Microsoft talks up 'next version of Windows'

• by Brooke Crothers 
   @mbrookec
 



Screenshot of the desktop on the "next version of Windows," as Microsoft's Tony Prophet described it at the company's Partner Conference.Microsoft

Microsoft's Tony Prophet took a moment Wednesday to expand on a key feature in the next version of Windows at a Microsoft conference.

Prophet, corporate vice president of Windows Marketing, offered a bit more clarity on comments executive Terry Myerson provided at Microsoft's Build Conference in April.

"We are hard at work on the next version of Windows," Prophet said at the company's Worldwide Partner Conference taking place in Washington, DC.

"And while we have nothing to announce today, I will share with you a couple of features we're thinking about," he said, explaining that the screenshot (above) was originally shown at the Build Conference in April.

He began by mentioning that a new Start menu is "better because this one has Live Tiles and modern apps."

"The second feature we're thinking about is enabling modern apps to run windowed on the desktop versus only running in the immersive full-screen mode. This will enable you to run multiple modern apps side-by-side or layered or a combination of modern apps and desktop programs side-by-side or layered," he said.His slightly more detailed discussion focused on the desktop.

Microsoft is trying to bridge the relatively strict separation -- that currently exists on Windows 8.1 -- of the Modern, aka Metro, UI that is touch friendly and the more traditional desktop UI, which is geared more toward the mouse and keyboard.

Myerson has described it as "building smart bridges" to the Modern UI.

Why? To state the obvious, the Windows world still revolves around the desktop, so the Modern UI can be an unnecessary distraction -- in its current segregated form -- to desktop-centric users.

One question that hasn't been answered is whether Microsoft is talking about the rumored Windows 9, aka Threshold, or an update to Windows 8.

But note that Prophet did say, "the next version of Windows." Informed speculation is pointing to anupdate as early as this fall or something bigger next year, when a major new Windows release may come.

Windows 8 Start menu from Microsoft? Not till 2015

• by Mary Jo Foley
 



Not all Starts are created equal.Sarah Tew/CNET

Microsoft won't be delivering a new Start menu for Windows 8 with its coming Windows 8.1 Update 2 after all.

That recent change in plans comes courtesy of a couple of my sources who've had good track records on Windows information.

Up until recently, Microsoft was hoping to make a new "mini" Start menu part of a second update to Windows 8.1. Windows 8.1 Update 2 was -- and still is, last I heard -- slated to arrive in August of this year.

Microsoft's operating systems group has decided to hold off on delivering a Microsoft-developed Start menu until Threshold, the next "major" release of Windows. Threshold, which may or may not ultimately be called Windows 9, is expected to be released in April 2015. I'm not clear whether the postponement is because the feature won't be fully baked in time, or if there's another reason for the change in plans.

Microsoft still is moving full steam ahead with plans to try to make Windows 8.x more palatable and usable by those using mice and keyboards, as well as those used to previous Windows iterations. That strategy hasn't changed.

The new Microsoft-developed Start menu isn't going to be the same as the Windows XP/Vista/Windows 7 Start menus; it's expected to offer some familiarity, but also integrate Windows 8's Metro-style Start screen concept. (For those who prefer the more traditional Windows Start Menu experience, there are a few third-party-developed Start menus for Windows 8 on the market including Start8 from Stardockand the Pokki Windows 8 Start Menu.)

Terry Myerson, the Microsoft executive vice president who runs the unified operating system group, showed off a Start menu mock-up during Microsoft's Build conference in early April, noting that Microsoft was going to bring a Start menu back to Windows as part of the "next iteration" of the operating system. He didn't specify whether that meant Windows 8.1 Update 2 or Threshold, but based on leaks later in April, the internal plan was to make the Start menu part of Update 2.

Myerson also showed off in early April a new option to run Metro-style/Windows Store apps to run in windows on the Desktop. I'm still hearing that windowed Metro-style apps functionality remains a Threshold deliverable, not a Windows 8.1 Update 2 deliverable.

