Windows 8.1 - PC Hospital

Windows 8.1
Windows 8.1 (codenamed Blue) is an upgrade for
Windows 8, a version of Windows NT, a computer
operating system released by Microsoft. First unveiled
and released as a public beta in June 2013, it was released
to manufacturing on August 27, 2013, and reached
general availability on October 17, 2013, almost a year
after the retail release of its predecessor. Windows 8.1
is available free of charge for retail copies of Windows 8
and Windows RT users via Windows Store. Unlike service packs on previous versions of Windows, users who
obtained 8 outside of retail copies or pre-loaded installations (i.e., volume licensing) must obtain 8.1 through
new installation media from their respective subscription
or enterprise channel. Microsoft’s support lifecycle policy treats Windows 8.1 similar to previous service packs Windows 8.1 was revealed at Build 2013, held at San Francisco’s
of Windows: It is part of Windows 8’s support lifecycle, Moscone Center.
and installing 8.1 is required to maintain access to support
and Windows updates after January 12, 2016. However,
unlike previous service packs, Windows 8.1 cannot be ac- 1 History
quired via Windows Update and only accepts 8.1-specific
product keys.
In February 2013, ZDNet writer Mary Jo Foley disReleased as part of a shift by Microsoft towards regular closed potential rumors about “Blue”, the codename for
yearly major updates for its platforms and services, Win- a wave of planned updates across several Microsoft proddows 8.1 was primarily intended to address complaints ucts and services, including Windows 8, Windows Phone
of Windows 8 users and reviewers on launch. Visible en- 8, Outlook.com, and SkyDrive. In particular, the report
hancements include an improved Start screen, additional detailed that Microsoft was planning to shift to a more
snap views, additional bundled apps, tighter OneDrive “continuous” development model, which would see ma(formerly SkyDrive) integration, Internet Explorer 11, a jor revisions to its main software platforms released on a
Bing-powered unified search system, restoration of a vis- consistent yearly cycle to keep up with market demands.
ible Start button on the taskbar, and the ability to restore Lending credibility to the reports, Foley noted that a Mithe previous behavior of opening the user’s desktop on lo- crosoft staff member had listed experience with “Winand listed it as a sepgin instead of the Start screen. Windows 8.1 also added dows Blue” on his LinkedIn profile,
[4][5]
arate
operating
system
from
8.
support for such emerging technologies as high resolution
displays, 3D printing, Wi-Fi Direct, and Miracast stream- A post-RTM build of Windows 8, build 9364, leaked in
ing.
March 2013. The build, which was believed to be of
Windows 8.1 received relatively positive reception, with “Windows Blue”, revealed a number of enhancements
critics praising the expanded functionality available to across Windows 8’s interface, including additional size
apps in comparison to 8, its OneDrive integration, along options for tiles, expanded color options on the Start
with its user interface tweaks and the addition of ex- screen, the expansion of PC Settings to include more
panded tutorials for operating the Windows 8 interface. options that were previously exclusive to the desktop
Despite these improvements, 8.1 was still criticised for Control Panel, the ability for apps to snap to half of the
not addressing all of the digressions of 8 (such as a poor screen, the ability to take screenshots from the Share
level of integration between Metro-style apps and the charm, additional stock apps, increased SkyDrive inteautomatic device backups) and Interdesktop interface), and the potential privacy implications gration (such as [6][7]
Shortly afterward on March 26,
net
Explorer
11.
of 8.1’s expanded use of online services.
2013, corporate vice president of corporate communications Frank X. Shaw officially acknowledged the “Blue”
project, stating that continuous development would be
“the new normal” at Microsoft, and that “our product
groups are also taking a unified planning approach so peo1
2
2
DISTRIBUTION
ple get what they want—all of their devices, apps and ser- features.[31] It was unveiled by Microsoft vice president
vices working together wherever they are and for what- Joe Belfiore at Mobile World Congress on February 23,
ever they are doing.”[8]
2014, and detailed in full at Microsoft’s Build conference
In early May, press reports announcing the upcoming on April 2. Belfiore noted that the update would lower the
version in Financial Times and The Economist negatively minimum system requirements for Windows, so it can be
with as little as 1 GB of RAM and 16
compared Windows 8 to New Coke.[9][10] The theme was installed on devices
[32]
GB
of
storage.
Unlike
8.1 itself, this cumulative up[11][12][13]
then echoed and debated in the computer press.
