14 DAY TRIAL // Microsoft has promised to fight confusion created by its Windows 8 modern operating system by making a few changes to its platform with the help of Windows 8.1, and the company seems keen to continue doing the same thing in future OS updates.
One of the improvements made in Windows 8.1 was the addition of a new so-called Windows Help+Tips app, which provides information on the key features of the modern OS and tries to help users get around the modern UI faster and easier.
Today, a new version of the app was published in the store, which means that adopters of Microsoft’s new Windows 8.1 operating system can download it freely and find out more about the platform that got to see daylight in October 2013.
While Redmond hasn’t provided any specifics on what’s new in this fresh build of the application, it’s pretty clear that the new version comes to address bugs and implement performance improvements supposed to make it more reliable on both desktops and tablets running Windows 8.1.
The Windows Help+Tips comes with detailed content on basically every single feature that’s implemented in Windows 8.1, including the Start button, the Start screen, options to boot directly to desktop, and other tools that could cause confusion among beginners.
“The Help & Tips app teaches you the basics of using Windows, and it links you to additional online help resources,” Microsoft says.
Windows 8.1 Update 1, on the other hand, which is actually a major set of improvements specifically designed for Windows 8.1 users, will continue this effort to make the modern operating system look and work more familiar by adding several user-friendly options, including tools that would ease the job of desktop users working in the Metro environment.
According to leaks that have reached the web recently, options to pin Metro apps to the taskbar and launch them without first accessing the Start screen would also be implemented in Windows 8.1 Update 1, and so would be power settings and a search box right in the Modern UI.
Boot to desktop could also be tweaked in Windows 8.1 Update 1 in order to better suit the device that’s running the operating system. Microsoft is planning to allow OEMs to decide whether they want to enable boot to desktop by default or not, so PCs running the upcoming OS version could be delivered with this particular option enabled from the get-go.