14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft yesterday unveiled the details of its next Windows operating system, confirming that it would also release a totally new search experience powered by Bing.
Basically, the company has tried to bring together the online and the offline worlds, so the new built-in search option will allow users to look for information virtually everywhere.
For example, it will support local folders, apps, PC settings and features, SkyDrive account, mail accounts, and even the web, displaying results right on the Start Screen.
What’s more, the new search option will provide suggestions as you type, making it easier for consumers using touch-capable devices to perform a search.
“Windows 8.1 takes an even bigger step – with its new search experience, you can find your own personal stuff as well as content from the open web and the creativity of the millions of authors and developers. Modern search needs to be complete and help you find what you’re looking for, whether it’s on your PC, in your top apps, or on the web,” Derrick Connell, corporate vice president, Bing, said in a blog post.
“As you type, you will see suggestions about what you might be looking for and a quick tap on any of the suggestions will expose you to a whole new way to use Windows. Regardless of where something lives and what it is – a document on your PC, your photo album in the cloud, an app, a website, a program – with just a tap, you can play, view, launch, browse, and more. Modern search isn’t just about finding information. It’s about using your PC to do the things you love,” he continued.
Windows 8.1 is set to go live on June 26 in preview form at the BUILD developer conference, while the stable version is slated to be unveiled sometime later this year.
For an in-depth description of the changes to be brought by Windows 8.1, check out this link.