Microsoft has a brand new CEO, but does it have a brand new Windows strategy? Here is what to expect from Windows 8.1 Update 1.
Another build of Windows 8.1 Update 1 leaked online last week. Microsoft has yet to make sure the update or details that trickled out via screenshots and unverified reports. But with functional builds now replacing soft evidence, it sort of feels clear Microsoft is tinkering with its controversial Live Tile UI.
What is Microsoft engaged on, and what does it mean for future Windows products? Here is what we all know up to now.
1. What is the goal of Update 1? Windows 8.1 introduced quite a lot of enhancements, including a boot-to-desktop mode, that makes the touch-oriented OS friendlier to PC users. Unfortunately for Microsoft, most of these users haven’t been persuaded to upgrade. With Update 1, the corporate is taking another swing.
2. What new features am i able to expect? Recent Update 1 builds allow users to pin Modern apps to the desktop’s taskbar. When you spend most of it slow running legacy applications but in addition enjoy a couple of Modern apps, this tweak allow you to launch Windows Store titles without jumping to the tiled Start screen. Once opened, Modern apps automatically display at the taskbar.
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Unlike legacy programs, the apps themselves still open in full-screen mode, which blocks out the taskbar and other desktop elements. That said, Update 1 apps feature a title bar on the top of the screen that incorporates many cues familiar to desktop users, including “Minimize” and “Close” buttons inside the right corner, and a menu of options within the left corner.
The title bar is one of the features ostensibly designed to make Modern apps easier to regulate with a mouse. Windows 8 and eight.1 arguably work best on cutting-edge devices along with Microsoft’s Surface Pro 2, but many Windows 8 users installed the OS on older, non-touch hardware.
Other mouse-oriented features include new context menus for contemporary UI Live Tiles. Currently, if a user right-clicks on a Live Tile, the control options appear on the bottom of the screen. That’s fine when you have a touchscreen tablet. But when you’re using a mouse and PC, it’s awkward and inconvenient to should click one spot to activate the controls, and some other place to take advantage of them. Update 1 fixes this problem by treating Live Tiles more like desktop apps; in the event you right-click a tile or group of tiles, the controls appear in a menu that hovers over the choice.
Update 1 also places a search tool at the Start screen, meaning mouse users have differently to submit a question without tediously accessing the hidden Charms menu. Other additions include a device that tracks how much disk space is getting used by apps, media and files, and the Recycle Bin. Windows 8.1 includes a similar feature that only monitors apps.
The update also includes an Enterprise Mode for Internet Explorer 11. It seems that to handle website compatibility problems, but leaked builds haven’t revealed many details.
Reports conflict to whether Update 1 will enable the OS’s boot-to-desktop mode by default, as originally thought. Recent rumors
Michael Endler joined InformationWeek as an associate editor in 2012. He previously worked in talent representation inside the entertainment industry, as a contract copywriter and photojournalist, and as a teacher. Michael earned a BA in English from Stanford University in 2005 … View Full Bio
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