The Windows Store tile is also animated now, providing constant app recommendations.

The Weather tile can now expand to show three different cities and three days of forecasts at the same time, and Calendar will display all of your events for the day. On the new 8.1 Start Screen, Microsoft again borrows from Windows Phone 8 by introducing new large and small Live Tiles. They're useful as initial hints, and a new dedicated Help + Tips application serves as the central point for anyone left confused by the new user interface. First-time users will see tips for navigating between apps or around the OS after the initial demo during setup, in a similar way to how Windows 95 greeted new users. However, as you start to navigate around, subtle improvements become apparent. The boot process is still quick, Live Tiles still greet you after you sign in. When you first switch on a Windows 8.1 PC you won't notice many differences from Windows 8. Microsoft’s chance to usher in the touch-friendly, tablet-filled future it imagines - take two. Microsoft is completely invested in Windows 8, and it’s been busy over the last twelve months, but making Windows 8.1 into something easier and more familiar is no small task. The new OS looks and feels mostly the same, but its many small tweaks make for a significant update - and hint at the future of Microsoft's vision for its own computing platform.

With Windows 8.1, a free update designed to address some of its users’ concerns and enable a faster pace of Windows releases, Microsoft tries to bridge the gap between old and new, between mouse and touchscreen. Millions of people installed Windows 8, but Microsoft’s two worlds, each with different applications, created a steep learning curve with Windows 8 that wasn’t familiar for traditional Windows users. But most people still use laptops and desktops, so Microsoft hedged its bets and built a desktop mode as well. Touch is everything, it said, and nearly everything about Windows 8 was designed to be used in a world without laptops and desktop PCs.

A year ago, Microsoft 'reimagined' the look and feel of Windows, and placed a risky bet on the future of computing.

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