14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft will launch the Windows 8.1 OS update on October 18, with the company to offer it as a free download through the Store for all Windows 8 adopters.
While many have criticized Redmond for some of the improvements included in 8.1, the company seems to be really keen on making it much better than the core operating system, probably in an attempt to boost sales of a product whose image was severely affected in the last 12 months.
Today, we’ve learned that the tech giant is planning to launch a major update for Windows 8.1 in early 2014 that would coincide with the launch of Windows Phone 8.1.
Codenamed Spring 2014 GDR, the new large pack of updates seem to be, at some level, more or less of a service pack, as the company is planning to introduce several important improvements aimed at both desktops and tablets.
While no clear details on these updates are available for the time being, it turns out that Microsoft will continue to offer regular monthly patches, so Spring 2014 GDR is only supposed to enhance a few built-in features. Word is that Microsoft is planning to bring its desktop and smartphone platforms closer, but it’s not yet clear how it plans to do that.
At the same time, the company is also trying to make sure that all users will be able to download the stable version of 8.1 by rolling out patches supposed to pave the way for the October 18 release.
An update delivered to Windows 8.1 Preview workstations is supposed to fix a glitch or two that could block users from getting the RTM build when it goes live.
“This update will improve the user experience when you upgrade to the Release to Manufacturing (RTM) version of Windows 8.1 when it is released. After the update is applied, download failures and installation issues will be reduced when you upgrade through the Windows Store,” Microsoft explained.
Basically, the tech giant is willing to avoid the problems experienced by users on June 26 after it rolled out the Preview and made it available through the Store for Windows 8 users.
At that time, lots of Windows 8 adopters complained that the Windows Store upgrading process didn’t work and returned a pretty awkward error saying that “This update is not applicable to your computer.”
This time, on the other hand, everything is supposed to work like a charm when Windows 8.1 RTM hits the Store, regardless of your hardware configuration.
Let’s not forget that Windows 8.1 is also supposed to address some customer feedback and bring back the Start button plus a feature to boot directly to desktop, but in the end, it’s up to you to decide whether this OS update is a good product or not.