So now what's going to be in Windows 8.1 Update 2? Will there be any user-interface changes or will it be more a vehicle for under-the-covers programming interface and reliability improvements? I don't know at this point.

To attract developers, Microsoft opens up Web-app technology

WinJS makes it easier for programmers to create Web apps using Windows 8 styling, but some of the features are useful more broadly.screenshot by Stephen Shankland/CNET

With Windows 8, Microsoft introduced the idea of writing Web apps for its operating system, and central to this effort was a software foundation called WinJS that provided Web developers with a number of helpful programming features.

But WinJS, however useful it might have been, remained an illustration of the old-school Microsoft technology approach: proprietary software that worked only with Internet Explorer's browser technology and only on Windows. It let programmers more easily do things like animate the arrival of text as a person swiped through screens, but not if they were writing an app people would be accessing with Chrome, Firefox, Safari, Opera.

Now Microsoft -- having been taught by the Web, iOS, and Android that there's life beyond its own platforms -- is loosening up. An obvious example consumers could see was last week's release ofMicrosoft Office for iPad, but at its Build conference, Microsoft sent a message to developers, too, byreleasing WinJS as open-source software.

One big reason for doing so was to make the WinJS library of software useful beyond just Windows and IE, Microsoft said in a blog post Thursday. That could increase its adoption and relevance -- and in the process carry the styling of Windows 8 apps to other parts of the computing world.

Microsoft CEO Satya NadellaJames Martin/CNET

Microsoft's new chief executive, Satya Nadella, may be loosening up the company culture, but in a speech at Build, he left no doubt the ultimate strategy hasn't changed: attract programmers to Microsoft's platforms. We're just seeing new tactics for achieving that goal, such as becoming more relevant beyond Windows' walled garden.

There's a large and growing number of libraries that extend the Web's JavaScript programming language so it's easier for developers to do advanced Web programming, but a tool that works only on Internet Explorer is doomed: The primary reason programmers put up with the complication of Web programming is that they get software that works across the whole Web, not just one corner of it.

"The top feedback from developers who use HTML/CSS/JavaScript [the three foundational Web programming standards] for their app development is that they appreciate the reach it gives them across devices," Microsoft said. "Extending WinJS to other browsers and devices beyond Windows further extends their reach and allows them to bring the personality of Windows apps to the Web without rewriting code or learning new skills."

Cross-platform programming makes it easier for developers to write Windows apps that work elsewhere. But the advantage can flow back to Microsoft, too.

The company has been trying to encourage programmers to write apps that use the new-style Windows interface formerly called Metro. Web technologies boosted by WinJS are one way to get there, but as a ZDNet look at the top 25 Windows Store apps shows, programmers have preferred Microsoft's proprietary XAML. If Microsoft can spread WinJS use beyond Windows and attract a broader pool of Web developers, that could mean more Web-based apps for Windows, too.

Windows 8 update at Build conference

Microsoft is following through on a promise to update its Windows 8 operating system on a regular basis to respond to consumers' complaints and other feedback.

Just months after the release of Windows 8.1, Microsoft is preparing changes to make it easier for people to use Windows with traditional keyboard and mouse controls. Among other things, Microsoft will add search, power and settings buttons to the Start page, so people don't have to figure out how to pull those functions from the right side of their screens. The update also promises easier ways to close apps.

Microsoft Corp. outlined some of the new features at a February conference in Barcelona, Spain, and will likely provide more details Wednesday as the company opens its annual Build software developers conference in San Francisco.

The new, yet-unnamed update is expected soon. It follows the October debut of Windows 8.1, which came just a year after the release of Windows 8. The pattern contrasts with Microsoft's past habit of waiting years to release major updates.

Microsoft is also updating its Windows Phone system to work better in corporate environments. The company will add VPN support, for instance, to allow phones to connect with corporate networks securely. There will also be features that consumers in fast-growing emerging markets desire, including the ability for phones to have two SIM cards so people can switch carrier plans easily for the best deals.