Windows
Update, and must be
date
is
distributed
through
[14]
Shaw rejected this criticism as “extreme”,
adding
installed in order to receive any further patches for Winthat he saw a comparison with Diet Coke as more
dows 8.1.[33]
appropriate.[15]
On May 14, Microsoft officially announced that “Blue”
would be named Windows 8.1. Following a keynote
presentation focusing on this version, the public beta
of Windows 8.1 was released on June 26, 2013 during
Build.[16][17][18] Build 9600 of Windows 8.1 was released
to OEM hardware partners on August 27, 2013, and became generally available on October 17, 2013.[19][20] Unlike past releases of Windows and its service packs, volume license customers and subscribers to MSDN Plus
and TechNet Plus were unable to obtain the RTM version
upon its release; a spokesperson stated that the change in
policy was to allow Microsoft to work with OEMs “to
ensure a quality experience at general availability.”[21][22]
However, after criticism, Microsoft reversed its decision
and released the RTM build on MSDN and TechNet on
September 9, 2013.[23] Prior to the release of 8.1, Microsoft premiered a new television commercial in lateSeptember 2013 that focused on its changes as part of
the “Windows Everywhere” campaign.[24]
At the 2014 Build conference, during April, Microsoft’s
Terry Myerson unveiled further user interface changes
for Windows 8.1, including the ability to run Metro-style
apps inside desktop windows, and a revised Start menu,
which creates a compromise between the Start menu design used by Windows 7 and the Start screen, by combining the application listing in the first column with a
second that can be used to display app tiles. Myerson
stated that these changes would occur in a future update, but did not elaborate further. Microsoft also unveiled a concept known as “Universal Windows apps”, in
which a Windows Runtime app can be ported to Windows
Phone 8.1 and Xbox One while sharing a common codebase. While it does not entirely unify Windows’ app
ecosystem with that of Windows Phone, it will allow developers to synchronize data between versions of their
app on each platform, and bundle access to Windows,
Windows Phone, and Xbox One versions of an app in a
single purchase.[34][35][36][37]
Microsoft originally announced that users who did not install the update would not receive any other updates after
May 13, 2014.[38] However, meeting this deadline proved
challenging: The ability to deploy Windows 8.1 Update
through Windows Server Update Services (WSUS) was
disabled shortly after its release following the discovery
of a bug which affects the ability to use WSUS as a whole
in certain server configurations.[39] Microsoft later fixed
the issue[40] but users continued to report that the update
may fail to install.[38] Microsoft’s attempt to fix the problem was ineffective, to the point that Microsoft pushed
the support deadline further to June 30, 2014.[38][41] On
It was also found that changes to screen resolution han- 16 May, Microsoft released additional updates to fix a
dling on 8.1 resulted in mouse input lag in certain video problem of BSOD in the update.[42]
games that do not use the DirectInput API’s—particularly
first-person shooter games, including Deus Ex: Human
Revolution, Hitman: Absolution, and Metro 2033. Users
also found the issues to be more pronounced when us- 2 Distribution
ing gaming mice with high resolution and/or polling rates.
Microsoft released a patch to fix the bug on certain games
Microsoft markets Windows 8.1 as an “update” for Winin November 2013, and acknowledged that it was caused
dows 8, avoiding the term “upgrade.”[43] Microsoft’s supby “changes to mouse-input processing for low-latency inport lifecycle policy treats Windows 8.1 similar to preteraction scenarios”.[29][30]
vious service packs of Windows: It is part of Windows
8’s support lifecycle, and upgrading to 8.1 is required to
maintain access to support and Windows updates after
1.1 Update
January 12, 2016.[3][44]
Shortly after its release, Windows RT 8.1 was temporarily recalled by Microsoft following reports that some
users had encountered a rare bug which corrupted the operating system’s Boot Configuration Data during installation, resulting in an error on startup.[25][26] On October
21, 2013, Microsoft confirmed that the bug was limited
to the Microsoft Surface RT tablet, and only affected 1 in
1000 installations. The company released recovery media and instructions which could be used to repair the device, and restored access to Windows RT 8.1 the next
day.[27][28]
On April 8, 2014, Microsoft released “Windows 8.1 Retail and OEM copies of Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro,
Update”, which included all past updates plus new and Windows RT can be upgraded through Windows
3.1
User interface and desktop
Store free of charge. However, volume license customers,
TechNet or MSDN subscribers and users of Windows 8
Enterprise must acquire standalone installation media for
8.1 and install through the traditional Windows setup process, either as an in-place upgrade or clean install. This
requires an 8.1-specific product key.[45][46][47][48]
Upgrading through Windows Store requires each machine to download an upgrade package as big as 2–3.6
GB. Unlike the traditional Windows service packs, the
standalone installer, which could be downloaded once and
