Microsoft Sets Oct.18 Arrival Date for Windows 8.1

Microsoft is encouraging customers to buy new PCs now, while many are in back-to-school shopping mode, and hang tight until Windows 8.1 becomes available in mid- October. That's not to say the company is targeting the consumer demographic more than its business base, however. The update will offer several new features that cater to the enterprise, noted Directions on Microsoft's Wes Miller.

M icrosoft on Wednesday announced that it will begin
rolling out Windows 8.1 to the general public on Oct. 18.
Win 8.1 will be available as a free update for Windows 8
users through the Windows Store, and it will also be
available at retail outlets and on new devices running the
Windows OS.
Microsoft appears to be banking heavily on the back-to-
school shopping season to push Windows 8.1.
Despite this, Windows 8 supports both consumer and
business needs, and "the updates coming in Windows 8.1
will further serve the needs of business customers,"
Microsoft told TechNewsWorld in an email from PR rep
Diana Cansino.

Microsoft did respond to a lot of customer requests or
needs, but "it is not exactly bowing to every wind,"
commented Wes Miller, an analyst at Directions on
Microsoft. For example, "people would like to have the Start
menu back but I see no indication that they'll fold on this
one," he said.
What Microsoft's Including in Win 8.1
All first-party apps, including Photos, Music, Video and
Internet Explorer, will see improvements, Microsoft said.
New first-party apps will also be added.
Bing Search is being updated, and Windows 8.1 will offer
easier access to Microsoft's SkyDrive service and improved
syncing between devices.
Multitasking and multimonitor support will be improved.
Windows 8.1 will have more personalization options, with
new options for tiles, sizes, backgrounds and color. Settings
will roam from device to device.
Microsoft will likely continue tweaking Windows 8.1 but
there won't be any structural or user interface changes,
Directions on Microsoft's Miller told TechNewsWorld. "The
kinds of things you can expect between August and October
are in the areas of reliability, performance, and any kind of
thing that shows up when you localize into other
languages."

Catering to BYOD
There is more appeal to businesses with Windows 8.1, with
features such as Work Folders and Workplace Join, than
with 8.0, Miller said.
Both of these cater to the Bring Your Own Device trend.
Workplace Join gives IT administrators fine-grained control
over corporate resources. For example, they can grant
some access to BYOD devices while enforcing some
governance parameters on them.
Work Folders lets users sync data from their user folders in
the corporate data center to their devices and vice versa.
This syncing does not require domain joining or domain
credentials, and can be performed with third-party folder
replication apps. IT can enforce Dynamic Access Control
policies on the Work Folder Sync Share.
Windows 8.1 also offers mobile device management, and
supports wireless and NFC printing from devices.
Enhanced Security
Windows 8.1 will let corporations mark enterprise content
as corporate, encrypt it, and wipe it when their relationship
with a user ends.
It will include biometric capabilities that will let users
authenticate their identity anywhere in Windows. It will also
be optimized for fingerprint-based biometrics.
Device encryption will be enabled out of the box, and
consumer devices are automatically encrypted and
protected when using a Microsoft account.
Windows Defender and Internet Explorer 11 have been
enhanced for security, and all versions of Windows 8.1 will
include Assigned Access, which lets users create restricted
access to Windows Store apps.
The Windows Store is enabled by default.
What Win 8.1 Improvements Might Mean
"Those enterprises that are embracing touch on PCs or want
a tablet that is manageable like a PC will find Windows 8.1
a no-brainer upgrade from 8," Al Hilwa, a program director
at IDC , told TechNewsWorld.

"However, very few enterprises have deployed Windows 8
widely, so it's less of a migration issue and more of a new
adoption situation," Hilwa continued.
Whether Windows 8.1 will see a rapid pickup is in doubt,
because "Microsoft is forcing people to dabble with the
modern UI by making the Start menu a modern screen,"
Hilwa suggested. "To users and OEMs, it is a head-
scratcher as to why Microsoft would take a successful
desktop user interface and remove a crucial element of
familiarity and comfort like the original Start menu."