Everything You Want to Know About Windows 8.1

Many of you might have read about Windows 8.1 or Windows Blue at various tech news websites and some of you might be wondering what is this new Windows 8.1? Is it a new operating system from Microsoft or is it a service pack for recently released Windows 8?

Don’t worry! This topic will clear all your doubts and will try to reply all your questions about Windows 8.1 or Windows Blue.

First we’ll discuss about Windows Blue. It is a codename of Windows 8.1. If you don’t know about codename, its a name which is given to a software product at the time of its development such as when Windows XP was under development, its codename was Whistler, when Windows Vista was under development, its codename was Longhorn, etc. In initial development stages, the software is identified by its codename and when the development completes or is going to complete, the developer team provides the software a new name for release. So you see Windows Blue and Windows 8.1 are same things.

Now lets talk about Windows 8.1. Windows 8.1 is the name of the next Windows version from Microsoft. Microsoft is working on a new version of Windows OS which will be known as Windows 8.1. As the name suggests, its not an OS developed from scratch. It can be considered as a service pack for Windows 8. Microsoft is trying to fix various issues found in Windows 8 and trying to put new features and apps based on users feedback.

For example, Windows 8.1 will come with more customization options such as more tile sizes on Start Screen, more touch screen gestures, enhanced snap functionality, newer animations, etc. There will be a few new metro apps such as Alarm app, Calculator app, Sound Recorder app, etc. Also there will be many improvements in security and performance of the OS such as less RAM usage, better support for new hardware, etc. It might also fix bugs which we found in Windows 8.

There are rumors that Microsoft may also bring Start button and direct boot to Desktop features back in Windows 8.1 because several Windows 8 users are complaining about these 2 issues. Existing Windows 8 users may check out this topic to know about various free software and manual methods to bring back Start button and Start Menu in Windows 8. Also check out this tutorial to learn how to direct boot into Windows 8 Desktop.

If you can remember, Microsoft did a similar thing with Windows 98. Microsoft released Windows 98 SE (Second Edition) to fix issues and include new features in Windows 98. Now the same thing is being done with Windows 8.1. This new Windows version will try to fix many problems and issues which users are facing in Windows 8.

And now time to share some good news! Microsoft has announced at official Windows blog that its going to release a free Public Preview build of Windows 8.1 (or Windows Blue) at BUILD conference which will take place at the end of June 2013 i.e. next month.

So interested people will be able to check out this major update to Windows 8 next month. Also stay tuned for our exclusive review of Windows Blue which will be published after the release of this Public Preview build of Windows Blue.

UPDATE: Microsoft has announced that the Public Preview build of Windows 8.1 will be released on 26 June 2013. Check out following topic for more information:

Windows Blue will be Called Windows 8.1 and will be a Free Update to Windows 8