Microsoft launches Windows 8 blog, indicates possible early editions

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Today, Microsoft opened up a new channel with its customers and developers worldwide by launching its Windows 8 blog.

In the inaugural post, Steven Sinofsky, Windows’s President said, “We’ve heard people express frustration over how little we’ve communicated so far about Windows 8. We’ve certainly learned lessons over the years about the perils of talking about features before we have a solid understanding of our ability to execute.”

Sinofsky also hinted that early versions of the new operating systems would become available soon for chosen testers. “We’ve been hard at work designing and building Windows 8, and today we want to begin an open dialog with those of you who will be trying out the pre-release version over the coming months. We intend to post regularly throughout the development of Windows 8, and to focus on the engineering of the product.”

Further details are supposed to be provided at this September’s BUILD conference.

Additionally, and perhaps obviously, the Windows 8 team also launched their own Twitter feed.

To many, these communication measures may seem like an obvious measure, but in the past Microsoft has not garnered much of a name for its ability to listen to developers and the market. Reading between the lines of the blog post, one can sense that they acknowledge this.

The one hitch is that to login to the blog, you must have a Window Live ID. Obtaining one isn’t a huge deal, but it does ensure that if you want to discuss Windows, you’re already part of the community.

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