Information on a beta-candidate compiled by Microsoft has surfaced on a Russian forum today claiming that the build string 6.2.8175.winmain.111217-1215 is indeed the Beta we are hoping for. Will we be seeing this build at CES?
A member on the Russian forum Soft-Forum has released information claiming that Windows 8 beta was indeed signed off yesterday. The information was translated into English and released to the public on BetaArchive because the website is in Russian and is password protected.
From what the information states, December 12th started the “early stage of signing the Microsoft Windows 8 beta” and in the coming days other builds would be “collected up to Christmas” (or the 24th in that matter). At the CES, Microsoft plans on running a build with the string 6.2.8175.winmain.111217-1215 (the beta) on mobile and tablet devices. The CES will take place from January 10th to the 13th and will be Microsoft’s last appearance at the show.
A Microsoft Internal Conference is scheduled on January 30th, 2012 with the global participants of Microsoft, and such participants will receive a copy of the build. The beta (build 8175) is “available for a very limited range of workers (engineers, development teams signatories) from Microsoft.” It is said that each installation has its own signed/tied key to the person it is given to, helping to prevent the leak of this build.
Of course, treat this as a rumor as it has not been verified. More on this as it develops.
