The hotly anticipated Windows 8.1 update is finally here, but not officially. The update has leaked early, but it might not be for everyone. The general consensus right now is that those without a technical mind-set should wait it out until Microsoft officially releases the update in April of this year.
To get the update, users will have to perform acts that might be dangerous to their computer system. One such method includes meddling with the Windows registry system, a move, not for the faint of heart and those who have no understanding of what they are doing.
According to The Verge, users are required to install a series of patches before the update can be downloaded and installed onto the system. Once the update is installed, users will notice that the desktop friendly features have been enabled by default, which is something many haters of Windows 8 have been hoping for ever since the operating system went on sale 15 months ago.
The full update is around 761MB in size, and brings forth a host of changes that Microsoft hopes will rejuvenate life in an operating system that is going nowhere but down since the software giant is already hard at work on Windows 9.
We did the deed and got Windows 8.1 Update 1. We took it for a spin and came away with 5 most noticeable improvements to the operating system.
Improvements for mouse and keyboard
One of the biggest problems Microsoft faced with Windows 8, was its dumbing down of the whole thing. Mouse and keyboard support felt like child's play and wasn't as responsive when compared to Windows 7 or Windows XP. This has been changed somewhat in Windows 8.1 Update 1, but not a grand improvement.
Pin Modern Apps to The Taskbar
Microsoft came up with a weird idea to allow users to pin Modern Apps to the Taskbar. While some might view this as a good thing, I'm not in the same boat. Modern Apps are designed for touch, and should have no reason to be on the desktop Taskbar. If this is Microsoft's way to please users who want to stick to the desktop, then this is a bad way to go about it.
If a user prefers the desktop, then chances are they have no use for modern apps, since they would be forced to interact with the modern UI.
Power Button on Modern UI
Finding the power button in Windows 8 has always been a million step process. Furthermore, one has always wondered why Microsoft never came up with the idea of placing it right on the start screen for everyone to see.
Happily, this issue has been solved by to the new update.
Taskbar for the modern UI
Here we are with Microsoft trying to make the Modern UI keyboard and mouse friendly. The software giant now allows users to view the Taskbar while in the modern UI. It really dampens the UI, but luckily enough the Taskbar only shows itself when the mouse cursor swipes at the bottom.
This change makes it easier to switch between modern and desktop apps.
OneDrive
With the new update, SkyDrive has been renamed to OneDrive, which is now an official name for Microsoft's cloud service. There are no other changes, just the name change.
