The latest update to Microsoft’s operating system, Windows 8.1, was released to the general public on October 17th. Seeking to get a foothold on the touch screen market, Microsoft initially came out with Windows 8.0. However, there were many criticisms of the operating system, one of the biggest being the removal of the start button. Well, it’s back now in 8.1, but operates a little differently. On a touchscreen, if you quick press it, it goes to the start screen. You need to do a long press to get the options normally associated with the traditional start button. Control panel, device manager, and several other options become available, displayed as a list of choices. Better than no button, but still not so great.
The start screen has some changes. The background is more customizable, and the tile sizes available have increased to three-small, medium, large. It would be nice to be able to resize them as you can an android widget, with incremental changes. The live tiles are still a good touch, though. There is also the option to bypass the start menu, and boot into desktop. A good choice for non-touch desktops or laptops, but if you have touch enabled screens you want the start menu.
The ability to have multiple apps open at the same time has improved. Depending on your screen size and resolution, up to four applications can be opened side by side. And you can also adjust the size of each window.
Several other enhancements make 8.1 a big upgrade from 8.0. The search function has been greatly improved. Previously it only gave you results for one category, say apps. Now you can see the results not only for apps, but also the computer, on the web, your Skydrive-well, just about anywhere it can look. The new Explorer 11 is faster and much easier to use. It also allows synching of browsing information between PCs and tablets.
Another area of improvement is the Microsoft store, and the included apps. The store interface has changed, and the new version is much more intuitive and familiar to those used to other app stores. The number of apps has increased from around 10,000 at launch last year, to over 100,000 now. And the quality of the bundled apps has been increased. The mail and photo apps have had makeovers which increase functionality and ease of use.
Overall the update will address many issues raised by users of 8.0. Of course there will be some hiccups, such as Clover Trail Atom tablets having graphics issues already. But in general these problems should be taken care of by updates sooner rather than later. 8.1 does appear to be a significant and worthwhile upgrade from 8.0, so don’t wait to take the plunge if you own a Windows 8 device.