The company hasn't announced pricing or specific availability for either update, but both are likely to be free downloads, based on past practice. They could be available as early as this month and will be among the first major software releases since Satya Nadella became Microsoft's CEO in February. It follows Nadella's unveiling last week of Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps for Apple's iPad.

Microsoft may also use the Build conference to update software developers on the company's plans to integrate the Windows Phone 8 system for smartphones, the Windows 8.1 system for tablets, laptops and desktops and the Xbox system for its game console. The company has said it is working to have its various systems share more of the underlying code, while retaining separate interfaces adapted to the specific devices. The integration will make it easier for developers to adapt apps for the various devices.

Microsoft, which is based in Redmond, Wash., saw lackluster demand when Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 came out in October 2012.

Windows 8 was supposed to be Microsoft's answer to the growing popularity of touch-screen devices such as smartphones and tablets. Instead, research firm IDC blamed Windows 8 for accelerating a decline in global PC shipments, which fell 14 percent in the first three months of 2013, the first full quarter with Windows 8.

Designed as a single system to unify tablets, laptops and desktop PCs, Windows 8 emphasizes touch-screen controls and sports a full-page home screen that is more common on mobile gadgets than traditional computers. Many consumers, however, hate that approach on laptops and desktops.

Last October, Microsoft issued a free update to address some of the gripes. Now, people can run more than two apps side by side. The built-in browser lets people open more than 10 tabs without automatically closing older ones. Windows 8.1 also introduced new features, including a universal search function to help users find files stored on their computers along with Web content on the Internet.

At the time of the release, Microsoft promised to issue new features regularly.

The latest update will do just that. Microsoft has said the company is standing by its decision to embrace touch controls, while acknowledging that many of the remaining Windows gripes have come from people who use non-touch devices.

Meanwhile, Windows Phone 8 came out with a thud some 17 months ago. One of its biggest drawbacks has been a lack of apps available for the system, compared with Apple's iOS and Google'sAndroid. Microsoft is starting to catch up on that front. It has also updated Windows Phone 8 three times since its release to add features. The upcoming update is poised to be the biggest of them all and might get a new name, Windows Phone 8.1.

The release comes as Microsoft prepares to buy Nokia's phone business and patent rights in a 5.4 billion euro ($7.4 billion) deal. The transaction should be completed in the next few weeks, pending regulatory approval in Asia. The deal already has approval in the U.S. and Europe.

Windows 8 designer: Why Microsoft forced Metro on us all

(Credit: Screenshot by Lance Whitney/CNET)

Microsoft designed its Metro, aka Modern, interface for "your computer illiterate little sister, for grandpas who don't know how to use that computer dofangle thingy, and for mom who just wants to look up apple pie recipes." At least that's the take from someone who worked on the design of Windows 8.

Chiming in on a Reddit conversation on Friday, Jacob Miller, a self-described UX designer for Microsoft, said that Metro was created for casual users first and foremost but claimed that the interface ultimately will be a boon to power users as well. From Miller's viewpoint, Metro was geared for content consumers -- people who want to check Facebook, view a few photos, and post a selfie, making it capable of doing "one thing (and only one) thing relatively easily."

On the flip side, Metro was not geared for content creators -- people who want to multitask, run virtual machines, and do more complex things, Miller said. But if that's the case, why ram Metro down the throats of all Windows users?

Essentially, Microsoft felt it was up against a wall, according to Miller's description. Try to add a powerful new feature to Windows, and casual users balk. One example Miller cited is multiple desktops, a feature in OS X and Linux but still not built into Windows. Each time Microsoft conducted user tests on multiple desktops, casual users got confused, prompting the company to cut it.

