Microsoft Reveals Windows 8.1 Update Details, Will Make
Windows Free For Some Tablets
By Kevin McLaughlin on April 2, 2014, 8:32 pm EDT
Microsoft Wednesday shared details about its upcoming
Windows 8.1 Update, and the software giant has decided to make its
touch-enabled operating system easier to use for people who prefer keyboards
and mice.
At its Build conference in San Francisco, Microsoft said
will make the Windows 8.1 Update available to Windows 8 customers as a free
download from its Windows Store starting April 8. Customers running Windows 8.1
will get a new version for free through Windows Update.
In an admission that the touch-enabled Metro interface in
Windows 8 doesn't appeal to everyone, the Windows 8.1 Update lets PC users boot
to the desktop screen by default, instead of the touch version.
Microsoft is also pre-pinning the Windows Store to the
taskbar so it's easier to find for keyboard and mouse users. And in a coming
update, Microsoft will also make the Windows Store interface more keyboard- and
mouse-friendly, Joe Belfiore, corporate vice president in Microsoft's Operating
Systems group, said in a keynote at Build.
Some Windows 8.1 users have had trouble figuring out
where to find apps after downloading them, so Microsoft is adding a prompt that
shows where the new apps are installed.
After restoring the traditional Windows Start button in
Windows 8.1, Microsoft now plans to bring back the Start menu to a future
version of Windows, Terry Myerson, executive vice president of Microsoft's
Operating Systems group, said in the keynote.
Microsoft's Universal Windows Apps, which let developers
write one set of code for apps that run on PCs tablets and smartphones, will
run in a window in a future version of Windows as opposed to in full-screen
mode, Myerson said.
Myerson didn't specify whether this future version of
Windows will be Windows 8.1 Update 2 or Windows 9 Threshold, the next
generation of the operating system that's expected to arrive next year.
Microsoft is also making Windows available without
royalty fees to hardware partners that make Windows Phones and tablets with screens
less than 9 inches, Myerson said. And when Microsoft releases a future version
of Windows designed for the Internet Of Things, that version will also be free
for hardware partners, he added.
In a blog post after the keynote, Myerson acknowledged
that it is "tricky" for Microsoft to share road map details because
these details could change. But given the massive changes going on as Microsoft
transitions to being a leader in devices and services, it’s a risk Microsoft is
willing to take.
"But as our industry, our company, and Windows are
in the midst of a pretty massive transformation in the way we build and deliver
innovation to customers, partners and developers, we are taking some steps to
be more transparent in signaling what’s ahead," Myerson said in the blog
post.
PUBLISHED APRIL 2, 2014
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