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Windows 8.1 – Nine Changes You Need to Know

 
Windows-8-1Microsoft Windows is turning blue, and we’ve got the details.

Windows 8, Microsoft’s first touch screen-friendly operating system released in October 2012, is already getting a makeover whose preview is set to be unveiled June 26.

That makeover is Windows 8.1, originally codenamed Windows Blue. According to The Verge, a technology and media news outlet run by Vox Media, this upgrade will be the first of Windows’ yearly updates, which it plans to make a norm in the near future.

Previews of Windows 8.1 are arriving in the wake of the International Data Corporation‘s report that worldwide PC sales were down -13.9% in the first quarter of 2013, compared to the same quarter in 2012.

IDC blamed the drop on “weak reception for Windows 8” and “fading mini notebook shipments and competition from tablets and smartphones.”

Here at IT Systems, feelings about Windows 8 are mixed.

LeAnn McElrath, Business Analyst, used Windows 8 for a few days on her PC, but then switched back to Windows 7 because she found it a hassle in the business environment.

“I didn’t like how the Start screen changed,” McElrath said. “In previous versions, you would be able to change the layout to mirror a previous version of Windows, but with Windows 8 you can’t do that without installing apps.”

Director of IT Systems Nate Tucker, by contrast, enjoys Windows 8.

“I love it,” Tucker said. “I run it on my Mac using a software called Parallels.”

Microsoft still believes in the latest version of their software, and plans to continue heading in the direction they took with Windows 8.

“Windows 8 really is revolutionary in that it takes the benefits of the tablet and the benefits of the PC, and it’s able to support both of those,” Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said on CNBC’s business news television program Squawk Box.

With Windows 8.1, Microsoft boasts improved mouse and keyboard navigation, new business apps, enhanced mobility, empowered BYOD (Bring Your Own Device) scenarios, and new security capabilities to face modern threats.

But courtesy of The Verge, you will find below some of the specifics you need to know about the tweaks coming with Windows 8.1, beginning, of course, with the comeback of the Start button.

9 Changes Coming With Windows 8.1 that You Need to Know About:

 

  1. The Start button is back: That’s right, Windows’ traditional first step to device navigation has returned to provide you with a familiar reference point. The Start button will transport you to the Start Screen, but you’ll be able to modify this setting slightly. For example, you will have the option to view the Start Screen over your desktop, or for the Start button to lead you to an apps section. The button will work across the desktop mode as well as the Start Screen.

  2. You can boot to the desktop: There will be an option allowing you to always begin from the desktop mode when you start up your computer, rather than the Start Screen’s tile-based interface.

  3. A comprehensive search bar: Windows 8.1’s new search bar will allow you to simultaneously search all things local to the device and on the web. One query will yield results from places like apps, music, files, websites, etc., and it will organize those results by category.

  4. Snap those apps: Clicking a link from an app will “snap” the app so that you can view multiple apps next to each other.

  5. Improved lock screen: Your device will have more capabilities while your screen is locked, including the ability to answer Skype calls and more lock screen display options, such as a collage of photos taken from your device, your Sky Drive and your Windows phone.

  6. Rearranging the start screen: The tiles on your Start Screen have changed sizes to make room for other new tiles, and you have more personalization options for the tiles, like resizing and renaming them. Apps will no longer by default be on the Start Screen, but you can move them there if you wish.

  7. Internet Explorer 11: With Windows 8.1, Microsoft will introduce the latest Internet Explorer web browser, which it claims will work faster and be more touch-friendly.

  8. Totally powered by Cloud and Sky Drive: Windows 8.1 will be completely synced with your Sky Drive, but it won’t bring all of that information to your PC automatically. It will download what you need from the drive as you tell it to.  You can set certain files to download fully so that they will be available offline.

  9. New apps: This upgrade will come with new apps, including a touch-friendly calculator and alarm, and a “Help and Tips” app.

 

Be sure to keep up with our blog for more information on Windows 8.1 as it unfolds.

 

 

 

 

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