14 DAY TRIAL // Tomorrow, the Microsoft community is celebrating Patch Tuesday, or Update Tuesday, as the Redmond-based software giant is now referring to its patching cycle, but in addition to security fixes and improvements, the company is also introducing the highly anticipated Windows 8.1 August Update.
The new pack of features specifically designed for computers running Windows 8.1 Update is actually part of a broader strategy adopted by Microsoft that’s supposed to bring monthly improvements to its modern operating system, thus helping the company step away from the old concept of service packs, but also from bigger releases as it was the case of Update 1.
Contrary to what people expected, Windows 8.1 August Update won’t bring any significant changes for consumers, but instead will pack three different improvements, as it follows:
• Precision touchpad improvements – three new end-user settings have been added: Leave touch pad on when a mouse is connected; allow right-clicks on the touchpad; double-tap and drag.
• Miracast Receive – exposes a set of Wi-Fi direct APIs for Independent Hardware Vendor (IHV) drivers or OEM drivers to develop Windows 32-bit applications that run on all supported x86-based or x64-based versions of Windows 8.1, enabling the computer as a Miracast receiver.
• Minimizing login prompts for SharePoint Online – reduces the number of prompts with federated use in accessing SharePoint Online sites. If you select the “Keep me signed in” check box when you log on for the first time, you will not see prompts for successive access to that SharePoint Online site.
People close to the matter and even Microsoft itself hinted earlier this year that a future Windows 8.1 update, most likely the August Update, would also bring back the Start menu in modern Windows, but new reports are now claiming that the company has actually decided to delay this return until Windows 9.
As is the case with all the other patches released on Update Tuesday, Windows 8.1 August Update will be shipped via Windows Update and will not be offered as mandatory. This means that those running Windows 8.1 Update can decide if they want or not to install it, even though Microsoft recommends everyone to do it just to be sure that they’re benefitting from the latest improvements.
On the other hand, more improvements for Windows 8.1 should follow soon, as the company continues work on new updates that are expected to be released as part of future Patch Tuesday rollouts.