Windows 8.1 and apps designed for Windows 8.1 are accessible using tablet computers without a mouse or keyboard. The touch controls are intuitive, especially if you have a smartphone. However, some of the controls will not be obvious the first time you use Windows 8.1. This section describes the basic touch controls.

Tap

Tapping, like clicking with a mouse, performs an action. For example, tap an app on the Start screen or a link in Internet Explorer to open it.

To select text within an app, tap it, and then use the circles to adjust the selection, as shown in Figure 1-1. Tap the selection to copy or paste it.

Figure 1-1. Select text by tapping and then adjusting your selection.

Swipe

The edges of the screen are really important in Windows 8.1. By swiping a finger in from the edges and corners of the screen, you can perform different actions regardless of the app you have open:

• Swipe from the right side of the screen to view the charms for searching, sharing, and printing.

• Swipe from the left side of the screen to bring up a list of previously used apps.

• Swipe from the top or bottom of the screen to view app-specific commands, which function like an app’s menu.

Figure 1-2 illustrates swiping from the right side of the screen.

Figure 1-2. Swipe from the edges of the screen to view the charms or app commands.

Slide

Slide your finger across the screen to drag objects and scroll the screen, as shown in Figure 1-3. For example, to scroll left or right on the Start screen, just touch anywhere on the screen and slide to either side.

To view a list of recently used apps (equivalent to holding down the Alt key and repeatedly pressing Tab), tap the upper-left corner of the screen and then slide your finger down. You can then slide an app to dock it to one side of the screen, or slide it to the bottom of the screen to close it.

Figure 1-3. Slide your finger across the screen to scroll or drag objects.

Pinch and stretch

Some apps, including the Start screen, support pinching and stretching to zoom in and out, as illustrated by Figure 1-4. Zooming in allows you to see more detail, while zooming out shows you more context.

Figure 1-4. Pinch to zoom back and view more on the screen.

Rotate

In some apps, you can also use two fingers to rotate objects on the screen, as shown in Figure 1-5. For example, you might use this technique to rotate a picture from horizontal to vertical.

Figure 1-5. Rotate objects with two fingers.

Note

Touch controls Watch the video at http://aka.ms/WinIO/touchcontrols.

Windows 8.1 also provides new mouse controls:

Windows 8.1 provides the keyboard shortcuts in Table 1-1 to access its features.

The first screen you see when you start Windows 8.1 is the lock screen, as shown in Figure 1-6. The lock screen shows a picture, the current date and time, battery life (for mobile devices), the network status, and notifications from up to seven different apps. To open the lock screen from your desk, click your mouse or press any key. To open the lock screen with touch, swipe up from the bottom.

Figure 1-6. The Windows 8.1 lock screen displays the time and date with a photo.

The Start screen, shown in Figure 1-7, is always the first page Windows 8.1 displays. Like most apps designed for Windows 8.1, the Start screen scrolls horizontally, rather than vertically. Instead of scrolling, you can zoom back to see the entire Start screen. To zoom with touch, pinch or stretch the Start screen. To zoom with a mouse and keyboard, hold down the Ctrl key and either scroll the mouse wheel or press the Plus Sign or Minus Sign.

The Start screen does not show every app. If you don’t see the app you need, simply type its name from the Start screen. Windows 8.1 will search for the app and display any matching results.

After you open an app, you can open the Start screen in several different ways:

If you press the Windows key multiple times, Windows 8.1 will switch between the Start screen and your desktop. To run a command, simply type the command name and press Enter. Alternatively, you can open the Run dialog box from the desktop by pressing Windows+R. Press Windows+X to access the WinX menu, as shown in Figure 1-8, which contains links to commonly used tools.

Figure 1-7. The Start screen focuses on simplicity and functionality.

Figure 1-8. The WinX menu provides access to tools often used by power users.

Inside OUT: Getting a Windows 7–like Start menu

If you miss the Windows 7 Start menu, try giving the Windows 8.1 Start screen a few weeks. It really is better than the Windows 7 Start menu, even for traditional keyboard and mouse users. Sometimes, it’s better to stick with what you know, however. While Windows 8.1 no longer has a Windows 7–like Start menu, you can download and install free alternatives. My favorite is ViStart (see Figure 1-9), available at http://lee-soft.com/vistart/. Another option is Start8, available at http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/.

Figure 1-9. Install ViStart or Start8 if you prefer the Windows 7 Start menu.

