Chapter 1: What's New in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1

IN THIS CHAPTER

New platforms

The Windows 8.1 Interface

The Windows store

Cloud synchronization

Messaging

Other new features

In some ways, Windows 8.1 is a radical departure from Windows 7, as well as the other versions of Windows that preceded it. In other ways, Windows 8.1 isn't much different from Windows 7. Both possibilities are good ones, both from a technology standpoint and for the user. The differences mean an expanded set of features, richer experience, broader platform support, performance improvements, and much more. The similarities mean that if you're familiar with previous versions of Windows, you can put Windows 8.1 to work right away without a steep learning curve.

In this chapter, we focus not on those familiar features, but rather on many of the new and changed features in Windows 8.1. You'll find an overview here of those features, with deeper explanation in other chapters. We can't cover every new feature here, but we hope to give you a good overview of the key features and conceptual changes introduced in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1.

In this chapter, we also focus on Windows 8 as a whole, rather than Windows 8.1 specifically. So, if you're looking for information on how Windows 8 is different from Windows 7, you'll find it in this chapter. We also highlight the differences and improvements in Windows 8.1 versus Windows 8. So, you get a holistic view of the Windows 8 family in this chapter.

Now, whip out that new Windows 8.1 tablet or PC, start reading, and start taking advantage of the great new features that Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 have to offer.

New Platforms

One of the most significant additions to Windows 8 is its support for platforms other than the traditional PC. Windows 8 moves beyond the Intel and AMD x86 processor family to support System on a Chip (SoC) devices from both the x86 and ARM architectures. Windows 8.1 naturally also supports the ARM architecture.

ARM, which stands for Advanced RISC Machine, was developed by the company now known as ARM Holdings. Although you might never have heard of them, ARM processors are found extensively in consumer electronics devices, including tablets, cellphones, MP3 players, gaming consoles, computer peripherals, and much more.

While the traditional PC portable form factor continues to shrink with ultra-light tablets and notebooks, SoC support for Windows 8 generally means the capability to provide a Windows experience on small form-factor tablets, cellphones, and smaller handheld devices, in addition to the generally larger (albeit typically more powerful) traditional PC platforms. For ARM devices, the result is a new opportunity for device manufacturers to provide a new selection of handheld devices running a Windows operating system (dubbed Windows on ARM, or WOA) with support for applications like those in the Microsoft Office suite.

For users, it means a consistency of user experience across a broad range of devices. For example, your experience could be largely the same between your notebook, your tablet, and your cellphone. Support for ARM also opens up some interesting possibilities for embedding Windows in a vast array of consumer electronic devices. It's quite likely that someday soon your TV will be running Windows and give you, for example, the same, consistent experience streaming movies on your TV as on your PC.

An important distinction to understand about the ARM platform, however, is that applications written for your desktop PC or notebook won't necessarily run on an ARM device. For example, none of the applications in existence today, built for the x86 Windows 7 and earlier operating systems, will work on ARM-based devices. However, that roadblock doesn't exist for Windows 8–specific applications.

Microsoft's Visual Studio development environment makes it relatively easy to compile an ARM version of an application at the same time you compile one for the x86 platform. This means that developers can create one code set for their application and publish it for both platforms. When you download an application from the Windows Store, that app will run on the Windows 8 “traditional” devices, as well as ARM-based Windows 8 devices. You can install the app on up to five devices in any mix of x86- and ARM-based devices. The app will provide the same experience on all of them.

What about Office applications, you ask? Excellent question! Microsoft includes four Office applications with WOA devices, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. These versions of the Office applications don't provide the same level of features as the regular version, but they provide a means for users to work with their data across multiple types of devices. For example, if you sync your OneNote notebooks to SkyDrive, you can view them in OneNote on your WOA device. Or when someone e-mails you a spreadsheet as an attachment, you can view it in Excel on the WOA device.

Although there are many new devices being introduced near Windows 8.1's release, Windows 8.1 does not represent a platform shift from Windows 8. Windows 8.1 will run on the same two platforms as Windows 8 (x86- and ARM-based devices).

The Windows 8.1 Interface

As with many previous versions of Windows, Windows 8 introduced a new user interface, and Windows 8.1 fine-tunes that interface. Unlike many previous versions, Windows 8's new interface is radically different from what we've come to know as the “traditional” Windows user interface. Clearly designed with the tablet and handheld market in mind — at least in large part — Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 give you a simplified, clean user experience with tiles providing access to applications.