Comparing Windows 8 to a "rented rented tuxedo coat," Miller said it was designed to fit a variety of people but not tailored to any one specific customer. Features added to Windows had to be simple enough for casual users but not so dumb that it would turn off power users. As a result, many features were ultimately cut on the first go-round. And that also led to Windows 8's split personality, according to Miller:

Our hands were bound, and our users were annoyed with their rented jackets. So what did we do? We separated the users into two groups. Casual and Power. We made two separate playgrounds for them. All the casual users would have their own new and shiny place to look at pictures of cats -- Metro. The power users would then have free reign over their native domain -- the desktop.

So why was Metro initially made the default with no option to boot to the desktop in Windows 8? Miller explained the thinking here:

 The short answer is because casual users don't go exploring. If we made desktop the default as it has always been, and included a nice little start menu that felt like home, the casual users would never have migrated to their land of milk and honey. They would still occupy the desktop just as they always had, and we would have been stuck in square one. So we forced it upon them. We drove them to it with goads in their sides. In 8.1, we softened the points on the goads by giving users an option to boot directly to desktop.

Now that we've gone through the sturm und drang of Windows 8, what lies ahead? Miller painted a future in which Microsoft smooths out the rough edges of both Metro and the desktop:

Now that the casual users are aware of their new pasture, we can start tailoring. It will be a while before the power users start seeing the benefits of this (that's why I said they'd benefit in the long run). Right now we still have a lot of work to do on making Metro seem tasty for those casual users, and that's going to divert our attention for a while. But once it's purring along smoothly, we'll start making the desktop more advanced. We'll add things that we couldn't before. Things will be faster, more advanced, and craftier than they have in the past -- and that's why Metro is good for power users.

In one respect, Miller is saying that Windows 8 was the price we had to pay to get to a smoother and friendlier Windows 9. If so, is that really the best way to treat your customers? Does Microsoft need to force-feed us a not-so-good version of Windows before we can get something better? Or was Windows 8 an unnecessary slip-up on the road to the future?

Microsoft building an ‘Xbox Reading’ app for Windows 8

Microsoft has already built Xbox Music and Xbox Video apps for Windows 8, but the next target is books. A recent Microsoft job listing, discovered by Chinese Microsoft blog LiveSino, notes that the software giant is looking to hire a software design engineer to build "a groundbreaking interactive reading app on Windows, which incorporates books, magazines, and comics." Potential candidates would join the same Music, Video, and Reading (MVR) team that has already shipped two built-in Xbox branded apps for Windows 8.

It’s not immediately clear why Microsoft is building another reading application, but The Verge has confirmed with one source familiar with the company's plans that Microsoft is planning to build the new app. Microsoft already ships a separate "Reader" app for Windows 8, so it’s possible that the company is planning to redesign and rebuild it with Xbox branding. The existing Reader app is a fairly basic viewer with support for PDF, XPS, and TIFF files. Xbox Music and Xbox Video apps run across Windows 8, Windows Phone, Xbox 360, and Xbox One, but it's not clear from the job posting whether Microsoft is also porting the new reading app to its Xbox consoles.

MICROSOFT'S OFFICE TEAM ALSO BUILDING A READER APP

Microsoft’s Office team is also developing its own separate "Office Reader" app for Windows 8. Office Reader is designed to be a cross-format tool for consuming different types of content, including PDFs and textbooks. Microsoft’s Office Reader app is being developed by the Office team at the company, not the Music, Video, and Reading team. Microsoft’s Kirk Koenigsbauer demonstrated the Office Reader app during an employee-only company meeting last year. Both the "Xbox Reading" and Office Reader applications have not been announced yet, but Microsoft is expected to ship its Office Reader app later this year.

The promise of books, magazines, and comics integration suggests this upcoming Xbox-branded reading app could be the first full example of Microsoft’s Nook investment. The software-maker partnered with Barnes & Noble for a $300 million investment in late 2012, but Microsoft has not yet integrated the Nook services into its own apps in any meaningful way. Aside from a Nook Windows 8 app, the promise of accelerated "e-reading innovation across a broad range of Windows devices" has not yet come to fruition.

