Windows 8.1 to be available in October

Microsoft has set the time line for Windows 8.1 completion sometime this month, but users anxious to get the update to the operating system on their PC, would need to be patient.

Earlier on Monday Mary Jo Foley reported in ZDNet, that Microsoft would wait until ''mid-October 2013 or so'' for releasing the finished version of Windows 8.1."

Speculating on the reasons for Microsoft to wait, she said even if Microsoft waited until mid-October to release the Windows 8.1  to manufacturers, the company would still have managed to deliver to customers a new release of Windows to almost an exact year rather than three years after the previous release, as was the length of time between the release of Windows 7 and Windows 8.

She reported that holding back till then could benefit the software giant by giving it additional time for stamping out bugs and delivering fixes to those with the preview version, with regular patches and updates.

Among a number of multitasking improvements included in Windows 8.1 are- new smaller Live Tiles and a built-in Bing-powered search engine.

Microsoft has included several tutorials as also Windows Phone-like menus to address complaints regarding the usability of the operating system. The Windows 8.1 update would be available around 12 months after Windows 8 was introduced in October last year.

Meanwhile David Chew reported in Tech Republic that while Windows 8.1 was not a completely new operating system it was a significant upgrade and offered significant benefits for the enterprise.

He noted the greater use of Windows 8-enabled hardware meant that enterprises could standardise on the operating system, though at the same time allowing individual end-users to select their device of preference and have a consistent interface across the devices.

While this included desktops, laptops, and Windows phones, the tablet was gaining  popularity in the enterprise segment. Windows 8.1 was able to support this wider adoption of tablets, he added.