The Start screen

Figure 1.1 shows the Windows 8.1 Start screen, a key component of the new Windows 8.1 interface. You'll learn how to navigate the new Windows 8.1 interface in Chapter 2. For now, understand that the tiles on the Start page, like icons on the traditional Windows desktop, give you quick access to your programs and documents. Tap the Internet Explorer tile, for example, and Internet Explorer opens. Likewise, click or tap the Photos tile, and the Photos app opens, enabling you to view the photos stored on your computer, or in SkyDrive, Facebook, Flickr, and other locations.

A key difference between Windows 8.1 tiles and desktop icons, however, is that tiles can be live, showing data that changes dynamically. The Mail tile, for example, shows a preview of new messages in your Inbox. The Calendar tile shows a preview of meetings and events in your Calendar, the Finance tile shows stock prices (as shown in Figure 1.1), and so on. The advantage is that the tiles can give you information at a glance that you would otherwise have to open a program to view.

The Windows 8.1 UI isn't just about the Start page or its tiles, however. Windows 8 apps generally follow the same clean, streamlined look as the Windows 8.1 interface itself. For example, Figure 1.2 shows the Finance application. There is no window border, no controls in the title bar, and no visible menu. While a Windows 8 app can include any number of interface features specific to the application, in general the interface will be simple and streamlined like the Finance app, if not more so.

Although the Windows 8.1 interface is a departure from the traditional Windows desktop, the combination of live tiles, clean look, and capability to put your most frequently used apps and documents in one area for quick access makes Windows 8.1 a winner, particularly for tablets and handheld devices.

The Lock Screen

The Windows 8.1 Lock Screen appears when the computer is locked (see Figure 1.3). The Lock Screen shows the current day and time, battery status, and network status, all on a photo background. The Lock Screen can also display notifications from applications. To display the logon screen, slide the Lock Screen up.

The Charms Bar

The Charms Bar appears at the right edge of the display (see Figure 1.4) when you move the mouse to the bottom-right or upper-right corner of the display. You can also display the Charms Bar by swiping in from the right edge of the display.

The Charms Bar gives you quick access to Search, Settings, and other options and features.

The Windows Store

If you're familiar with the iPad, iPod, or Android devices (not to mention a handful of other types), you're familiar with the concept of an app (application) store. As you might expect, given the expansion of Windows 8 in the tablet and handheld market, Windows 8 added its own app store, called the Windows Store, shown in Figure 1.5.

The great thing about the Windows Store, like its counterparts for other devices and platforms, is quick access to a vast collection of applications from games to productivity tools to multimedia apps. As long as your device is connected to the Internet, you can open the Windows Store, browse for and quickly locate the app you need, and typically, in less than a minute, have the app installed and running on your device. Many apps are free; others have some cost. Many give you the capability to try the app for free before you buy it.

Cloud Synchronization

With the likelihood that many people will have multiple Windows 8 devices, it's no surprise that Windows 8 introduced some great cloud-synchronization features that are carried over to Windows 8.1. For example, Windows 8.1 can integrate with your Windows account (formerly called Windows Live accounts) and SkyDrive to give you access to documents and photos from multiple devices. You can save, open, and view files from SkyDrive from a variety of devices, including a Mac or iPad, your Windows Phone, or your iPhone.

Many Windows 8 applications integrate with SkyDrive directly. For example, the Photos app lists not only the photos you have on your computer, but also those in SkyDrive (as well as Facebook and Flickr). If you have a domain account, you can associate your domain account with your Windows account and enjoy that same cloud experience.

Other applications also support SkyDrive. For example, you can get a free OneNote app for your Windows Phone, iPhone, or Android device that enables you to view OneNote notebooks that are synced to SkyDrive. So, if you create a note on your PC, it can automatically sync to SkyDrive, and from there it can be viewed from your mobile phone. This is a great feature for taking your work notes, shopping list, or other notes with you wherever you go.

Integrated Messaging

A lot of great new apps are included with Windows 8.1, but one deserves particular mention here. The new Mail app included with Windows 8 combines a sleek interface with the capability to integrate e-mail accounts into a unified mailbox (see Figure 1.6). Bringing all your mail into one app can be a great timesaver and can eliminate the need for multiple mail applications or the need to open multiple web browsers to check your mailboxes.

