yet released nor specified at the moment. Microsoft promised to make an application store that was more flexible, more transparent, and ultimately more lucrative for developers than Apple's.

App developers will be key to Microsoft’s effort because new Windows machines based on chip technology from ARM Holdings Plc won’t be able to run older Windows programs.Microsoft wants to do better, with a standard validation process that developers can use even before they make their submission, and an online tracker that tells them which phase their application is in and how long they can expect the process to take.

Microsoft is rushing to complete Windows 8 to give it an operating system capable of running thinner, lighter tablet machines that can rival Apple Inc.’s iPad. Microsoft was keen to stress just how big the Windows market actually is claiming 1.25 billion PCs total, and 500 million Windows 7 licenses shipped compared with 247 million Android devices, 152 million iOS devices, and 30 million Macs in the same period. Microsoft will offer the most successful app builders a bigger cut of sales than Apple does.

Windows is available worldwide, and the same will be true of the store: it will be available in 231 markets, more than 100 languages, with purchases in 58 currencies. Payments to developers will be made in any one of 31 currencies. Internet Explorer 10 on Windows 8 will have a special button to allow developers to link directly to their applications in the store, and applications will also show up in Bing searches.

Microsoft has confirmed this milestone today, the official version of Windows 8 should be on track for its expected third quarter release next year. Microsoft has described the Windows 8 development process as similar to that of Windows 7, with a preview release, a single beta, and then a single release candidate, instead of the multiple betas and release candidates seen with previous Windows releases. The company has said over the past several years that its goal is to release a new version of Windows about every three years. The last one went on sale in October 2009.