Quick overview:
The new update for Windows 8.1 is now available to download. But what does the latest version offer users? First and foremost, improvements for users of stationary PCs and notebooks: their operating functions have been improved. And: The Start menu is back! But only later ...
Directly at the start now: the desktop
Goodbye reconfiguration: If you want to use the new Microsoft update for Windows 8.1 will immediately land on the desktop after booting up their computer instead of on the start page as before. In addition, the tile-look applications called "apps" by Microsoft can be accessed more easily using the mouse: they can now be brought up at the bottom of the taskbar on the start page and when applications are open. All you have to do is place your mouse pointer at the bottom of the screen or press the "Windows+T" keys on the keyboard. The activated apps and the Store will then also appear. Another small innovation that simplifies usability: the button for shutting down the system is now located directly on the home screen. The new Windows update also contains all security updates released to date.
Application with the mouse: improved handling
Operating the applications with the mouse has also been simplified: Closing and zooming out is now done via a title bar. It appears when you move the mouse pointer to the top edge of the screen and shows the necessary buttons on the right-hand side. The applications can now be arranged on one of the two halves of the screen via the system menu on the left of the bar. The "Maximize" command in the same place can then be used to return the application to full screen mode.
The "Search" and "Shut down" functions are activated via buttons on the start page, and the tile apps themselves have the familiar context menus. They now also open when the context menu button is pressed - alternatively, they can be opened by right-clicking. If an app is pressed and held with a finger, the touchscreen-friendly menu bars introduced in Windows 8 appear at the top or bottom of the screen.
Postponed: the comeback of the start menu
With the roll-out of Windows 8 in 2012, the Start menu was removed without replacement. As many Windows users have grown fond of it, it is now coming back - but not yet with the Windows 8.1 update, but later in the year.
The Windows 8.1 update will be delivered to all Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 users via the update function of the operating system from April 8, 2014.
Photo credit: microsoft.com
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