installed as many times as needed, requires an 8.1-specific
product key.[49]
New retail installation media of Windows 8.1 were released alongside the online upgrade. Unlike their Windows 8 counterparts, they can install Windows on computers that do not have an operating system at all. Microsoft stated that the change was in response to customer
feedback, and to allow more flexibility for users. Pricing
for the retail copies of 8.1 remained the same.[50]
On July 1, 2014, acknowledging difficulties users may
have had through the Windows Store update method, Microsoft introduced a “pilot program” that would allow
Windows 8 and RT 8 to be automatically updated to 8.1
through Windows Update.[51]
2.1
Windows 8.1 with Bing
On 23 May 2014, Microsoft announced it would begin offering a slightly modified version of Windows 8.1,
entitled “Windows 8.1 with Bing”, to OEM computer
manufacturers for use in certain economy computers.[52]
This edition is similar to a single-language Windows
8.1 core edition with Update 1 installed available at
markedly reduced price or royalty-free to OEM.[53] In
exchange, OEMs are specifically forbidden from changing the default search engine, which is Bing. End users
are not restricted from installing other search engines or
browsers,[52] but cannot use BitLocker, host a Remote
Desktop Connection, or join a domain.[54] The price of
this edition is an undisclosed trade secret but is probably
close to zero.[55]
3
3.1 User interface and desktop
The Start screen received several enhancements on 8.1,
including an extended “All Apps” view with sort modes
(accessed by clicking a new down arrow button or swiping upward), small and extra-large sizes for tiles, and colored tiles for desktop program shortcuts. Additional customization options were also added, such as expanded
color options, new backgrounds (some of which incorporate animated elements), and the ability for the Start
screen to use the desktop background instead. Applications are no longer added to the Start screen automatically when installed, and all applications now have colored tiles (desktop programs were previously shown in a
single color). The app snapping system has also been extended; up to 4 apps can be snapped onto a single display
depending on screen size, apps can be snapped to fill half
the screen, and can also be used on any display in a multimonitor configuration. Apps can also launch other apps
in a snapped view to display content; for example, the
Mail app can open a photo attachment in a picture viewer
snapped to another half of the screen. Improved support
is also provided by apps for using devices in a portrait
(vertical) orientation. The lock screen offers the ability
to use a photo slideshow as its backdrop, and a shortcut
to the Camera app by swiping up. The on-screen keyboard has an improved autocomplete mechanism which
displays multiple word suggestions, and allows users to
select from them by sliding on the spacebar. The autocomplete dictionary is also automatically updated using
data from Bing, allowing it to recognize and suggest words
relating to current trends and events.[58][59] Similarly to
Windows Phone, certain apps now display a narrow bar
with three dots on it to indicate the presence of a popup menu accessible by swiping, clicking on the dots, or
right-clicking.[60]
To improve the usability of the desktop interface, a visible Start button was restored to the taskbar for opening
the Start screen, and the Quick Links menu (accessed by
right-clicking the Start button or pressing ⊞ Win+X) now
contains shutdown and sign-out options. Users can also
modify certain user interface behaviors, such as disabling
the upper hot corners for using the charms and recent
apps list, going to the desktop instead of the Start screen
on login or after closing all apps on a screen, automatically opening the “All Apps” view on the Start screen
when opened, and prioritizing desktop programs on the
“Category” sort mode on “All Apps”. To assist users in
learning the Windows 8 user interface, an interactive tu3 New and changed features
torial is also offered, along with a new Help + Tips app
for additional information.[57][61] In contrast, Windows
Main article: Features new to Windows 8
RT 8.1 downplays the desktop interface further by not
displaying the Desktop tile on its default Start screen at
it can still be manually added to the Start
Many of the changes on Windows 8.1, particularly to the all (however,
[62]
screen).
user interface, were made in response to criticisms from
early adopters and other critics after the release of Win- Windows manager Chaitanya Sareen stated that the
restoration of the visible Start button was intended to be
dows 8.[56][57]
4
3
NEW AND CHANGED FEATURES
a “warm blanket” for users who had become confused by
the removal of the button on 8; the Start button was originally removed to reflect Windows 8’s treatment of the
desktop as an “app” rather than the main interface.[63]
to give the appearance of a normal directory structure
to provide backwards compatibility. The OneDrive app
was updated to include a local file manager. OneDrive
use on 8.1 requires that a user’s Windows account be
Further interface behavior changes are made on the April linked to a Microsoft account; the previous SkyDrive
did not have this requirement) is
2014 “Windows 8.1 Update”, which are oriented to- desktop client (which[70][71][72]
not
supported
on
8.1.