Fixing Windows 8

Microsoft has made several improvements in Windows 8.1. But the problem of two operating systems in one box continues, says David Pogue
Just about one year ago, Microsoft gave us two new operating systems. One was a new version of Windows: the one for use with mouse and keyboard, the one whose desktop at this moment lights up hundreds of millions of screens, the one with a software library of 4 million programs.

The other was a new operating system for tablets. It was modelled on Microsoft’s lovely tiled Home screen for Windows Phones: colourful, clear, elegant, filled with fluid touch gestures. You can’t run Photoshop or iTunes or Quicken on it; this new system requires a whole new type of app. Since Microsoft doesn’t have a name for this OS (it abandoned the names Metro and Modern), I call it TileWorld.

All of this might have been fine, except for one tragic miscalculation: Microsoft mashed these two new operating systems together into something called Windows 8.

Now you have two Web browsers to learn. Two completely different Help systems. Two (actually three) control panels. Two kinds of programs: the traditional ones, which have menus and overlapping windows, and TileWorld apps, which don’t have either of those things.

Reviewers and PC fans gave Microsoft quite a swat on the nose. PC World wrote that Windows 8 is “not worthwhile” for desktop computer users. PC Magazine: “Too drastic for some.” InformationWeek: “A big flop. Its Frankenstein interface combines two fundamentally incompatible operating systems.”

PC sales plunged 14 percent in the months after Windows 8’s release. The executive who masterminded Windows 8 abruptly left the company.

Microsoft, licking its wounds, spent a year trying to fix Windows 8. Last Thursday, you could download the result: Windows 8.1. It’s free to anyone who already has Windows 8, and it will come preinstalled on new computers. 

The changes to TileWorld are nearly endless - and terrific. The anaemic, pared-down starter apps, like Photos and Mail, have matured. Now you can edit photos in Photos (not just look at them) and drag email messages into folders. The muddled Music app has been redesigned, smartly and handsomely.

A suite of utility programs is there now, right where they should have been the first time around: Alarms, Calculator and Sound Recorder. There are also all-new apps, too, like Food and Drink, Health and Fitness and Reading List. It lets you save Web pages, email messages and Twitter posts for use when you have no Internet connection.

You have more options to tailor your desktop, Start screen and Lock screen in Windows 8.1. For example, you can make your Lock screen a slideshow, so that your tablet is a photo frame whenever you’re not working. The Help system in Windows 8 was practically nonexistent; in many apps, it was completely nonexistent.

“If Windows 8 isn’t easy enough to understand without reading Help screens, then we’ve failed,” a product manager told me at the time. Well, hate to tell you this, but ...
In any case, there’s now a full-blown Help and Tips app for TileWorld, which is clear, concise and crisp. The first time you use Windows 8.1, moreover, huge billboards with arrows pointing to the corners of the screen help you understand the four secret places to click. Each opens a different useful panel, like recently used apps or common settings.

In Windows 8, you could split the screen between two apps, but you couldn’t control the proportions of the screen occupied by each. Now you can. If you have a high-resolution screen, in fact, you can open more than two apps simultaneously. It’s a reasonable replacement for the loss of multiple windows.

In Windows 8, Microsoft made the mind-blowingly frustrating decision to rig the Search function so that it could find programs, settings or files - but not all three categories at once.

Now you can; in fact, Search throws in search results from the whole Internet.
The on-screen keyboard is better, now, too. You can swipe your finger across the Space bar to view alternative Autocomplete suggestions.

Four sizes of Start-screen tiles are available now. In other words, if you have a lot of apps, you can get by with less sideways scrolling to see them all.

Finally, Windows 8.1 is even more tied in to your SkyDrive, a free, 7-gigabyte online “hard drive.” When you create a new document, you can save it either to your Windows machine or your SkyDrive.

