The wait is finally over as Microsoft has published the highly anticipated Consumer Preview copy of Windows 8. Available as a public download, the Consumer Preview build includes access to Metro style applications and the over 100,000 changes Microsoft has made since the Windows 8 Developer Preview. You can download it here.

The download comes bundled with a setup tool or in the form of an ISO file. The Consumer Preview it is currently available in both 32-bit and 64-bit versions in English, Chinese, French, German, and Japanese. Microsoft's minimum requirements for the Consumer Preview are a 1GHz processor, 1GB of RAM, 16GB of free storage space, and a DirectX 9-compatible graphics card — the exact same requirements as Windows 7. While you're waiting for your download to finish, be sure to keep up with all the news on the Consumer Preview from our liveblog from Barcelona.

P.S. Be sure to check out our entire step-by-step installation guide if you want to try out the Consumer Preview for yourself!