Here it is folks! Microsoft has publicly released the preview version of Windows 8.1 at its BUILD conference in San Francisco, the first major update (formally known as Service Pack) to its Windows 8.

The build is the same as the Windows Server 2012 R2 Preview that was released yesterday and has the build number 9431! According to Microsoft, the preview doesn’t need any specific enhancement in terms of hardware and run on the same hardware that powers Windows 8 or 7.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=7BN0W7CONpw

As Microsoft’s servers are getting hammered right now, but we have grabbed the direct download links for you from the Windows 8.1 Preview site.

• Windows 8.1 Preview (x64) – DVD (English) – 3.49GB
• Windows 8.1 Preview (x86) – DVD (English) – 2.59GB

Or you can obtain the Preview package that enables to download Windows 8.1 Preview via Windows Store. Currently the release is available in Arabic, English (US), Chinese (Simplified), Chinese (Traditional), French, German, Japanese, Korean, Portuguese (Brazil), Russian, Spanish, Swedish, and Turkish only. And you can grab these variants off from the Windows 8.1 Preview website. For more on what’s new, check out the Windows 8.1 Preview Product Guide.

You can use the following product key to install Windows 8.1 Preview using ISOs.

Product Key: NTTX3-RV7VB-T7X7F-WQYYY-9Y92F

Interestingly Windows 8.1 Preview expires on January 15, 2014. Does this mean we’ll see the final product sooner than we thought?

Note: This is pre-release version of the Windows 8.1 and should not be used in a production environment or on a main machine in the home. The release is intended for developers, IT professionals and technology experts to continue or begin their testing of Windows 8.1.