The new complement of Metro apps in the Release Preview shows that, even on desktops and laptops, Windows 8 could do well in a world in which information is pushed to the user. Previously released Metro apps have been improved and some very nifty new ones have been introduced. But they remain a mixed bag.

Among the new apps are Bing Sports, Bing Travel and Bing News, and all of them are winners -- beautifully designed and easy to use. Think of them as information hubs. In Sports, you can customize settings to follow your favorite sports and individual teams. Like other Windows 8 apps, it grabs information so that you don't need to go out and find it yourself. All in all, it's a slickly designed, useful app. (Not that it's perfect -- I couldn't make Bing Sports find all the news and results related to the 2012 French Open tennis tournament currently under way.)

The Sports app lets you choose what sports and teams you want to follow.

Bing Travel does more than just tell you about travel destinations, offer travel news and let you view spectacular travel photos. You can also right-click the screen to pull down a toolbar that lets you book flights and hotels and get more information about destinations. You can pin information to the Start Menu as well. It's an exceedingly useful travel hub.

Bing News works like the other new Bing apps, and serves as a central news hub. You can customize the news you read by selecting from news sources -- and you've got close to 200 to choose from in a wide variety of categories, including not just national but also regional news sources.