The
Windows 8.1 preview is here, giving us a first-hand glimpse at the fruits of Microsoft’s newfound rapid-release religion. Remolding an
operating system in eight scant months is a tall task indeed, and while Windows 8.1 is still far from perfect, Microsoft managed to
craft a fairly capable reimagining of its new-look OS in the short time since
Windows 8 debuted last October.
Steve Ballmer said it well: Windows 8.1 refines the blend,
making the core modern UI experience far less jarring than before. Don’t dig
all the Live Tiles? Windows 8.1 even tosses several sizable bones to desktop
aficionados.
Here,
folks, are the five most enticing reasons to upgrade to Windows 8.1 when the
final version becomes available. Microsoft has said the official release is
slated for 2013, but hasn't announced a firm release date. If you’re feeling
adventurous enough to run beta software—preferably on a secondary computer, for
precaution's sake—you can install the Windows 8.1 preview today, but be sure to back up your data first.
1. A better desktop experience

Just
look at all those desktop-friendly features!
Hey,
this is PCWorld, not TabletWorld, and while the times they are a-changing, the vast majority of computers
found in the wild don’t rock the touchscreens that really take advantage of the
modern UI. Microsoft seemed to forget that point with the original Windows 8
release, but fortunately the Windows 8.1 preview packs a bevy of improvements
that make using it much more palatable to keyboard jockeys.
After
some mild tweaking, you won’t have to jump through hoops to largely eliminate the modern UI from your computing life.
Windows 8.1 reintroduces boot-to-desktop, and if you pair that with the ability
to configure the returned Start button to jump to the Start menu-esque All Apps
screen, you may rarely, if ever, see a Live Tile.
Assuming
nothing incredibly major changes between now and the time the final release
appears, Windows 8.1 still isn’t compelling enough to coax staunch Windows 7
lovers to upgrade, but it does make the transition much easier if you do decide
to switch to Microsoft’s modern vision.
2. More seamless overall

Speaking
of transitions, one of the major complaints about Windows 8 was the disjointed
way that the desktop and the modern UI interacted. All too often, they felt
like warring, totally separate universes, and the OS was all too eager to rip
you out of one to dump you unceremoniously in the other—a
disorienting (and frustrating) experience.
Windows
8.1 smooths that feeling over quite a bit. The walls are definitely still
there, and you’ll occasionally find yourself whisked from one UI to the other,
but overall, the experience is far less intrusive. With the addition of the
revamped Start button, the ability to carry your desktop background over to the
Start screen, and the fuller-fledged modern PC Settings, the Windows 8.1
preview gives you a greater feeling of control over the UI. Now, if Microsoft would only introduce a modern-style file explorer app…
3. Versatile app snapping

Two Internet Explorer windows, each Snapped
to fill half the screen.
Another
big plus in the Windows 8.1 preview is its more-flexible Snap function, which
allows you to have multiple modern-style apps open at once. In Windows 8
vanilla, you’re limited to having two apps open simultaneously: One fills 75
percent of the screen, while the other is relegated to the last quarter. That
seriously cramps Snap’s usefulness.
Windows
8.1 shatters its predecessor’s artificial barriers. Depending on your display’s
resolution, you can have as many as four apps snapped on a single screen, and
you can now dynamically alter the size of snapped windows. Being able to
dedicate half the screen each to two apps seriously boosts Windows 8.1’s
productivity chops.
The
Snap changes may sound minor, but they add up to a huge usability
improvement—especially when paired with the newfound ability to open the modern
version of Internet Explorer 11 in multiple windows at once.
4. Cohesive search results
Windows
8’s Search charm was pretty helpful, but Windows 8.1’s Smart Search blows it
out of the water. Rather than separating search results into distinct Apps,
Settings, and Files categories, Windows 8.1 pools everything into a single
cohesive search results page, complete with results from other apps, including
SkyDrive, Bing Web search, and the Video and Music apps.
Windows 8.1’s Smart Search pools local and
Web-sourced data into one collection of search results, like this aggregate on
Queens of the Stone Age
That
makes Windows 8.1’s search incredibly versatile and incredibly helpful.
Searching for the band Queens of the Stone Age, for example, popped up an
eye-catching picture of the group, a couple of documents where I’d mentioned
them, biographical info, the ability to stream their songs using the Music app,
Bing search results, and recommendations for a couple of apps that could
provide more info about the group.
Windows Smart Search also scooped up a barrel
o’ data on Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer with impressive ease.
Searching
for Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer, on the other hand, also revealed some local
documents, but his results included numerous videos, related search topics, and
a lot more.
If
Microsoft had added only Smart Search to Windows 8.1, it
would’ve been enough to convince me to install the update. Yes, it’s that good.
5. New features in every corner

Windows 8.1 includes support for 3D printers.
How cool is that?
The
Windows 8.1 preview is also jam-packed with all kinds of hidden features. From Miracast
streaming to 3D printer support to Photosynth-style panoramas in the Camera app
to the veritable cornucopia of new features buried in the revamped PC Settings
menu, there’s something new and interesting in every nook and cranny. (And
that’s not even counting the deep bench of new and updated native apps, like the vastly
improved Windows Store.)
You
could spend several days discovering all the tweaks Microsoft stuffed into the
Windows 8.1 preview. Few of them can be classified as all-star additions, but
all are welcome extras nonetheless—and it’s kind of exciting never knowing what
you’ll find when you dive into an unexplored corner of the OS.
A must-have for Windows 8 adoptees
Now,
don’t get me wrong. Windows 8.1 won’t do anything to soothe your concerns if
you hate the very premise of the core Windows 8 experience. The Live Tiles and
modern UI aren’t going anywhere.
But
with the Windows 8.1 preview, Microsoft has shown that it’s willing to
compromise a bit on its post-PC push to nudge along the desktop diehards. The
raft of changes—refinements—in Windows 8.1 soften some of the bumps in
the migration path for newcomers. And if you’re already aboard the Windows 8
bandwagon, there’s no reason not to upgrade to Windows 8.1 whenever it
becomes officially available
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