I hate it when I can’t find the START button on Windows 8. As promised, Microsoft has released the preview version of Windows 8.1 which will allow one to go back to the familiar desktop interface.
If you are ready and willing to test out the preview, you can head over to Microsoft’s website to start downloading the Windows 8.1 Preview right now. The Preview release will be open to all users sometime today or tomorrow, but so far Microsoft has only enabled downloads for users of Windows 8 — though we haven’t been able to see the update on every computer that we tested it on. Those users can begin getting the update by visiting Microsoft’s website and initiating a small update for Windows itself. Afterward, the device will restart and direct users to the Windows Store where an update to the 8.1 Preview release is available to download.
Microsoft says that the full release should be open to everyone sometime soon. When that happens, users on Windows 7 will be able to upgrade as well, while everyone else will be able to use the download to perform a fresh install.