For a while now, it has been rumored that Microsoft would be coming through with a new version of Windows 8.1. The cheaper edition would offer a more bare-bones experience, it was thought, and now, we finally have some details thanks to an official announcement. The new SKU is called Windows 8.1 with Bing, and offers a stripped-down experience that will pave the way for a band of significantly cheaper Windows 8.1 tablets.
Windows operating systems have seen additions of several highly useful features throughout the evolution cycle of the OS. From Windows XP to Windows 7 was the most major leap that the Redmond company ever made, both in aesthetics and in the feature set that the operating system had to offer. Jump lists, aero Snap and dynamic search are just some examples that one can quote in this context. However, that doesn’t mean that highly revered features didn’t exist prior to that. Windows XP was the first operating system to introduce Hibernation, and beyond doubt, that was one of the most useful power features that the operating system came with, allowing the user to save the state of the whole machine when powering it down, and consequently resuming work much faster than a cold start.
Whether you use a Mac or a PC is obviously a matter of preference, but it's not unheard of for some people to want to use one platform but have the interface look like the other. Skinning Windows to look more like a Mac is something that has been done for years, and with each new version of both OS X and Windows, these tools have had to adapt.
A couple of weeks back during Microsoft's annual BUILD developers conference, we got wind that the software giant would be reinstating the traditional Start Menu for those running desktop versions of the famed OS. At the very least, it was said, the option would be there for traditionalists looking to restore a sense of familiarity to proceedings, and although we knew that it wouldn't be arriving with the just-released Windows 8.1 Update 1, it seemed almost certain that a subsequent release would reinstate one of the operating system's longest-serving features. Now, a new report has indicated that said feature will indeed re-emerge this fall.
It's immediately apparent, when checking out the new features of the Windows 8.1 Update 1, that Microsoft is pandering to the large faction of users still running a traditional desktop PC rig. From tweaking the way that the search and power options are accessed to ensuring that Windows Store apps play nicer with the keyboard and mouse, there's no doubt that today's announcement at BUILD 2014 was aimed squarely at the traditionalists. Following the announcement of the new Windows 8.1 Update 1, Microsoft’s Terry Myerson also took the opportunity to showcase how Windows 8.1 will eventually offer users the chance to roll back the clock with the return of the traditional Start Menu.
Tutorial on how to set or run animated screensaver as desktop wallpaper on Windows 8 or Windows 7. True, it's nothing new thanks to the fact that the trick of having a screensaver as a wallpaper has been around for some years, but we'd forgotten all about it and, we're willing to guess, so have you. It's really so simple that everyone should be at least giving it a try.
Windows is still, by quite some margin, the big fish in the pond of desktop (and now tablet) operating systems. Yes, many users have struggled to adapt to the touch-focused Windows 8 era and beyond, but while the Redmond still holds a strong position over the likes of OS X and Chrome OS, the company is beginning to feel the heat. Microsoft's recent inaction, such as its late entry into the smartphone and tablet game, are already biting it on the behind as pressure from Apple and Google's respective ecosystems continues to mount, and in order to stave off the competition, the company is to offer discounted Windows 8.1 licenses to manufacturers of low-priced Windows devices.
It may have its detractors in both the PC and Mac world, but Windows 8 certainly has its good points. It seems that we're not the only ones to think that either, with the news coming out of Microsoft today that the controversial Windows 8 can now boast 200 million licenses sold.
Back last week, Microsoft announced that a Remote Desktop app for iOS and Android would be forthcoming, and staying true to that promise, and in line with today’s Windows 8.1 release, the said app for iPhone, iPad, iPod touch and Android has just arrived.
Well, it is here! Final version of Windows 8.1 download has just gone live for everyone worldwide. Here's everything you need to know.
