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There will also be a boot-to-desktop feature in the final build - news which attracted massive applausethe gathered Microsoft developers and fans when it was announced at the Build conference today.
Leblond is Head of Windows Program Management and references the marked change of tune that TechRadar detected earlier this year: "Not only will Windows 8.1 respond to customer feedback, but it will add new features and functionality that advance the touch experience and mobile computing's potential." The feedback he's talking about is surely the mellowing of the Start screen dream and the reintroduction of a Start button of some sort.
- Windows 8.1 security: what's been improved
"We're only a bit more than seven months into [a] new, bold approach to computing," continues Leblond. "The response to Windows 8 has been substantial -new devices to strong app growth to key enhancements to the OS and apps. We've learnedcustomers in how they are using the product and have received a lot of feedback. We've delivered hundreds of updates to the product and to apps. We're just getting started, and the potential ahead is tremendous.
"We've been watching, we've been listening"
YouTube : http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=VQb5caeSo00We've picked out the top enhancements in Windows 8.1 along with some quotesLeblond about each one.
1. Lock screen slideshow
"As people started using Windows 8, we found that people were using their Lock screens to show pictures of their families," Leblond says. So in Windows 8.1, you can turn your PC or tablet into a picture frame by making your Lock screen a slide show of your pictures - either locally on the device or photosMicrosoft SkyDrive.
You can unlock the camera or answer a Skype call quickly without needing to fiddle with a password. If small tablets get popular, that will be useful.
2. The Start screen evolves
Windows 8.1 offers more colours and backgrounds for the Start screen - including some with motion. You can also choose your desktop background as your Start screen background.
However, it's still perfectly possible to get a really garish looking Start screen,this - does anybody actually use these patterns?
The Photos app now has some new editing features that let you quickly edit or adjust photos when you view them in the Photos app or open themother placesthe Mail, SkyDrive, and Camera apps - you can now create Photosynth panoramas directly within the app.
Mail includes some clever extra options for filtering mails, while there's also a Reading List to gather linksInternet Explorer. The Photos app now has a lot more editing options.
6. More snap views
If,us, you use Windows 8 a lot, you'll have been frustrated by the lack of 50:50 split snap views. This is the game-changer for Windows 8 apps. "You will have more ways to see multiple apps on the screen at the same time," says Leblond. "You can resize apps to any size you want, share the screen between two apps, or have up to three apps on each screen if you have a multiple displays connected, you can have different Windows Store apps running onthe displays at the same time and the Start Screen can stay open on one monitor (yes!).
This is one of the fundamental changes in Windows 8.1 and makes multi-tasking and multi-monitor use a lot easier. Also in Windows 8.1, you can have multiple windows of the same app snapped together - such as two Internet Explorer windows." We're really looking forward to that.
7. An enhanced Windows Store
The Windows Store gets a new look in Windows 8.1, designed to make it easier for you to find new and interesting apps. Instead of having to guess what the featured apps at the front of the Store do, a carousel flips through large images and descriptions of each of the six featured apps in turn (swipe down if you don't want to wait for it to flip).
- What's new in the Windows 8.1 Store?
App updates will now install automatically in the background as they come through the Store. And search is available in the upper right hand corner for finding the apps you want. Leblond elaborates: "The improved Windows Store is designed to show more info than before in Windows 8 with detailed lists of top free apps, new releases, and picks for you on the homepage. The app listing is more descriptive and informative and includes an area for related apps to help with app discovery."
8. Save direct to SkyDrive, plus offline files
In Windows 8.1 your files can be saved directly to SkyDrive - it's completely integrated into the OS. The SkyDrive app has also got a new update so that files are available even when offline - as in the desktop version.
There's no longer a separate desktop interface for picking folders to sync.
9. You no longer need the desktop Control Panel
The updated PC Settings in Windows 8.1 gives you access toyour settings on your device without having to go to the Control Panel on the desktop. "You can do thingschange your display resolution, set power options, see the make and model of my PC, change the product key, let me do Windows Update, and even join a domain –from PC Settings," says Leblond. You can also manage SkyDrivePC Settings as well.
10. A new Internet Explorer
Internet Explorer 11 will ship with Windows 8.1. "IE11 will offer even better touch performance, faster page load times and several other new features we think you will enjoy," says Leblond. "For example, you can now adjust the appearance of modern IE11 to always show the address bar and you can have as many open tabs as you like. And you can access your open tabs in sync across your other Windows 8.1 devices."
11. Better with a mouse and keyboard
For devices without touch, Windows 8.1 features a number of improvements for easier navigation using a mouse and keyboard. "PCs today are evolving for a world of mobile computingpeople interact with their devices through touch, and we designed Windows 8 for this," explains Leblond. "But we also recognize there are many non-touch devices in use today - especially in the commercial setting."
12. A change to the Start 'tip' and the Start button
You've already heard about this one, right? Leblond adds that there are also options to change what the corners do, and options to boot into alternate screens: "For example, if you prefer to see the Apps view versusthe tiles, you can choose to have the Start screen go directly to Apps view."
Here are our earlier Windows 8.1 rumors
Windows 8.1 release date
The final Windows Blue release date is late 2013, while there will also be some new Windows Blue hardware.
In a post on the official Windows blog early in May, Tamy Reller, Microsoft's chief marketing office and chief financial officer, confirmed what we already knew - the update will be available "later this year", and certainly by Christmas.
Reller went on to say that the update will provide "more options for businesses, and give consumers more options for work and play". Microsoft now has more than 70,000 Metro/Windows 8-style apps in the Windows Store.
Reller later confirmed the Windows 8.1 name during a conference call with J.P. Morgan,plans for the operating system were discussed.
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