Windows 8.1 and
Windows RT 8.1 are updated versions of Microsoft's Windows 8 and Windows RT operating systems. First unveiled and released as a public beta in June 2013, 8.1 was released to manufacturing on August 27, 2013, and was released for general availability on October 17, 2013.
Released as part of a shift by Microsoft towards regular, yearly updates for its platforms and services, Windows 8.1 was primarily intended to address complaints which Windows 8 faced from users and reviewers on launch. Many of 8.1's changes occur within the "Metro" shell, including enhancements to the Start screen, additional snap views, improvements and additions to its suite of included software, tighter SkyDrive integration, and a new Bing-powered unified search system. The update also introduced changes to the desktop interface to improve its usability (including the restoration of a visible Start button and the ability to go directly to the desktop on startup). The update also added support for emerging technologies such as 3D printing, Wi-Fi Direct, and improved support for handling high resolution displays.
Windows 8.1 received relatively positive reception, with critics praising the expanded functionality available to apps in comparison to 8, its SkyDrive integration, along with its user interface tweaks and the addition of expanded tutorials for operating the Windows 8 interface. However, Windows 8.1 was still criticized for still being trickier to use on traditional desktop or laptop computers than on touchscreen-based devices, and for not fixing all of the faults originally experienced by 8.
FEATURES
User interface and desktop
The Start screen received several enhancements on 8.1, including an extended "All Apps" view with sort modes (which is now accessed by clicking a new down arrow button or swiping upward), small and extra-large sizes for tiles, and colored tiles for desktop program shortcuts. Additional customization options were also added, such as expanded color options, new backgrounds (some of which incorporating animated elements), and the ability for the Start screen to use the desktop background instead. Applications are no longer added to the Start screen automatically when installed, and all desktop applications pinned to the Screen screen now have colored tiles. The app snapping system has also been extended; up to 4 apps can be snapped onto a single display depending on screen size, apps can now be snapped to fill half the screen, and can also be used on any display in a multi-monitor configuration. Apps can also launch other apps in a snapped view to display content; for example, the Mail app can open a photo attachment in a picture viewer snapped to another half of the screen. Improved support is also provided by apps for using devices in a portrait (vertical) orientation. The lock screen now offers the ability to use a photo slideshow as its backdrop, and a shortcut to the Camera app by swiping up. The on-screen keyboard has an improved autocomplete mechanism which now displays multiple word suggestions, and allows users to select from them by sliding on the spacebar. The autocomplete dictionary is also automatically updated using data from Bing, allowing it to recognize and suggest words relating to current trends and events.
To improve the usability of the desktop interface, a visible Start button was restored to the taskbar for opening the Start screen, and the Quick Links menu (accessed by right-clicking the Start button) now contains shutdown and sign-out options. New "Navigation" settings can be used to modify certain interface behaviors, such as disabling the upper hot corners for using the charms and recent apps list, going to the desktop instead of the Start screen on login or after closing all apps on a screen, automatically opening the "All Apps" view on the Start screen when opened, and prioritizing desktop programs on the "Category" sort mode on "All Apps". To assist users in learning the Windows 8 user interface, an interactive tutorial is also offered, along with a new Help + Tips app for additional information. In contrast, Windows RT 8.1 downplays the desktop interface further by not displaying the Desktop tile on the Start screen at all by default (however, it can still be manually pinned to the Start screen by users).
Apps
The suite of pre-loaded apps bundled with Windows 8 were updated for 8.1; PC Settings was expanded to include options that were previously exclusive to the desktop Control Panel, Windows Store was updated with an improved interface for browsing apps and automatic updates, the Mail app includes an updated interface and additional features, the Camera app now integrates Photosynth for creating panoramas, and additional editing tools were added to the Photos app (while integration with Flickr and Facebook was completely removed). A number of additional stock apps were also added, including Calculator, Food and Drink, Health and Fitness, Sound Recorder, Reading List (which can be used to collect and sync content from apps through SkyDrive), Scan, and Help + Tips. For Windows RT users, 8.1 also adds a version of Microsoft Outlook to the included Office 2013 RT
suite. However, it does not support data loss protection, Group Policy
, Lync
integration, or creating emails with information rights management.[31]
Online services and functionality
Windows 8.1 adds tighter integration with several Microsoft-owned services. SkyDrive is now integrated at the system level to sync user settings and files. Files are automatically downloaded in the background when they are accessed from the user's SkyDrive folder, unless they are marked to be available offline. By default, only file metadata and thumbnails are stored locally, andReparse points are used to give the appearance of a normal directory structure to provide backwards compatibility. The SkyDrive app was also updated to include a local file manager. However, SkyDrive no longer supports "local" accounts that are not linked to a Microsoft account, and Fetch (a feature which allowed users to remotely retrieve files from their local computer and copy them to SkyDrive) is not available.
A Bing-based unified search system was also added; it can analyze a user's search habits to return results featuring relevant local and online content. Full-screen "hero" displays aggregate news articles, Wikipedia entries, multimedia, and other content related to a search query; for instance, searching for a music performer would return photos of the performer, a biography, and their available songs and albums on Xbox Music. The messaging app from Windows 8 has been replaced by Skype, which also allows users to accept calls directly from the lock screen. Windows 8.1 also includes Internet Explorer 11, which adds support for SPDY and WebGL, and expanded developer tools. The Metro UI version of IE 11 also adds tab syncing, the ability to open an unlimited number of tabs, and Reading List integration.
Hardware functionality
Windows 8.1 also adds support for a number of new and emerging technologies, such as 3D printing, NFC printing, Wi-Fi Direct and Miracast media streaming. A transparent "device encryption" system using BitLocker was also added; on compatible hardware, encryption begins as soon as a user begins using the system. The recovery key is stored to either the Microsoft account or an Active Directory login, allowing it to be retrieved from any computer. While device encryption is offered on all versions of 8.1 unlike BitLocker (which is exclusive to the Pro and Enterprise editions), device encryption requires that the device meet the Connected Standby specification and have a Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 chip. Windows 8.1 also adds additional options for scaling display contents on high DPI monitors (such as 4K resolution), including a new 200% "Extra Large" mode, and the ability to set scaling settings independently between displays in multi-monitor configurations.
System Requirements
The minimum system requirements for Windows 8 are slightly higher than those of Windows 7. The CPU must support the Physical Address Extension (PAE), NX bit, and SSE2. Windows Store apps require a screen resolution of 1024×768 or higher to run; a resolution of 1366×768 or higher is required to use the snap functionality. To receive certification, Microsoft requires candidate x86 systems to resume from standby in 2 seconds or less.
| Criteria | Minimum | Recommended |
|---|
| Processor | 1 GHz clock rate
IA-32 or x64 architecture
Support for PAE, NX and SSE2 | x64 architecture
Second Level Address Translation (SLAT) support for Hyper-V |
|---|
| Memory (RAM) | IA-32 edition: 1 GB
x64 edition: 2 GB | 4 GB |
|---|
| Graphics Card | DirectX 9 graphics device
WDDM 1.0 or higher driver | DirectX 10 graphics device |
|---|
| Display screen | 1024×768 pixels | 1366×768 pixels |
|---|
| Input device | Keyboard and mouse | A multi-touch display screen |
|---|
| Hard disk space | IA-32 edition: 16 GB
x64 edition: 20 GB | N/A |
|---|
| Other | N/A | USB 3.0 port
UEFI v2.3.1 Errata B with Microsoft Windows Certification Authority in its database
Trusted Platform Module (TPM)
Internet connectivity |
|---|
Pass: www.inherit37.blogspot.com
Operating System