Social Networking Integration

Windows 8.1 provides social network integration in a handful of ways to make it easier for you to work with your friends and contacts across those services.

For example, the People app lets you integrate contact information from Hotmail (Windows Live), LinkedIn, Twitter, Exchange, and Google. So, all your contacts from all those services can appear in the People app. The People app also provides social updates about your friends within the People app, so you can, for example, see what status updates your friends have posted on Facebook.

File Explorer

The ribbon interface made its appearance in Office 2007 and, since then, has expanded in the 2010 and 2013 editions of Office and SharePoint. Now, you'll find the ribbon interface in File Explorer. Figure 1.7 shows an example of an Explorer window's ribbon.

As you might expect, the ribbon in Explorer groups has commands for working with and sharing files and folders, changing how items display in the window, and in the case of media files, playing the files.

Another great addition in File Explorer is the capability to easily mount CD images and virtual hard drive images right in Explorer. Once you mount an ISO image, for example, the image appears in File Explorer as CD, just as if you had a physical CD inserted in your CD drive. Although you could mount these images in Windows 7, File Explorer makes it much easier.

Search

Windows 7 integrated search within the operating system to enable you to quickly locate files, e-mail messages, and other items on your computer. Windows 8.1 enhances that dynamic search capability and includes a great new interface for search that categorizes results. Figure 1.8 shows an example of a search in Windows 8.1 Search.

Search categorizes your search results so you can quickly find the item you're looking for. The categories are listed on the right, and clicking on a category displays the results for that category at the left. By default, the App category is selected, so Search automatically shows all apps on your computer. To find a specific app, document, e-mail, or other item, just type an appropriate search word or term in the text box. Then click a category to view the items in that category that meet your search criteria.

You can use natural language query syntax, such as “Find all files where the filename starts with Goober and the size is greater than 10MB.” You can also use the Advanced Query Syntax (AQS) available in Windows 7 to search, such as filename:Goober size:>10MB.

Spell Check and AutoCorrect

Windows 8.1 extends spell check across the operating system to any application that uses standard text controls. This means, for example, that you can use spell check in Lync or other applications that don't have their own spell-check feature.

Enterprise Features

Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 include a selection of features that will only be available to enterprise users via the Windows 8/8.1 Enterprise editions. This section explores the major features that are exclusive to Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 Enterprise.

Windows to Go

Windows to Go enables you to boot and run Windows 8 from a USB flash drive. This means you can take your operating system, applications, and documents with you from one device to another. This capability also offers administrators a means of restricting access for specific types of users, such as contingent workers, consultants, or visitors.

DirectAccess

DirectAccess allows remote users to access the corporate network without the need for a virtual private network (VPN) connection. Unlike a VPN connection, which the user must establish manually, DirectAccess establishes a bi-directional connection automatically for the user. The result is that users can gain access quickly and simply to internal network resources such as messaging services, file servers, printers, collaboration tools like SharePoint, and more. Think of DirectAccess as an automatic VPN that just happens for the user; users don't need to do anything to initiate the secure connection to the corporate network. DirectAccess authenticates the computer, which means the computer can connect to the network before the user logs on. DirectAccess can also authenticate the user and supports two-factor authentication using smart cards. The end result is a very seamless VPN experience for users, with simplified deployment and management for the IT team.

BranchCache

BranchCache in Windows Server 2012 and in Windows 8 caches web, file, and other application content, enabling users to access that cached content locally from the locan area network (LAN) rather than retrieve it from the wide area network (WAN). BranchCache, therefore, can potentially eliminate a large amount of external network traffic, which can be particularly important for organizations with relatively low-bandwidth WAN links. For security, BranchCache encrypts the content both on the caching server(s) and on the client computers.

AppLocker

AppLocker enables administrators to control which applications and processes users can run on their computers, including executable files, Windows Installer files, DLLs, scripts, packaged applications, and packaged application installers. Controlling applications in this way can improve security and adherence to processes by blocking unapproved applications and ensuring licensing compliance, and also helping to ensure process compliance. Administrators can define rules based on attributes such as application publisher, product name, filename, version, and others. Rules can be assigned to individuals as well as security groups, providing flexibility and the ability to implement exceptions.