These are all wonderful and welcome changes. What you may have noticed, however, is that virtually all of them are changes in TileWorld. All of them are designed for touch screens. These changes are solely for the benefit of people who’ve bought Windows 8 tablets and touch-screen laptops - all nine of them.

On the other hand, almost nothing has changed for people who use the real Windows, the desktop Windows.

And none of the changes listed above address the elephant in the room: the jarring juxtaposition of TileWorld and the traditional Windows behind it.

Fortunately, Microsoft has taken a few steps toward reconciling these two wildly different worlds.

The big news is that the Start button is back at the desktop, in the lower-left corner. Yet incredibly, despite the wails of the masses, clicking it still doesn’t open the Start menu. Instead, it just takes you back to TileWorld.

Microsoft’s logic: You’re supposed to think of TileWorld’s Start screen as an expanded, tile-based version of the Start menu. It’s the same items, just spread across your screen. So clicking the Start button does, in a way, take you to your Start menu items. (If you prefer the real Start menu, you can still install Classic Menu or another free app that brings it back.)

In fact, if you turn on the new “Show the apps view automatically when I go to Start” checkbox (in the Taskbar and Navigation pane of the Control Panel), then clicking that Start button opens a complete, full-screen list of apps, rather than the full-blown, space-hungry Start screen. It’s not the old Start menu, but it’s a start.

Furthermore, you no longer need some piece of shareware to make your PC start up to the desktop instead of TileWorld; there’s a buried setting to do that, too.

You can now choose the same desktop picture for both TileWorld and the desktop. There are still three different places to make settings to your computer - two in TileWorld, plus the traditional Control Panel. But at least more of the Control Panel’s settings are now duplicated in the TileWorld settings panels, so you don’t have another environment switch to change them.

We should be grateful for these baby steps. Unfortunately, all of it is a giant exercise in rearranging crackers on plates on deck chairs on the Titanic.

The fundamental problem with Windows 8 hasn’t changed: You’re still working in two operating systems at once. You’re still leaping from one universe into another - the colour schemes, fonts and layouts all change abruptly - and it still feels jarring. There are still too many duplicate programs and settings, one in each environment. And you still can never live entirely in one world or the other.

The more you work with Windows 8, the more screamingly obvious the solution becomes: Split it up. Offer regular Windows on regular computers, offer TileWorld on tablets. That way, everyone has to learn only one operating system, and each operating system is suited to its task.

There’s a reason Microsoft mostly ignored the traditional Windows desktop world in Windows 8.1; the company is betting that all computers will someday have touch screens. Maybe Microsoft actually believes that someday, the mouse, keyboard, menus and windows will go away. In that case, the lovely, fluid, vastly improved TileWorld will be all anybody needs.

Unfortunately for that vision, reality seems to have other ideas.

Windows 8 - What's wrong?!

Launch me!

German agency warns Windows 8 PCs vulnerable to cyber threats

Aug 22 (Reuters) - A German government technology agency has warned that new security technology incomputers running Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system may actually make PCs more vulnerable to cyber threats, including sabotage.

Germany's Federal Office for Information Security, or BSI, said in a statement posted on its website on Wednesday that federal government agencies and critical infrastructure operators should pay particular attention to the risk.

The warning comes after weeks of public indignation in Germany over leaks related to U.S. surveillance programs. The spying scandal has become a headache for Chancellor Angela Merkel ahead of a Sept. 22 election.

The problem, according to the BSI, is with the use of a computer chip known as the Trusted Platform Module, or TPM 2.0, which is built into Windows 8 computers. TPM 2.0 is designed to better protect PCs by interacting with a variety of security applications.

But the BSI, which provides advice on technology and security to the government as well as the public, said the joint implementation of Windows 8 and TPM 2.0 chips could lead to "a loss of control" over both the operating system and hardware, without specifying exactly how that could occur.

"As a result, new risks occur for users, especially for federal and critical infrastructure," it said.