Drag tiles to reorganize them on the Start screen. To change the size of tiles using touch, swipe up from the bottom, select a tile, and then touch an option. You can also flick tiles to select them and then open the app by swiping up from the bottom. With a mouse, right-click the tile you want to edit.

For information about live tiles and configuring apps on the Start screen, refer to Chapter 2.

Windows 8.1 introduces the idea of charms. You can use charms to perform common tasks in apps started from the Start screen, regardless of which app you’re using. To view the charms with touch, swipe in the from the right. To view the charms with a mouse, move your pointer to the upper-right or lower-right corner. To view charms with a keyboard, press Windows+C.

The five standard charms are:

Charms, as shown in Figure 1-10, replace toolbar buttons and menu items that each app used to have for searching, sharing, printing, and setting options. Apps can still have unique commands for other features.

Figure 1-10. Use charms to access settings and functions you might have used menus to access in earlier versions of Windows.

To access PC Settings, touch the Settings charm or press Windows+I, and then select Change PC Settings in the lower-right corner. Figure 1-11 shows the new PC Settings tool that provides a touch interface to some of the Control Panel functionality you might be familiar with from Windows 7. You must still configure some settings from the Control Panel desktop app. To find a specific setting, press Windows+W, and then type words related to the setting.

Figure 1-11. PC Settings replaces Control Panel.

Windows 8.1 can now highlight misspelled words and even autocorrect spelling errors and typos, as shown in Figure 1-12. Use the General screen within PC Settings to configure this feature.

Figure 1-12. Windows 8.1 autocorrects common typing and spelling errors and highlights others.

Windows 8.1 includes more powerful and organized search capabilities. From the Start screen, simply type to search apps, settings, files, and even webpages. Windows displays matching results, with your most commonly used resources at the top of the list.

To search only files, press Windows+F and type your search. (See Figure 1-13.) Windows 8.1 displays suggested searches below the search box, including spelling corrections. Use the Down Arrow key to select a suggestion or simply click it.

Figure 1-13. Windows 8.1 suggests searches as you type.

Results are organized based on the type of file: All (which includes every result), Documents, Pictures, Music, Videos, and Other. Hover your pointer over any result to see a larger thumbnail and more file details, as shown in Figure 1-14. You can use the Advanced Query Syntax (AQS) from Windows 7 to find files by attribute.

To search Settings, touch the Search charm and then touch Settings, or press Windows+W. Then, type words related to the setting you need to change. Windows 8.1 displays a list of settings you can modify.

Windows 8.1 is designed to be used in either portrait or landscape mode, supporting the fact that users might prefer to hold tablet computers either vertically or horizontally. Most Windows 8.1 features are designed to work well no matter how the computer is held, and apps can support both horizontal and vertical displays, as well as a variety of different resolutions.

You can disable rotation, which is useful when you want to use a tablet computer lying flat or on its side.

Figure 1-14. Hover your pointer over a result to see more details.

Windows 8.1 supports changing the default language. You no longer need to be concerned about the default language when you buy a computer; if you prefer to use a different language, you can change it at any time. This is particularly useful for environments where multiple users access a single computer and those users prefer different languages.

To add languages or to change the default language for your user account, use the Region & Language page in PC Settings, as shown in Figure 1-15.

Figure 1-15. Windows 8.1 supports dozens of languages.

Like previous versions of Windows, Windows 8.1 includes powerful accessibility features to make using a PC easier for users with different data input and visual needs. Windows 8.1 also makes several improvements:

Windows 8.1 supports Unified Extensible Firmware Interface (UEFI) for BIOS, which allows for richer graphics using the Graphics Output Protocol (GOP) driver. UEFI also reduces the number of BIOS-related screens, allowing Windows 8.1 to provide a single visual experience from startup, instead of the computer hardware displaying BIOS screens and then switching to Windows, which provides a graphical display.

These capabilities allow Windows 8.1, when running on hardware that supports UEFI, to never display the text-based consoles that computers have used to start since before Windows existed. You can use the touch interface to select different operating systems, as shown in Figure 1-16, which shows a custom boot item (Windows 8.1 Safe Mode) added by the user with the BCDEdit tool.

Figure 1-16. Windows 8.1 provides a graphical boot interface.

By clicking Change Defaults Or Choose Other Options, you can even change startup options before Windows starts, restore Windows, or run Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), as shown in Figure 1-17. You never need a keyboard.

Figure 1-17. Windows 8.1 provides startup repair configuration and tools using a touch-friendly interface.