wards non-touch environments (such as desktop and laptop PCs) that use a keyboard and mouse, and improve in- A Bing-based unified search system was added; it can antegration between Windows Store apps and the desktop. alyze a user’s search habits to return results featuring releWhen a mouse is in use, the Desktop is shown on startup vant local and online content. Full-screen “hero” displays
by default, the Start screen uses context menus instead of aggregate news articles, Wikipedia entries, multimedia,
a toolbar across the bottom of the screen for manipulat- and other content related to a search query; for instance,
ing tiles, an autohiding title bar with minimize and close searching for a music performer would return photos of
buttons is displayed within apps at the top of the screen, the performer, a biography, and their available songs and
the taskbar can display and pin apps alongside desktop albums on Xbox Music.[57][58] The messaging app from
programs and be accessed from within apps, and visible Windows 8 has been replaced by Skype, which also alsearch and power buttons are added to the Start screen. lows users to accept calls directly from the lock screen.[58]
The update also changes the default image viewer and Windows 8.1 also includes Internet Explorer 11, which
media player programs for non-touch devices; Windows adds support for SPDY and WebGL, and expanded deMedia Player and Windows Photo Viewer are used by veloper tools. The Metro-style version of IE 11 also adds
default in lieu of the Xbox Video and Photos apps.[64][65] tab syncing, the ability to open an unlimited number of
tabs, and Reading List integration.[73][74]
3.2
Apps
The suite of pre-loaded apps bundled with Windows 8
were changed in 8.1; PC Settings was expanded to include options that were previously exclusive to the desktop Control Panel, Windows Store was updated with an
improved interface for browsing apps and automatic updates, the Mail app includes an updated interface and additional features, the Camera app integrates Photosynth
for creating panoramas, and additional editing tools were
added to the Photos app (while integration with Flickr
and Facebook was completely removed). A number
of additional stock apps were also added, including
Calculator, Food and Drink, Health and Fitness, Sound
Recorder, Reading List (which can be used to collect
and sync content from apps through OneDrive), Scan,
and Help + Tips.[57][66] For Windows RT users, 8.1 also
adds a version of Microsoft Outlook to the included
Office 2013 RT suite. However, it does not support data
loss protection, Group Policy, Lync integration, or creating emails with information rights management.[67] Windows Store is enabled by default within Windows To Go
environments.[68]
3.3
Online services and functionality
3.4 Security and hardware compatibility
On compatible hardware, Windows 8.1 also features
a transparent “device encryption” system based on
BitLocker. Encryption begins as soon as a user begins
using the system; the recovery key is stored to either the
user’s Microsoft account or an Active Directory login, allowing it to be retrieved from any computer. While device encryption is offered on all versions of 8.1 unlike
BitLocker (which is exclusive to the Pro and Enterprise
editions), device encryption requires that the device meet
the Connected Standby specification and have a Trusted
Platform Module (TPM) 2.0 chip.[75][76] 8.1 also introduces improved fingerprint recognition APIs, which allows user login, User Account Control, Windows Store
and Windows Store apps to use enrolled fingerprints as
an authentication method. A new kiosk mode known as
“Assigned Access” was also added, allowing a device to
be configured to use a single app in a restricted environment. Additionally, Windows Defender includes an
intrusion detection system which can scan network activity for signs of malware. 8.1 also allows third-party VPN
clients to automatically trigger connections.[77]
For enterprise device management, Windows 8.1 adds
support for the Workplace Join feature of Windows
Server 2012 R2, which allows users to enroll their own
device into corporate networks with finer control over access to resources and security requirements. 8.1 also supports the OMA Device Management specifications. Remote Data Control can be used to remotely wipe specific
“corporate” data from Windows 8.1 devices.[68]
Windows 8.1 adds tighter integration with several
OneDrive (formerly
Microsoft-owned services.
