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Microsoft posted the first public beta of the next version of its Windows operating system on Wednesday, following a debut event at the Mobile World Congress tradeshow -- indicating the company's plans to tackle mobile computing and the iPad head on. The pre-release version of the operating system -- available for free download at preview.windows.com -- introduces a completely new way to interact with your computer and an entirely new vision for the desktop, thanks to the tile-based �Metro� interface the company created for its Windows Phone platform. Metro has been widely hailed for changing the way we think about smartphones, much as the iPhone did in 2007. Thanks to it, Windows 8 will actively present information to you from your first power on, via tiles that flip and transform by themselves rather than waiting for you to, say, launch a website and visit Facebook or open your inbox to check for new email. �With Windows 8, we reimagined the different ways people interact with their PC and how to make everything feel like a natural extension of the device, whether using a Windows 8 tablet, laptop or all-in-one,� said Steven Sinofsky, president of the Windows and Windows Live Division at Microsoft. �The Windows 8 Consumer Preview brings a no-compromises approach to using your PC.� The Windows Store, the first online store for Windows applications. Internet Explorer 10 Platform Preview 5, the latest iteration of Microsoft�s web browser, which provides an edge-to-edge user interface �all about less browser and more Web,� the company said. Cloud computing, thanks to a new user log on feature that lets you bring your settings with you onto a variety of PCs, and integration with the Windows SkyDrive online storage locker. It's clearly intended for mobile devices, especially the increasingly popular tablet space currently dominated by Apple's iPad and devices powered by the Android OS. But not everyone will find the new operating system perfect. The major innovation of Windows 8 -- the touch screen Metro interface -- may simple confuse those consumers who don�t have touch-enabled systems. �This is a big gamble for Microsoft,� noted technology analyst Rob Enderle told FoxNews.com. �Touch isn�t prevalent at all in desktop and laptop computers. Monitors often sit too far away from the user to make touch useful and there are few touch monitors in market, and those few that are cost more than most are willing to pay.