The statement concluded: "The new mechanisms in use can also be used for sabotage by third parties. These risks need to be addressed."

Microsoft declined comment on the BSI statement.

The company provided Reuters with a statement saying that PC makers have the option to turn off TPM technology, so that customers can buy PCs with it disabled.

TPM was developed by the Trusted Computing Group, a non-profit organization backed by technology firms including IBM , Intel, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft.

The BSI said it was working with the Trusted Computing Group and operating systems producers to find a solution.

A spokeswoman for that group declined to comment on the specific claims raised by the BSI. She said the group has provided PC makers and users with plenty of advice on best security practices to avoid any threats that they may face.

Top 10 changes that Microsoft Windows 8.1 will bring

Anupam Saxena, May 31, 2013

After several rumours hinting at the new features that Microsoft's Windows 8.1 would bring, the Redmond giant has officially announced some of them through a new blog post taking a "first look."

According to Microsoft, Windows 8.1 will not just respond to customer feedback, will add new features and functionality to improve the touch experience and the operating system's mobile computing potential.

"The Windows 8.1 update will deliver improvements and enhancements in key areas like personalization, search, the built-in apps, Windows Store experience, and cloud connectivity," the company said.

1. New Start tip

The biggest change that the update brings is the Windows Logo at the left hand corner in place of the Start screen "tip" that comes up when one hovers the mouse pointer in Windows 8. The Windows Logo is more recognisable according to Microsoft. It also gives the ability to users to choose between booting to the desktop directly. At the moment, only the Start screen shows up when one boots the PC.

2. Desktop wallpapers for Start screen

Microsoft will now allow users to turn their PCs or tablets into a photo frame when it's locked. Users can choose to show a slideshow of pictures stored locally in their devices or in the cloud via SkyDrive. It will also add the ability to take pictures from the lock screen via the device's camera directly from the lock screen. 

In addition to this, the update will bring more colours and backgrounds including animated ones for the Windows Start screen and will even allow users to set their desktop background as their Start screen background. As reported previously, the Windows 8.1 Start screen would features new tile sizes including a new large and new small size.

3. Updated Search

According to Microsoft, Windows 8.1's Search charm will offer global search results powered by Bing in "a rich, simple-to-read, aggregated view of many content sources to provide the best "answer" for the user's query." Search will also offer "Quick actions" that include actions users would like to take, for example, play songs or videos. Results from local files, apps, and settings would be accessible in the same was as they are on Windows 8.

4. App Updates

Microsoft will be updating native apps to offer new functionality. The company mentions that the Pictures app will offer the ability to edit pictures and the Music app has been completely redesigned to offer a better experience and adds that it will also be introducing new apps shortly.

5. New multitasking experience

Following the Windows 8.1 update, users will be able to snap apps in variable sizes, as reported earlier. It will allow users to run three apps simultaneously on one screen and run different Modern UI/ Metro apps on different displays if connected, while keeping the Start screen on one display. Users will also be able to snap multiple windows of the same application. 

6. Updated Store

Microsoft is also revamping the Windows Store to show more information with detailed lists of top free apps, new releases, and picks on the homepage.

7. SkyDrive improvements

Windows 8.1 will allow users to save files directly to SkyDrive and will offer an updated SkyDrive app that allows offline access to files.

8. Better PC Settings menu

Another issue that a lot of users faced with Windows 8 was that a lot of system settings were not available in the PC settings and they had to still go to the Control Panel on the desktop to access them.

Users will now be able to change their display resolution, set power options, see the make and model of their PC, change the product key, run Windows Update, and even join a domain directly from PC Settings.

9. New Internet Explorer

The Windows 8.1 update will bring a new version of the Internet Explorer browser. Internet Explorer 11 would be built for touch and would offer faster page load times in addition to several other new personalisation features.

