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JL
Jesse L (retired)
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September 12th, 2013 07:00
Windows 8.1 Update Preview
Windows 8.1 Update
Windows 8.1 is the latest update to Windows 8. It supports a wide range of devices, from the smallest tablets and convertibles to the sleekest and highest-powered notebooks, all delivering the latest advances in screens, battery life, performance, and design. The update contains a number of improvements throughout the operating system. Below are some added improvements over Windows 8.
- Expanded search capabilities
- Added support for more emerging technologies
It also includes features intended to improve the usability of the desktop interface following the changes that were made to it on Windows 8.
- Restoring a visible Start button
- The ability to disable hot corners
- The ability to skip the Start screen when logging in
Below are general changes in Windows 8.1.
| Change |
Description |
| New apps |
New apps like Calculator, Alarm Clock, Sound Recorder, Reading List, Food & Drink, Health & Fitness and a file manager integrated in the SkyDrive app. |
| Internet Explorer 11 |
Includes WebGL and SPDY support, along with expanded developer tools. |
| PC Settings app |
Includes more options that were previously exclusive to Control Panel. |
| Windows PowerShell v4.0 |
Features a host of new commands for managing the Start screen, Windows Defender,Windows components, hardware and network. |
| Windows Defender |
Features network inspection system (NIS), a network intrusion detection system. |
| Windows Store |
Redesigned interface with improved app discovery and recommendations, automatic updates for apps. |
Start screen
| The "All Apps" section, now accessed with a hidden downward arrow or upward touch gesture, features a visible search bar. It is dismissed by a similar button with an upward arrow. |
| Option to display the "All Apps" section on the Start screen by default. |
| Start screen tiles can now be locked in place to prevent accidental manipulation of tiles. |
| More size options for live tiles on Start screen: small, medium, wide, and large.The "small" size is one quarter of the default size in Windows 8. |
| Expanded color options on the Start screen, which now allows users to customize a color and a shade of one's own choice instead of choosing from limited colors. |
| New background options for the Start screen, including animated backgrounds and the ability to use the desktop wallpaper. |
| Visible Start button restored; it cannot be disabled, and will appear in place of the Start tooltip in apps. |
| The "Win+X - power user menu" (which can also accessed by right-clicking on the new Start button) now allows shutting down the device, among other new shortcuts. |
New technology support
| NFC printing. |
| Wi-Fi Direct printing. |
| Native APIs for 3D printing through the new XML-based 3D Manufacturing Format. |
| Miracast. |
| Mobile broadband tethering. |
| Auto-triggered VPN. |
| Device encryption for all editions of Windows 8. |
| DirectX 11.2. |
| Improved support for high-resolution monitors. |
Shell and user interface
| The Start screen can be skipped on login, taking users directly to the desktop. |
| Upper right and upper left hotspots can be disabled. |
| The Search charm has been upgraded into a unified search system powered by Bing, and can analyze a user's search habits to return relevant content stored locally and from the internet. Full-screen "hero" displays aggregate multimedia (such as photos, YouTube videos, songs/albums on Xbox Music) and other content (such as news articles and Wikipedia entries) related to a search query. |
| A "Take screenshot" option is added to the Share charm. |
| A "Play" option is added to the Devices charm for playing content on another device. |
| The size of the sidebar that snapped apps occupy can be changed, although the minimum remains Windows 8's 320 pixels. |
| Snapped apps may occupy half of the screen. Large screens allow up to four apps to be snapped. Upon launching an app, Windows allows the user to pick which snapped view the app should open into. |
| Assigned Access, formerly called Kiosk mode, locks down the Windows device to a single app. |
| The uninstall command allows Windows Store apps to be uninstalled from multiple computers. |
| Windows 8.1 does not create any default libraries. Libraries must be created by user's command |
Windows 8.1 Minimum Requirements
The Windows 8.1 minimum requirements are the same as Windows 8 minimum requirements, which include:
| Hardware |
Requirement |
| Processor |
1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster with PAE, NX and SSE2 support. |
| CPU Support |
Must support PAE, NX, and SSE2 |
| RAM |
1 gigabyte (GB) (32-bit) or 2 GB (64-bit) |
| Hard disk space |
16 GB (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit) |
| Graphics card |
Microsoft DirectX® 9 graphics device with WDDM driver |
Additional requirements to use certain features:
- For 64-bit installations of Windows 8.1 Preview, your CPU must also support CMPXCHG16b, PrefetchW and LAHF/SAHF.
- To use touch, you need a tablet or a monitor that supports multi touch.
- To access the Windows Store and to download and run apps, you need an active Internet connection, a screen resolution of at least 1024 x 768, and a Microsoft account.
- Internet access (ISP fees might apply).
Note: Windows will check your system's eligibility before you update to make sure your system can support Windows 8.1 Preview.
Jesse L (retired)