SkyDrive)[69] is integrated at the system level to
sync user settings and files. Files are automatically
downloaded in the background when they are accessed
from the user’s OneDrive folder, unless they are marked
to be available offline. By default, only file metadata and Due to changes to improve its “security effectiveness”,
thumbnails are stored locally, and reparse points are used the 64-bit version of Windows 8.1 no longer supports pro-
4.2
Market share
cessors which do not implement the double-width compare and exchange (CMPXCHG16B) CPU instruction
(which the installer reports as a lack of support for “CompareExchange128”). A Microsoft spokesperson noted
that the change primarily affects systems with older AMD
64-bit processors, and that “the number of affected processors are extremely small, since this instruction has
been supported for greater than 10 years.” Even if the
system does have an otherwise compatible processor, the
motherboard must also support the instruction—which
can also cause the problem to occur on Intel processors
in select cases. These changes do not affect the 32-bit
version of Windows 8.1.[78][79]
3.5
Hardware functionality
5
ing stories, rather than non-standard links that can only
be recognized by the app). Although praising the more
flexible snapping system, he still pointed out flaws, such
as an inability to maintain snap configurations in certain situations. 8.1’s search functionality was met with
mixed reviews; while noting the Bing integration and updated design, the system was panned for arbitrarily leaving out secondary storage devices from the “Everything”
mode.[86]
Peter Bright of Ars Technica praised many of the improvements on 8.1, such as its more “complete” touch
interface, the “reasonable” tutorial content, the new
autocomplete tools on the on-screen keyboard, software
improvements, and the deep SkyDrive integration. However, he felt that the transition between the desktop and
apps “still tends to feel a bit disjointed and disconnected”
(even though the option to use the desktop wallpaper on
the Start screen made it feel more integrated with the
desktop interface rather than dissimilar), and that the
restoration of the Start button made the two interfaces
feel even more inconsistent because of how different it
operates between the desktop and apps.[59]
Windows 8.1 adds support for 3D printing,[80][81] pairing with printers using NFC tags, Wi-Fi Direct, Miracast
media streaming,[82] tethering,[68] and NVMe.[83][84] In
response to the increasing pixel density in displays, Windows 8.1 can scale text and GUI elements up to 200%
(whereas Windows 8 supported only 150%) and set
scaling settings independently on each display in multi- Certain aspects of 8.1 were also cause for concern because of their privacy implications. In his review of 8.1,
monitor configurations.[85]
Joel Hruska noted that Microsoft had deliberately made
it harder for users to create a “Local” account that is not
tied to a Microsoft account for syncing, as it "[makes]
4 Reception
clear that the company really, really, wants you to share
everything you do with it, and that’s not something an
increasing number of people and businesses are comfort4.1 Critical reception
able doing.”[86] Woody Leonhard of InfoWorld noted that
Windows 8.1 received better reviews than Windows 8. by default Windows 8.1’s “Smart Search” system sends
Tom Warren of The Verge still considered the platform search queries and other information to Microsoft, which
to be a “work in progress” due to the number of apps could be used for targeted advertising. Leonhard considavailable, the impaired level of capabilities that apps have ered this to be ironic, given that Microsoft had criticized
tactics with its "Scroogled" adverin comparison to desktop programs, and because he felt Google's use of similar
[87]
tising
campaign.
that mouse and keyboard navigation was still “awkward”.
However, he touted many of the major changes on 8.1,
such as the expanded snapping functionality, increased
Start screen customization, SkyDrive and Bing integration, improvements to stock apps, and particularly he considered the Mail app to be “lightyears ahead” of the original version from 8. He concluded that “Microsoft has
achieved a lot within 12 months, even if a lot of the additions feel like they should have been there from the very
start with Windows 8.”[58]
Joel Hruska of ExtremeTech criticized continuing integration problems between the Desktop and apps on 8.1,
pointing out examples such as the Photos app, which “still
refuses to acknowledge that users might have previous
photo directories”, and that the Mail app “still can’t talk to
the desktop—if you try to send an email from the Desktop without another mail client installed, Windows will
tell you there’s no mail client capable of performing that
action.” However, he praised the improvements to other
apps, such as People and News (pointing out UI improvements, and the News app using proper links when shar-
4.2 Market share
According to Net Applications, the adoption rate in June
2014 for Windows 8.1 was at 6.61%, while the original
Windows 8 was at 5.93%.[88]
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6
Further reading
• Northrup, Tony (November 15, 2013). Windows
8.1 Inside Out. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Press.
ISBN 978-0-7356-8363-1.
• “Compare Windows 8.1 Editions”. Microsoft.com.
Microsoft.
7
External links
• Official website
Windows 8.1 Update
EXTERNAL LINKS
9
8
Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses
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8.3
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