Windows 8.1
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Windows 8.1 (codename “Blue”[1]) is an updated Windows operating system intended to replace Windows 8. This update was released on October 17, 2013, just short of one year after the release of Windows 8. Although this update includes all the security patches and bug fixes up to the point of release, it also offers new features, so it is not officially a service pack. Perhaps most notably, Windows 8.1 restored the trademark Start Menu, which Microsoft had removed from Windows 8.
Windows 8.1 reached its end of support date on January 10, 2023, and is no longer supported by Microsoft.[2]
New features
- Start Button (still no start menu)
- Slideshow on start screen
- Internet Explorer 11
- "Click to Call" in IE 11
- Extra large and small live tiles
- Login screen wallpaper can be set to mirror the desktop wallpaper
- Slide to shutdown
- All apps screen
- Shutdown and restart options in the Win+X menu
- Synchronize Start screen layout between PCs
- Touchpad gesture support
- Batch uninstall programs
- Uninstall programs across multiple computers
- Network activity monitoring in Windows Defender
- Synchronize Internet Explorer tabs between multiple computers
- Built-in Calculator and Alarm applications
- Outlook 2013 R2
- Reading list
- New Windows store
- New OneDrive application (previously SkyDrive)[3]
- More color choices[1]
- Other minor changes