Microsoft Conference-2/4/2014-Part 2

Microsoft announced the following in their build conference yesterday

Windows 8.1 Update

Microsoft unfortunately did not reveal too many details for the update to Windows 8.1, and also gave it no other name than Windows 8.1 Update - essentially ruling out a Windows 8.1 Update 2. The biggest change is the focus on UI-optimisation for mouse and keyboard users. This includes everything from Modern apps now displaying in the task bar (by pinning), to complete mouse control over apps in the Modern UI interface. The Windows Store UI will also be made mouse-optimised.

Apart from boot/resume straight to desktop, Belfiore ran through a few other features, such as Internet Explorer's Enterprise Mode, the synced Bing-Cortana interests. The biggest reveal however, came after the developer side of the conference had begun, with the introduction of Universal Windows apps.

Universal Windows apps can be made by developers using a common code for PC, smartphones and tablets, via an updated Visual Studio 2013 suite. With this feature, Microsoft says it is not expecting developers to code one app that tries to work well on all form factors, but rather, one that is easily adaptable to the various Windows platforms, with the job of porting made easier with the common Windows runtime environment and programming languages used in developing them.


Here is a gist of the new features, tweaks and customization ported to Windows 8.1 Update 1:

Boot to Desktop by Default

The modern Start Screen that had bewildered new PC users trying to adopt the latest Windows platform is no longer a concern, as Microsoft has tweaked the system settings in Windows 8.1 Update 1 to make it boot directly to Desktop by default. Now the interface looks more traditional and familiar right out of the box.

Support for Universal Apps

The new Update 1 for Windows 8.1 brings support for universal apps, wherein an app created for one device can run on other devices including Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox One.

Windows Store App Navigation Gets Simpler

Windows Store App Navigation has become simpler and more interactive with the introduction of more clickable elements in Windows 8.1 update 1.

Web Browsing in Sync across Devices

Internet Explorer 11 which is part of the new update brings seamless browsing through the web, enabling the user to continue from the point where he/she left off.

Improved Taskbar and Start Screen

In line with rumours, Windows Store apps can now be pinned to the Taskbar, thereby doing away with the limitation associated with customising the quick-access feature.

In addition, the Start Screen features new Power and Search buttons at the top-right corner of the UI which minimises the effort of navigation with the mouse every time.

The top-right corner of any running app now has the familiar 'X' button to close the app. The Taskbar can also be accessed directly from the Start Screen, which is again directed at minimising effort and making the interface more user-friendly.

Performance Improvements

Apart from tweaking the UI functionality for the desktop, the new Update 1 also comes with a handful of performance improvements such as better memory efficiency via Process Lifetime Manager and better system compatibility with Internet Explorer.

Windows for Free on Smaller Phones and Tablets

There is more good news for budget consumers looking to buy cheaper and smaller phones or tablets (less than 9-inches) as Microsoft is offering free Windows software starting with Windows 8.1 Update 1.

In addition, Windows 8.1 Update 1 comes in a smaller footprint and can be installed on any Windows phone or tablet having 1GB of RAM and 16GB of storage.

Availability and Release Date

Windows 8.1 Update 1 will be officially available from 8 April as free download via automatic Windows update.

Microsoft Conference-2/4/2014-Part 1

Microsoft announced the following in their build conference yesterday

 WINDOWS PHONE 8.1

Cortana – Windows Phone’s personal virtual assistant

• Windows Phone 8.1 brings its own virtual personal assistant called Cortana. With Android having Google Now and Apple boasting Siri, it was about time Microsoft also joined the native personal assistant to Windows Phone.
• The Bing-powered Cortana plays an important role in WP 8.1 letting you set reminders, calendar events, call people, give you information about places you have or plan to visit. She also knows sports, gives weather info and basically everything you would expect from a virtual assistant. She’s going to be accessible through the Search key and features advanced voice recognition. This allows you to ask Cortana to search the web as well.
• Cortana is also able to feed you custom notifications based on your personal information and usage data, should you allow it, much like Google Now. At launch, Bing and Foursquare are going to be feeding Cortana with information for places and events, but more online services will follow soon.
• Joe Belfiore confirmed Cortana will be available in the US at first with the UK and China second. Other countries will follow later on.