Hardware requirements for Windows 8.1 have not changed from Windows 7, and Windows 8.1 will perform as fast, or faster, than earlier versions of Windows on almost any recent PC. The Windows 8.1 hardware requirements are:

Windows 8.1, the Start screen, the desktop, and desktop apps still work at 800x600. A resolution of 1024x768 is required for apps designed for Windows 8.1. Using multitasking with snap requires a minimum resolution of 1366x768 to dock apps to either side of the screen. Windows 8.1 scales well to higher resolutions and even multiple monitors.

Windows 8.1 supports touch-capable PCs that were designed for Windows 7. Therefore, existing Windows 7 users with tablets can upgrade to Windows 8.1. However, touch-capable PCs designed for Windows 8.1 can provide an even better experience. Microsoft’s hardware certification process for touch-capable computers requires higher levels of precision that improve the accuracy of common tasks, such as tapping, swiping, and sliding.

Windows 8.1 provides expanded support for sensors. While Windows 7 supported using ambient light sensors (ALS) to control display brightness, a feature known as adaptive brightness, Windows 8.1 includes support for several other types of sensors:

Windows 8.1 uses this sensor data for adaptive brightness and automatic screen rotation. More importantly, Windows 8.1 processes the information using a feature known as sensor fusion and makes it available to apps. By using the compass, incline, and device-orientation information provided by sensor fusion, apps can determine precisely how the computer is being held, where it is being pointed, and how it is being moved.

When using apps, Windows 8.1 should offer increased battery life when compared to earlier versions of Windows. For more information, refer to Chapter 2.

Windows 8.1 natively supports USB 3.0. This does not cause existing USB 2.0 ports to support USB 3.0; the computer must have USB 3.0 compatible hardware. Windows 7 required separate drivers to work with USB 3.0.

Windows RT can run on computers that use ARM processors. ARM processors are often used in mobile devices such as smartphones, media players, and tablet computers. ARM support means you can use Windows 8.1 on some of the smallest and most efficient touch-screen-equipped devices, bringing the desktop experience anywhere you go.

Because ARM processors cannot run traditional Windows applications, Windows RT will run only apps designed for Windows 8.1. In other words, you cannot run apps designed for Windows 7 or earlier versions of Windows on Windows RT.

Passwords are a convenient way to log in when using a keyboard, but typing is more difficult when you’re using a tablet computer. Picture passwords, a sign-in method that authenticates a user by checking gestures made on a picture, provide an easier way to log in using touch, with security that will be sufficient for many users.

To log in with a picture password, select a picture. Then, choose a sequence of three motions on the picture. Each motion can be a tap, a line, or a circle. Circles and lines can be any size or direction. Figure 1-18 shows one step of a sample picture password login: drawing a small counterclockwise circle around the nose of a fox.

Figure 1-18. Draw lines, dots, and circles (as shown around the fox’s nose) to log in using a picture password.

Using the example in Figure 1-18, a user could specify any of the following sequences to log in:

Picture password is disabled by default. Enable it from the Account, Sign-In Options screen of PC Settings. The next time you sign in, you are automatically prompted to enter your picture password. For more information about picture passwords, refer to Chapter 18.

You can also log in to Windows by using a four-digit numeric PIN. Pins are easy to type and remember, but they are not as secure as conventional or picture passwords. If you do decide to use a PIN, avoid common sequences such as 1111 or 1234 and important dates.

PIN login is disabled by default because it is significantly less secure than using a complex password. Enable PIN login from the Users screen of PC Settings. The next time you sign in, click Sign-In Options, and then click the keypad icon. For more information about using a PIN, refer to Chapter 18.

Windows 8.1 integrates the SmartScreen filter from Internet Explorer into the operating system, helping to reduce the risk of users downloading and running known malware. If SmartScreen detects an application that is potentially malware or has not yet established a reputation, it warns the user as shown in Figure 1-19. The user has the option to continue on and run the application.

Figure 1-19. SmartScreen warns the user before running a potentially malicious application.

As shown in Figure 1-20, Windows Defender in Windows 8.1 offers an important security improvement: improved protection from rootkits. Rootkits are a form of malware that runs below the level of the operating system and can be completely undetectable once Windows starts. On computers with UEFI-based secure boot, Windows Defender can detect potential malware attempting to load at boot and resume.

Figure 1-20. Windows Defender helps to protect your PC from malware.

