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Steve Ballmer introducing Windows 8.1

At the Build conference in San Francisco, Microsoft has unveiled Windows 8.1. The Windows 8.ane preview is bachelor to download and install right abroad (link at the end of the story), and information technology will be a free upgrade for Windows eight users when the final build is released in the fall. The overarching goal with Windows 8.1 is to make the operating system more than usable on tablets, just as well to improve the quality of life for mouse-and-keyboard users. To this end, Windows 8.1 sees the return of the Start push button (but not the menu), the selection to boot to the Desktop, and built-in search, SkyDrive cloud integration, and the Windows Store have been much improved. The bundled Metro apps, such as News and Weather condition, accept besides been refreshed, and there are too some interesting low-level tweaks to business organization- and security-oriented features, too.

Beyond the return of the Start push, which we've covered extensively, the most visible changes in Windows viii.1 are on the Metro side of the equation — in fact, the Desktop is mostly unchanged. The on-screen keyboard is now a lot easier and faster to apply. The Get-go screen now has a couple of new tile sizes (large, very pocket-sized), and in that location are many more customization options (colors, wallpapers). The Lock screen can now deed as a slideshow, and you can answer a Skype call without unlocking. The new Control Console (in Metro) has been significantly beefed up, assuasive you to configure most aspects of your system without having to bound to the Desktop Control Panel.

New Windows 8.1 search

For mouse-and-keyboard users, the return of the Get-go button isn't the only olive branch: The Charms menu, if activated by a mouse, now clusters the buttons in the superlative right corner, nearer your mouse. Interacting with the Metro interface is easier with the mouse, too.

For both Metro and Desktop users, Windows 8.1 includes a congenital-in version of SkyDrive that syncs your entire device — no longer do you lot need i SkyDrive app to cover Metro, and another to embrace the Desktop! The much-updated Search tool, powered by Bing and with tweaks to help mouse-and-keyboard users, is very neat indeed.

Windows 8.1 store

Perhaps most chiefly, though, the Windows Store has been overhauled. App discovery and individual app listings are severely improved. Congenital-in apps such as Internet Explorer (at present upwards to version 11), Photos, Mail, and Xbox Music are all much improved, too. CEO Steve Ballmer also mentioned on stage in San Francisco that Facebook has finally committed to building a Windows 8.one Metro app.

Stay tuned for lots of hands-on Windows viii.1 coverage over the next few days.

Download the Windows eight.1 preview now. You volition have to download a patch, reboot, and then the Windows 8.1 update will exist available from the Windows Store.