Windows 8 Beta Simulator

Windows 8 Beta Simulator allows you to preview the look and feel of Windows 8 without actually installing the OS. It provides access to a few features that Windows 8 encases in a virtual environment that can be run virtually on any computer.
The idea behind this product is to deliver a part of the Windows 8 experience without the need to deploy an OS or other heavy components. In fact, the impact of Windows 8 Beta Simulator onto system resources is minimum, almost neglectable.
Windows 8 Beta Simulator comes across as an operable environment, in which some Windows 8 applications have been included and can be manipulated to some extent. However, the package does not encase all of the features characteristic to Windows 8, thereby it is not a replacement for Microsoft’s OS.
The program installs in a jiffy and ends up creating a desktop shortcut, from where you can easily access it at any time. Upon launch, the application initiates the virtual OS and displays a start screen that can be bypassed by dragging it upwards, just like in Windows 8 Beta.
Shortly after this, you will be presented with the Metro view that is home to a collection of built-in apps, such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Windows Store, most of which will lead to an Internet browser from where you can access online resources.
Alongside these, you will also find shortcuts to Windows Explorer, which is not as operational as the others, as well as a video player that cannot be set to play a file from your HDD, as local resources are isolated from the virtual environment.
The conclusion is that Windows 8 Beta Simulator provides more access to the way Windows 8 looks than to its functionality. The simulator’s main window cannot be resized, which leads to a rather minimalistic and somewhat uncomfortable experience.