Microsoft

Five of the best Windows 8 preview apps (so far)

By // March 12, 2012, 2:31 AM PST

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  • Introduction

    The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is out, along with a limited number of preview apps designed to showcase the new Metro style. Some apps, such as Mail, Messaging, Camera, Maps, People, Reader, Weather, and IE, come pre-installed. Nearly 100 free apps are available in the Windows Store, shown above.

    Here's a look at my favorite preview apps out of the selection available, both pre-installed and downloadable from the Store.

    Note: If you'd prefer to view this information as a blog post, check out this entry in our Five Apps blog.

  • People

    This is a lot like the People hub on Windows Phone; it connects to multiple social networks (Facebook, Twitter, Windows Live, LinkedIn, Google) as well as to your Exchange account and lets you see what your friends are posting. It also serves as the source of contacts for the built-in Mail and Messenger apps and enables you to send email or an IM to someone directly from the app.

  • Remote Desktop

    I've been a big fan of the Remote Desktop feature since it made its Windows client-side debut in Windows XP, so it's no surprise that one of my most-used apps in Windows 8 is Remote Desktop. I think it's going to be a killer app on Windows 8 tablets.

  • Remote Desktop

    You can set the properties for all Remote Desktop connections or you can set them individually by right-clicking on a connection and selecting Edit from the options bar at the bottom of the screen.

  • The Tower by American Airlines

    I'm an aviation buff, so maybe that colors my opinion, but I love this app. I hope they add more functionality to it in future iterations, but for now I just like the way it looks sitting there on my monitor. The Tower lets you check the status of flights, find out where a flight in the air is at the moment, and get the weather and gate postings for AA hub airports.

  • The Tower by American Airlines

    You start by selecting your hub (in my case, DFW). Then you can see the AA flights scheduled for the different terminals. They're color coded to indicate their status. You can see the number of departing and arriving flights, as well.

  • The Tower by American Airlines

    Select a flight, and The Tower displays details such as the arrival and departure terminals and gates, flight duration, type of aircraft, and whether Wi-Fi is available on the flight.

  • YouCam

    YouCam provides a bit more functionality than the built-in Camera app. With YouCam, you can zoom in or out, adjust the brightness without going into menus, apply special effects (distortions, overlays, emoticons, frames), and switch from front to rear camera (if your device has both).

  • SigFig

    Windows 8 CP comes with a Finance app for keeping an eye on your favorite stocks, but SigFig does much more. With it, you can import the accounts from your brokerages (using bank-level security) and track your entire portfolio, with detailed analytics and investment recommendations.

Introduction

The Windows 8 Consumer Preview is out, along with a limited number of preview apps designed to showcase the new Metro style. Some apps, such as Mail, Messaging, Camera, Maps, People, Reader, Weather, and IE, come pre-installed. Nearly 100 free apps are available in the Windows Store, shown above.

Here's a look at my favorite preview apps out of the selection available, both pre-installed and downloadable from the Store.

Note: If you'd prefer to view this information as a blog post, check out this entry in our Five Apps blog.

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By Deb Shinder

Debra Littlejohn Shinder, MCSE, MVP is a technology consultant, trainer, and writer who has authored a number of books on computer operating systems, networking, and security. Deb is a tech editor, developmental editor, and contributor to over 20 add...