In less than 24 hours, the near feature-complete Windows 8 Consumer Preview (aka Beta) will be made available for everyone outside Microsoft to download, install, touch and taste.

Windows 8 is undeniably, one of the biggest single updates to Windows since the introduction of Windows 95. Some argue that it’s the biggest shake-up to Windows since the launch of Windows 3.0 back in 1990.

I couldn’t agree more!

I’ve been using Windows 8 on a daily basis since the developer preview (DP) was released in September 2011. I have been running Windows 8 on a variety of devices – installed locally on a Samsung Slate and Sony Vail Z Series laptop, running in virtual machines and accessing both locally and via remote desktop using a MacBook Pro (primarily running Windows 7) coupled to a 29” Apple Thunderbolt display in order to see how Windows 8 looks and feels on a larger-format display.

Now the the Windows 8 story is stabilizing and with the imminent introduction of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview (CP), I’ll be increasing my posting volume considerably in the coming weeks and months. My goal is to offer you, dear reader, with a balanced, real-world view of Windows 8 – both the good, and the bad – without any of the over-the-top hyperbole and anti-Microsoft-at-all-cost fanaticism we see all too often on the web today.

I’ll be discussing Windows 8 from both the end-user perspective, as well from the perspective of a seasoned developer interested in exploring Microsoft’s exciting new app platform and examining strategies for porting existing Win32/.NET apps to run in the new MOSH environment.

I encourage you to add your comments, questions, thoughts and opinions, but please keep things reasonable and constructive. Unnecessary flames and abusive nonsense will be removed.