10. Better handling of tiles

Users will be able to group and rearrange tiles more conveniently. They'll now be able to select multiple apps all at once, resize them, uninstall them, or rearrange them on the Start screen. Windows 8.1 will require users to press and hold or right click to move tiles around to prevent accidental movement of tiles. The update also brings the ability to filter apps by name, date installed, most used, or by category.

What's new about Windows Blue (FAQ)

The top marketing and financial executive in Microsoft's Windows group dishes, just a little, on the next Windows update. PlayBlox! offers up a guide on what to expect when Blue finally arrives.

Microsoft may be the only company on the face of the planet where the sale of 100 million licenses is seen by some as a disappointment.

Tami Reller, the chief marketing officer and chief financial officer of the Windows division, noted Monday that Microsoft has sold more than 100 million licenses of Windows 8 since its October debut. But slowing PC sales have sparked some hand-wringing, leading to speculation about the coming update for Windows 8, codenamed Blue. The significant changes in Windowshaven't been universally embraced, Reller acknowledged to The New York Times.

"The learning curve is real and needs to be addressed," Reller told the Times.

Reller said Microsoft is listening to customer feedback regarding frustrations with Windows 8. With the radical overhaul of the look and feel of the operating system, users have raised plenty of concerns about Windows 8. At the top of that list is the lack of a Start Button, something Windows users have grown accustomed to over the years.

"We feel good that we've listened and looked at all of the customer feedback. We are being principled, not stubborn" about modifying Windows 8 based on that feedback, Reller told ZDNet's Mary Jo Foley.

Much is riding on Blue, and not just for Microsoft. The entire PC ecosystem relies on Windows to fuel sales.

The company has been circumspect, though, about the details it's willing to share. Below is a FAQ laying out what is known, and what is rumored, regarding the next Windows update.

What is Windows Blue?

In a post Monday night on Microsoft's Windows blog, Reller described Blue as "a codename for an update that will be available later this year." She said that more broadly, Blue is part of Microsoft's effort to move deeper into devices and services.

Reller didn't dive into the details of what will be in Blue. But Reller said Blue will "deliver the latest new innovations across an increasingly broad array of form factors of all sizes, display, battery life and performance, while creating new opportunities for our ecosystem."

What sort of opportunities does Reller mean?

Clearly, Microsoft is working to make Windows 8 work well for smaller tablets, devices in the 7-inch range, where Microsoft doesn't compete now. Buttressing that, Asus CEO Jerry Shen told The Wall Street Journal Monday that he anticipates smaller tablets, selling for less than $300, to debut later this year.

Any guesses as to when Blue will debut, other than "later this year"?

Reller told The Wall Street Journal that Microsoft would offer two Blue news updates in coming weeks. The first will focus on "pricing, packaging and an official name," according to the Journal. The second will address the technical vision and should come before late June. That would coincide with Microsoft's June 26 to June 28 developer conference in San Francisco, called Build.

The company will want developers to know what to expect from the update to help them create applications that make use of the new features. It's possible that the first bit of Blue news could come at the the Computex trade show in Taipei from June 4 to June 8, where Microsoft is likely to take the wraps off new form factors running Blue. The company could also offer up details at TechEd, a conference in New Orleans on June 3 to June 6 for IT professionals and enterprise software developers.

Microsoft's Tami Reller

(Credit: Microsoft)

What are the implications of Blue for Microsoft's Surface tablet line?

Reller seemed to pour some cold water on the rumor that Microsoft might add a smaller Surface tablet to its lineup in the near future. She told The Wall Street Journal not to expect any update to the Surface product roadmap in the coming weeks. There was some speculation that Microsoft might disclose details of a smaller Surface at one of the upcoming conferences.

So will Microsoft bring back the Start Button? Will it let users boot their PCs to the traditional Windows desktop?

It's hard to imagine that Microsoft wouldn't, given that those two requests, more than any others, have been flashpoints for Windows 8 critics. But Reller, in every interview, remained cryptic on whether those features would be in Blue. That said, last month, ZDNet's Foley reported that both those features are "looking more likely."