Action Center

• Windows Phone 8.1 finally gets a dedicated notification center called Action Center. It holds customizable quick setting toggles, which include brightness adjustment, location settings, rotation locks, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on and off among others. Below that you get a notification drawer with a full list of ongoing notifications such as email, text messages, missed calls and even notifications from Cortana.

Updated lockscreen and custom tile backgrounds

• Thanks to new open APIs, Windows Phone 8.1 allows applications to take control over the lockscreen and change the theme or alter its functionality altogether.
• Joe Belfiore demonstrated a bunch of cool lockscreens, which displayed custom calendar entries with nice designs.
• The other great customization feature is the option to set up custom backgrounds for the Start screen tiles. Small, but totally needed feature to make Windows Phone truly personal.
• Another UI change means that you will now be able to select whether to have a third live tile column on the Start screen. Previously, this was set only by the phone manufacturer, so it's cool Microsoft lets the user make this decision in WP 8.1.

Internet Explorer 11

• Windows Phone 8.1 ships with the latest version of Internet Explorer. IE 11 brings reading view, which grabs websites and extracts their text for easier reading. It also comes with a tuned up password manager, which will sync your passwords across multiple devices.
• There’s also an InPrivate mode enabling incognito browsing. It doesn’t make you invisible on the web, but rather disable history storing and cookie information is deleted once an incognito tab is closed.
• Users are now able to upload files through IE 11, with the browser also supporting WebGL and YouTube’s HTML5 video player.

Enterprise and security

• The latest instalment of Windows Phone comes with VPN support. Now, you can punch in your VPN settings into the phone and surf the way more securely. WP 8.1 also supports S/MIME, which allows you sign and encrypt your email.
• Sense apps
• Microsoft hasn’t forgotten about its Sense apps and has added a few cool features to them. Battery Power Sense is the familiar app that tracks what software uses the phone’s resources most and gives you a handy overview of how your phone’s battery gets drained. Naturally, you can do something about it thanks to the Battery Saver option, which has app exclusion list.
• Data and Wi-Fi Sense will give you greater control over how you use your network. Wi-Fi Sense is a cool new addition that gives you the ability to share the internet connectivity of your secured Wi-Fi networks with your Skype, Facebook and Outlook contacts without having to give the password. It also allows you to find and connect to free open Wi-Fi networks automatically.

On-screen keys

• Just as a couple leaked screenshots suggested earlier, Windows Phone 8.1 now features on-screen software keys – Search, Start and Back. This means the requirement for hardware keys below the screen is a thing of the past

Quiet hours

• Now in Windows Phone 8.1 you can set any period of the day when you want only a certain group of people to be able to reach you. This feature is called Quiet hours and is accessible from the Settings.

Wordflow Keyboard

• A new option in the Windows Phone 8.1 keyboard is called Wordflow - a Swype-like input method allowing you to quickly input words by swiping through the letters. Joe Belfiore says it's so good that in fact it has set the new Guinness World Record for fastest writing on a smartphone, dethroning the Galaxy S4.

Availability

• The Windows Phone 8.1 update will be officially released in a few months (that's as specific as Microsoft got), while new devices running it will start shipping in late April/early May. It's not specified which WP8 handsets will be treated to the update at this point, but we guess the list will be quite extensive.
• And if you are registered Microsoft developer, you will be able to get an early glimpse on the update as early as April 10.

New Nokias

Nokia announced three new Lumia smartphones for Windows Phone 8.1, including the flagship Lumia 930, cheaper-though-still-4G Lumia 635 and the first dual-SIM Lumia - the 630, which also comes in a single SIM version, too.

• Both the 630 and 635 feature 4.5-inch LCD displays, 1830mAh batteries, and 1.2GHz quad-core Snapdragon 400 processors.
• The 930 has a 5-inch, 441 ppi Full HD display and a 20MP PureView camera. It runs on a 2.2GHz quad-coare Snapdragon 800 processor, has 32GB of internal storage and 2GB of RAM.