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Microsoft announces Windows 8.1

blogs.windows.com

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Re: Microsoft announces Windows 8.1

#11

Post by apendleton »

sixbrx wrote: post #3

"We now have more than 70,000 apps in the Windows Store (the online app store for Windows) – apps such as Twitter, ..." Did anyone else chuckle that he felt he had to describe parenthetically what the Windows Store is?

Perhaps to distinguish it from the Microsoft Store, which sells physical goods?

Re: Microsoft announces Windows 8.1

#13

Post by halo »

sixbrx wrote: post #3

"We now have more than 70,000 apps in the Windows Store (the online app store for Windows) – apps such as Twitter, ..." Did anyone else chuckle that he felt he had to describe parenthetically what the Windows Store is?

I grinned because I assumed it was a deliberate attempt to hurt Apple's "App Store" trademark claim.

Re: Microsoft announces Windows 8.1

#14

Post by rammark »

will be a free update to Windows 8 for consumers through the Windows Store

This could be to get more people to link their Microsoft ID with their Windows user accounts so that they will be more likely to use the store in the future. The alternative would be to release it through Windows Update like every other Windows patch for the last decade+.

Re: Microsoft announces Windows 8.1

#16

Post by dangrossman »

[deleted] wrote: post #4

[deleted]

Of course they're not going to acknowledge poor speculative reporting by some blogs/magazines. Plenty have written the counter-piece. Windows 8 has sold over 100M copies despite the decline in PC sales. They don't run the industry, they just sell operating systems and office software. There's little they could do to change the fact that if you already have a PC that you bought in the past 5 years or so, it's just as capable as what's on store shelves now, so people are not running out to replace them for no reason. That, along with the greater time spent on smartphones and tablets, is what's caused PC sales to slow.

Re: Microsoft announces Windows 8.1

#17

Post by dangrossman »

overshard wrote: post #7

I'm curious if this will be delivered as a service pack or as a new OS. It seems like they are announcing it as a new OS, I've never seen this much news over a SP before.

> Tami Reller shared with the audience that the update previously referred to as “Windows Blue” will be called Windows 8.1 and will be a free update to Windows 8 for consumers through the Windows Store.

I wouldn't call installing a free update from your OS's app store a new OS. It's mostly just minor cosmetic changes from the sounds of it.

Re: Microsoft announces Windows 8.1

#18

Post by sixbrx »

apendleton wrote: post #11
sixbrx wrote: post #3

"We now have more than 70,000 apps in the Windows Store (the online app store for Windows) – apps such as Twitter, ..." Did anyone else chuckle that he felt he had to describe parenthetically what the Windows Store is?

Perhaps to distinguish it from the Microsoft Store, which sells physical goods?

If that's the reason (though I have my doubts), in that case it may have been a very poorly chosen name.

Re: Microsoft announces Windows 8.1

#19

Post by grecy »

rm999 wrote: post #9

I found this announcement frustrating to read because it contains little useful content. Almost all of it is about how supposedly awesome Windows 8 is and how well it's doing. The relevant part could have been summed up as: there's a free upgrade coming out sometime later this year called Windows 8.1.

> how awesome Windows 8 is and how well it's doing

Ironically, if that were the case, it wouldn't need an update.

Re: Microsoft announces Windows 8.1

#20

Post by hacker789 »

grecy wrote: post #19
rm999 wrote: post #9

I found this announcement frustrating to read because it contains little useful content. Almost all of it is about how supposedly awesome Windows 8 is and how well it's doing. The relevant part could have been summed up as: there's a free upgrade coming out sometime later this year called Windows 8.1.

> how awesome Windows 8 is and how well it's doing Ironically, if that were the case, it wouldn't need an update.

It's not at all unusual for awesome, successful software to be updated.
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