Well everyone knows I am a big fan of Windows 8 – the Live Tiles, Start Screen, and -INCREDIBLE- speed increase sold me pretty early on. Windows 8.1 saw the return of the Start Button (not the menu, I know) and improved keyboard/mouse user options including the ability to start directly on the desktop (a feature I still don’t use on my PC). With the addition of features in the Spring update, I love it even more.
I’m going to just get into it, why hold off? Here are the new features I’ve found as of today:
Start Screen:
If you install new Apps, you have an indicator on the bottom left of the screen, next to the arrow that takes you to the All Apps screen.
On tablets (RT-specific most likely) you get the Search icon next to your accout photo.
On non-RT devices (laptops, desktops, etc) you get the Search and Power icons, making it a lot easier to shut down/restart/sleep, especially using mouse/keyboard.
A new, animated background is included, with moving robots in the background as you move the screen left or right. In a lack-of-funzies maneuver, they do -NOT- move when turning the screen.
Apps:
When in a full-screen “modern” app, you have access, via mouse, to a red (once you mouse over it) X to close the app. You no longer have to drag the whole thing to the bottom of the screen with a mouse.
Once on the top bar, if you right-click, you will see the option to split screen. It makes things a bit easier to manage with a mouse, without having to drag apps.
You also have the ability to access the taskbar from modern apps, a feature that wasn’t missed until it was given to me, and I realized how useful it could be. I have accessed it by moving the mouse to the bottom of the screen, and it just pops up as it were “auto-hidden” but sometimes I have had to go to the bottom right corner and move left to get to it.
On a desktop, in addition to the “close” red X, you get a “minimize” icon, as well. The tablet version (again most likely RT specific) does not give you a “minimize” icon.
A fun find was the addition of the Control Panel link from the PC Settings app. Makes things accessible faster and easier.
Desktop
On the taskbar, if you have minimized a “modern” app, you will see an icon, as you would in the past. You also have hover controls as in Windows 7, i.e. media controls for the Music app.
You can now also pin apps to the taskbar for easy access. Right-click context menus have been added to the start screen, so you can easily control your tiles without consulting the popup menu at the bottom of the screen.
Overall, I love the additions they’ve made, and I’m excited about the rumors concerning the next wave of updates. I think Microsoft is going in the right direction – unifying their ecosystem. I can’t wait for the day when I can buy my game for my 5.7″ Nokia on Verizon (Please, Microsoft?), continue playing it on my XBOX One, and make some in-app purchases on my Surface right before bed.
-/-/ Cerebro
