Today is an incredibly exciting day and one that many of you have been looking forward to as today we announced the availability of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview for download. As with several of our other big days in the past, I am putting up this post to help make sure you get to the information and resources you are looking for to get the most from this exciting milestone.

• Welcome to Windows 8 – The Consumer Preview – Blog post by Steven Sinofsky that provides a fantastic overview of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview announcement, a demo video, and much, much more.
• Introducing Windows 8 Consumer Preview – Blog post by the Windows Team that provides a great look at the Windows 8 Consumer Preview and what you can expect to see within it, including links to additional resources, such as the: Windows 8 Consumer Preview IT Pro Forums on TechNet, Windows 8 Consumer Preview forum and the Windows 8 Consumer Preview FAQ, and many more.
• How and where to download the Windows 8 Consumer Preview bits – Ok, who’s looking for how and where they can actually download the Windows 8 Consumer Preview? Well, look no further than with Windows 8 Consumer Preview site.
• Read the official Microsoft Announces Availability of Windows 8 Consumer Preview Press Release in the Microsoft News Center
• Partners – Check out the Windows 8 page on the Microsoft Partner Portal
• Are you a developer? Check out the Windows Dev Center where you can get developer tools and more
• Windows 8 Consumer Preview Product Guide for Business
• Window Team: Want to keep up on the latest from them? Check out these resources:
  • Windows Team Blog
  • Windows 8 Blog
  • @Windows on Twitter
  • @BuildWindows8 on Twitter
  • Windows Store Blog
  • Oh, and have I mentioned recently that all of those (and more) are included under “Windows” as a single stream in the Microsoft Partner Info Mobile App? (Oh how I love that app on days like this for keeping track of all of the exciting news )

Needless to say, as more information becomes available or as I hear requests and questions from you on other resources you are looking for, I’ll be sure to add more information for you. For right now, give those official resources above a spin and let me know how you like the Windows 8 Consumer Preview.

Did you find this information helpful? If so, you may want to make sure you are utilizing all of the areas I share information online, such as:

My Twitter account My Linkedin account My blog My Facebook page

Get the Microsoft Partner Info Mobile App and get access to the latest from all of those plus: product teams, MPN teams, Microsoft News and hundreds more resources here at Microsoft right on your phone:

Thanks again for being a reader of my blog!

Thank you and have a wonderful day,

Eric Ligman – Follow me on TWITTER, LinkedIn, and RSS and see “What I’m thinking”
Director, Worldwide Partner Experience
Microsoft Corporation
This posting is provided "AS IS" with no warranties, and confers no rights