Review: Updated: Windows 8.1

By Mary Branscombe and Dan Grabham

Introduction and installation

Windows 8.1 has now been out for a few months and is a freely downloadable update. Microsoft has already released what is the equivalent of a first Service Pack for it, Windows 8.1 Update 1.

The latter should already have landed automatically on Windows 8 systems via Windows Update; you need to have Windows 8.1 already installed beforehand.

So did Windows 8.1 fix what was wrong with Windows 8? And does it really required yet another update in the form of Windows 8.1 Update 1?

From Facebook to the full-featured Mail app and modern Outlook, a “peek” bar in the modern version of Internet Explorer 11 and the new Windows Scan app, you get all of the Windows 8.1 extras that were teased in early 2013.

We are still waiting for the proper touch versions of the Office apps but that’s the way things work in Microsoft’s new ‘continuous development’ world. And of course, you …read more

Source: techradar.com – PC and Mac