Last week, developers at Microsoft's Build conference were lucky enough to take home preview versions of Windows 8 tablets. The idea was obviously for them to start developing apps for the device so there can be a formidable library of content when the new operating system goes live.
Of course, any time you give a large group of people something that other people want, there's only one word that comes to mind - Ebay. And true to form, a couple of the developer tablets have started popping up on the online auction site.
Looking to net thousands of dollars for one of the exclusive products, the listings boast strong technical specs (like an Intel i5 processor and 64 GB of solid state memory) and of course include a picture of the elusive box.
Anyone who really cares about Windows 8 development should have been at the Build conference, so who are these auctions for? The question is how much they'll sell for, and if the prices skyrocket, will the bids be legitimate?
The developer tablets function pretty well from the looks of it, but obviously when the real things start coming out next year, these ones will be fairly useless. So we do not recommend trying to nab one of these gadgets. And we're not just saying that because we want one.
Windows 8 will be a completely new kind of operating system for Microsoft, one that exists beyond the realm of traditional PCs - and even the PC version of the OS looks more like a mobile platform with a completely overhauled interface.
Early buzz is generally positive, mainly because onlookers are excited about the radical change after years and years of arguably nothing more than incremental upgrades.
