That's the point of the whole process, said Sinofsky: "We'll be looking hard at every aspect of Windows 8 as we complete the work on the product," he said.

With that in mind, is it worth your while to try the Release Preview? That's only one question among many that you probably have as you ponder the download. As always, we've tried to answer the most important.

Where do I get it? You start the streamlined download-and-install process at Microsoft's website.

(And remember, just as with the earlier Consumer Preview, you don't have to give Microsoft your email address to grab a copy, although at first glance that may seem so.)

It all starts with a 5MB setup executable that you'll run on a Windows 7, Vista or XP system, or on a PC or virtual machine that you earlier migrated to either last year's Developer Preview or this year's Consumer Preview. The setup file then downloads the rest of the upgrade -- a 1.6GB to 1.9GB deal for the 32- and 64-bit versions -- and launches the install.