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#Post#: 257--------------------------------------------------
Some of the new features in Windows 8.1
By: Intelinside Date: December 16, 2013, 10:55 am
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I have been looking through the “New” features in Windows 8.1,
so far I have found a couple of changes, good , bad or
indifferent you will have to make up your own mind. What you
will be disappointed with though is the promised return of the
START button. In my view it does nothing more than add an icon
to the bottom left of the screen which accomplishes something
you could already do with the charms bar and the Windows key.
There are more things but so far I have not investigated them
fully.
Something most desktop users wanted
Desktop and Laptop users can now BOOT to DESKTOP, this can be
achieved with many of the add-ons, Startisback, Classic shell
etc. but for others these are the instructions;
Right-click any open area in the taskbar, and then click
Properties. Click the Navigation tab, and then check the box
next to Go to the desktop instead of Start when I sign in. Click
OK, then reboot. Windows should drop you right into Desktop.
A useful feature
In Vista, and later improved in Windows seven, is the search
facility. You just opened the start menu and typed a few letters
of the program, file name or even a word that appeared in the
document and the search was almost instant, finding suitable
matches and listing them above the search box. This feature
migrated its way to Windows 8 but as there was a lack of the
start button you needed to be at the tile (I still call it the
Metro) interface. It worked, speed wise, I think a lot faster,
but it only searched either Apps, Settings or Files, if you
select the wrong one then the results were not complete. This
has changed in 8.1 as the search automatically searches Apps,
Settings, Files & now also Skydrive (if you are logged in and
use this) also Bing web search. The result is far more
comprehensive.
An Annoying feature / change
The best thing I ever found in Windows 7 was the Libraries
feature. This allowed, well it’s been covered elsewhere in other
topics. Anyway it still exists in 8.1 but sadly has been hidden
away and appears to have been removed at first glance. To
restore the Libraries access to the left hand explorer pane you
need to do this; just open the View menu from the ribbon menu in
File Explorer. You'll then need to choose Show Libraries from
the Navigation drop-down menu.
The useless but visually pleasing feature.
Being a laptop / desktop user without touch support I really
have no need for the Metro but occasionally I have a play around
on it. I did find it annoying when switching screens that there
seemed to be a jump from one to the other, (it always seemed to
be two completely unrelated items, well to me anyway)
Switching back and forth between the Start screen and desktop
will still be necessary at times but in Windows 8.1 you can make
the trip smoother by giving both environments the same look.
Windows 8.1 offers a new option that lets you splash the same
background image onto the Start screen and desktop and even keep
the two images in sync. Here's how to set it up:
Launch Windows 8.1, open the desktop, and then right-click on
the Taskbar. Select Properties from the popup menu. In the
Taskbar and Navigation properties window, click on the
Navigation tab. Check on the option to Show My Desktop
Background on Start. Click OK.
You can find some Windows 8.1 themes and backgrounds to
downloads for free from here,
HTML http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/personalization-gallery
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