Microsoft officially announces release date of Windows 8.1

Microsoft today officially announced the release date of Windows 8.1. The release date of the free update to Windows 8 is set at the 18th of October. The company will  release the update worldwide and it will be available through the Windows Store. After the official release of Windows 8.1 on the 18th of October also PCs and tablets with the new Windows version will be available in stores.

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The announcement of the release date corresponds with rumors that said Windows 8.1 would be released around October. At the moment a Preview Version is available for beta testing and it's expected that a Release to Manufacturing (RTM) version should be ready by the end of this month. PC manufacturers have one month to test the update. For unknown reasons Microsoft has decided to not release the RTM version on Technet and MSDN.

Windows 8.1 contains several new features compared to Windows 8. It contains the successor of the start button, the start tip and the update makes it possible to boot directly to the desktop. The update also allows animated backgrounds, contains improved help functionality and several Metro applications are updated.

While Microsoft has implemented some functionality based on feedback of its customers it will be interesting to see if it's enough. So far the company is heavily criticized by PC manufacturers and analysts on it's focus on touch. Some companies announced they will drop development of touch screen devices with Windows 8. Also sales numbers of the operating system have so far been disappointing so far.

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