Care of this site, we now have the first shots of the Windows 8 retail boxes.

The boxes are a visual representation of the Windows 8 Metro UI, which is soon to be renamed something else. Here’s what else we love about the boxes. Microsoft’s gone and injected the drop-dead gorgeous design of Adobe retail boxes into its artwork. Windows 8 is laser-focused on extreme simplicity, an absence of UI felt in every click of the tile. Look at the Adobe boxes and tell us we’re wrong.

Sure, the oily liquid look of Adobe is traded for Escher-like lines, but the concept is the same. One overwhelming shade, an orgasm of colour and boom, instant geek appeal. There’s no word yet if Windows 8 will come on DVD or USB, which is Apple’s preferred method of OS X delivery.

Windows 8 releases 26 October. So Windows 8, RT, Pro and online upgrades all launch the same day, making it practically impossible to miss out on the a bright and exciting new OS.

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