VDI enhancements

Virtual Desktop Infrastructure (VDI) provides the capability to deliver a desktop computing experience to users from virtual clients running in a datacenter. The VDI features in Windows 8 support a rich client desktop experience, including host-side rendering to support for graphics-intensive applications; GPU Virtualization, which enables multiple clients to share a graphics processing unit (GPU) on the Hyper-V server; intelligent screen capture and compression to improve user graphics experience and reduce network bandwidth requirements; and USB device redirection. All these features combine to enable a rich desktop user experience to a broad range of devices, including lower-cost devices.

Windows 8 app deployment

The Enterprise edition of Windows 8 includes the capability for PCs and tablets that are domain joined to side-load internal apps. This feature gives administrators an easy means for deploying these apps across the enterprise.

Internet Explorer 11

Internet Explorer 11 (see Figure 1.9), included with Windows 8.1 and also available as a download for Windows 7 and Windows 8, includes some great new features that build on its predecessor, Internet Explorer 10. Internet Explorer 11 now supports the Web Graphics Library (WebGL) standard, adding features for interactive content, graphics performance, and other features for rich content experiences. IE 11 also offers great performance overall, and browsing feels faster thanks to web page caching, prefetch, and prerender features. HTML 5 support is also strengthened in IE 11.

IE 11 also offers new features for the tablet market, offering better touch-based interaction, gyroscope input, and display orientation lock. As with IE 10, there are two versions of IE 11, one a Windows 8–style app and the other running on the desktop. The desktop version supports touch-based navigation, just like the Windows 8 version.

There are several new features in IE 11 designed with the user in mind. These include enhanced pinned sites, which enable IE to update content dynamically using live tiles; the capability to sync your open IE tabs across multiple devices, better Skype integration, and more.

IE 11 also offers new features for the IT administrator. These include security improvements for enhanced protected mode, which prevents pages from accessing protected parts of the operating system. Adobe Flash is included with IE 11 on Windows 8.1, and can be updated through Automatic Updates and group policy. There are also several new group policy settings to help administrators more closely manage the user experience and control security with IE 11.

Client Hyper-V

Although not enabled by default, Windows 8.1 includes the Hyper-V client, enabling you to run virtual machines (VMs) within the Hyper-V platform. For example, you might run a VM of Windows XP to support an application that isn't compatible with later versions of Windows. Or maybe you need to run Linux, but you don't want to dual-boot between them. Hyper-V on Windows 8.1 is a great solution.

Client Hyper-V on Windows 8.1 offers more capabilities and power than its predecessor, Virtual PC. Client Hyper-V supports both 32- and 64-bit client operating systems, although Client Hyper-V only runs on 64-bit PCs running the 64-bit version of Windows 8.1. It requires a minimum of 4GB of RAM on the host PC and processors that support Second Level Address Translation (SLAT), although most of today's PCs provide that support.

BitLocker

BitLocker has been around for a while, but Windows 8.1 improves performance and includes features for disk encryption. For example, when you turn on BitLocker to encrypt a drive, you have the option to only encrypt sectors on the drive that have data stored on them, instead of encrypting the entire drive. As space gets used on the drive, BitLocker encrypts that data. Windows 8.1 BitLocker also adds the capability to deploy Windows 8.1 to an encrypted state, instead of encrypting the drive after installation.

Additional Windows 8 BitLocker features include the capability for users to change the BitLocker PIN or password, with support for password and PIN complexity through group policy; a Network Unlock feature that enables automatic unlocking of operating system volumes at system reboot when those systems are connected to the corporate network; and support for Encrypted Hard Drives, which offload the encryption process to the storage controller on the hard drive.

Smart Cards

Windows 8.1 includes a handful of features for smart card users and simplifies smart card deployment and management for administrators. For example, Windows 8.1 supports virtual smart cards (VSC) on systems that support the Trusted Platform Module (TPM). Virtual smart cards can be deployed to users’ systems with no cost for physical cards.

Other smart card changes in Windows 8.1 include improvements in the smart card sign-on process, making it easy for users to choose a different authentication option after they insert their smart card, and system-level changes for the way the Smart Card Service starts and stops, enabling the service to run only when it's needed, improving overall system performance.

Task Management

The Task Manager, which lets you view and manage running applications and processes, received a facelift in Windows 8 that carries through to Windows 8.1. The Task Manager simplifies the default display to show only a list of running applications (see Figure 1.10). You can click an application in the list and click End Task to end it.

If you want to see additional information about running applications and processes, click More Details to expand the Task Manager, as shown in Figure 1.11. This more-familiar interface provides multiple tabs to view performance data, application history, and other details.

Proximity and Wi-Fi Direct

Wi-Fi Direct is a peer-to-peer connectivity technology that allows Wi-Fi devices to interact directly with one another without going through a wireless access point/router. Wi-Fi Direct is a bit like Bluetooth, but with a stronger signal and further range.

One of the advantages to the capability for devices to detect one another (Proximity) through Wi-Fi Direct is that you can easily make connections to printers, headsets, and other devices that support Wi-Fi Direct. In addition, Windows 8 applications that support Wi-Fi Direct can discover and communicate with each other across devices easily. This capability opens up a broad range of new features and interesting scenarios for social networking, gaming, and data sharing.

Refresh/Reset

Windows 8.1 offers two features to help you restore your Windows 8.1 device to a known, good state. The first of these is Refresh Your PC, which reinstalls Windows 8.1 without losing your data, Windows 8 apps, and settings. Refresh Your PC also maintains your network and mobile broadband configurations, BitLocker settings, drive assignments, and so on. Refresh Your PC doesn't keep all your applications, however. Although Windows 8 apps are retained, traditional Win32 applications are not. Refresh Your PC creates an HTML list on your desktop to let you know what applications were removed. The second feature is Reset Your PC, which reinstalls Windows 8.1, removing your data, apps, and settings (essentially, a complete reset to “factory condition”).

Changes and Updates Specific to Windows 8.1

The previous sections of this chapter offered a holistic overview of many of the key changes introduced in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1. Naturally, there are changes that are specific to Windows 8.1.

For example, the Start button has returned to the desktop (see Figure 1.12), although it is functionally different from the Start button in Windows 7. In Windows 8.1, clicking the Start button takes you to the Start screen. Right-clicking the Start button displays the Quick Links menu shown in Figure 1.12).

Many users complained that they had to boot to the Start screen in Windows 8, so Windows 8.1 adds a feature that lets you start at the desktop instead. In addition, as explained in Chapter 11, you can control other desktop and Start screen behaviors, such as having Windows display the desktop when you close all apps (including Windows 8 apps).

Windows 8.1 adds new interface features to give you more flexibility for tile sizing, color options, and animated backgrounds. Windows 8.1 also offers a new all apps view of the Start screen to help you more easily access all your installed apps. Where Windows 8 supports two Windows 8 apps displayed side-by-side, Windows 8.1 enables you to work with four apps at one time.

Search has also been improved in Windows 8.1 with the addition of Bing Smart Search. You don't need to open a browser to search; you can search right from the Start screen and quickly navigate to resulting sites, open documents, play songs, and more. Results are delivered in a clean, graphic view to help you quickly identify results.

The Messaging app is gone, replaced by Skype. All the bundled Windows 8 apps have been updated for Windows 8.1, some significantly. The Music app, for example, has been completely revamped. New apps have been added, including Calculator, Alarms, Health & Fitness, and Food & Drink. The new Reading List app lets you save links, e-mail messages, snippets from news apps, and other items as a to-do reading list.

Input is improved, also. The onscreen keyboard implements an auto-suggest feature that not only suggests matches for the word you are currently typing, but also uses a linguistic model to suggest the next word.

There are many other subtle changes in Windows 8.1 in addition to those described here. The following chapters explore these new features and changes in detail.

Wrap-Up

There are literally thousands of changes in Windows 8 and Windows 8.1 from previous versions of Windows, so this chapter naturally doesn't cover them all. Many of the bundled applications have been updated, new applications have been added, the interface has been changed (and not just for Windows 8 apps), and so on. You'll find explanations of many of these changes in the following chapters.

Because the interface potentially has the most impact on the way you use Windows and your Windows apps, that's the best place to start getting familiar with the changes in Windows 8.1. So, move on to Chapter 2 to learn how to navigate through and use the new Windows 8.1 interface.