When Windows Defender checks files as Windows accesses them to verify that they are not potentially malicious, Windows Defender adds some overhead, slowing your computer down just a small amount. In Windows 8.1, Windows Defender’s performance is improved. Windows Defender adds only a 4-percent processing overhead to boot time. The performance improvements will also improve battery life.

Naturally, you can also choose to use third-party antimalware software or disable Windows Defender completely.

BitLocker is a disk encryption feature built into Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows 8.1. Windows 8.1 reduces the time required to initially encrypt your disk by encrypting only the portions of the disk that have data stored on them. Free space is not encrypted until the operating system writes to it.

Windows 8.1 helps to reduce the risk of malware by more closely monitoring system integrity during the startup process. If Windows 8.1, working with a computer’s onboard Trusted Platform Module (TPM) chip, detects any threats to system integrity, it automatically starts the Windows Recovery Environment (WinRE), which attempts to remove the malware by restoring system files and settings.

If your computer supports UEFI-based Secure Boot (as defined in the UEFI 2.3.1 specification), UEFI can help verify that all firmware and firmware updates are valid and that Windows system files are properly signed. This can make it much more difficult for a rootkit to install itself on a computer. For more information, read Chapter 27.

Windows 8.1 supports logging in with local user accounts, just as Windows 7 and earlier versions of Windows did. For the first time, however, users have the option of logging in with a Microsoft account.

Windows and app settings work between different PCs. You can switch to a local account. Store your files in SkyDrive, and your entire Windows experience can be cloud-based. Log in to any computer, and have a familiar desktop environment and access to all your files.

This is very useful for users with multiple computers. If you use a desktop during the day, you can pick up your mobile computer, log in from a coffee shop, and continue exactly where you left off. For example, if you were in the middle of watching a video online, you can continue from that same point. If you were reading the news, Windows 8.1 will remember exactly where you were.

If you forget your password, you can use the Microsoft account website (shown in Figure 1-21) to reset your password from any device connected to the Internet. Microsoft accounts have sophisticated security features to minimize the security risks of password resets, including two-factor authentication, such as communicating with your mobile phone or a secondary email address.

Figure 1-21. Use a Microsoft account to synchronize settings between computers and manage your account online.

If the computer can’t connect to the Internet to authenticate you, or your Microsoft account credentials are compromised, Windows 8.1 can authenticate you using cached credentials. Basically, you can log in with the same user name and password you used in the past. For detailed information, read Chapter 18.

Windows 8.1 treats mobile broadband connections as metered connections. This behavior causes Windows to minimize the network traffic sent across mobile broadband connections, potentially reducing data charges. To further minimize mobile broadband usage and improve battery life, Windows 8.1 will automatically turn off your mobile broadband when a Wi-Fi hotspot is available. Wi-Fi hotspots usually have faster bandwidth, higher data caps, and lower latency. If you move away from the Wi-Fi hotspot, Windows 8.1 can automatically use your mobile broadband to reconnect to the Internet.

These improvements keep you connected while reducing your costs, maximizing your network performance, and increasing your battery life.

Windows 8.1 includes a new user interface for turning wireless interfaces on and off, as shown in Figure 1-22. If your PC is equipped with mobile broadband, Windows will show a separate option on the same screen. You can use the new airplane mode to quickly turn all wireless signals off.

Figure 1-22. You can now easily control wireless network interfaces.

Windows 8.1 makes minor improvements to Wi-Fi behavior. If you manually disconnect from a Wi-Fi network, Windows 8.1 will stop automatically connecting to that network. If you disconnect from one Wi-Fi network and then connect to another, Windows 8.1 will configure the newly connected network at a higher priority so that Windows 8.1 automatically chooses that network in the future.

Windows 8.1 features connect more quickly to Wi-Fi networks when resuming from standby. Typically, Windows 8.1 can be connected to your preferred Wi-Fi network in about a second after resuming from standby. Windows 7 could often take more than 10 seconds.

SkyDrive stores your documents on the Internet, so they can be accessed from any device with an Internet connection. You can access files stored in SkyDrive using the SkyDrive app, shown in Figure 1-23, as well as the standard open and save tools that Windows uses to access local files.

Figure 1-23. SkyDrive provides free cloud storage.

You can even choose to allow access to files stored on your local computer through SkyDrive.

Besides Windows 8.1, some of the devices you can use to access SkyDrive include:

To download the official SkyDrive apps, visit https://apps.live.com/skydrive. If you install the SkyDrive for Windows desktop app, you can choose to allow access to files stored only on your local computer (as shown in Figure 1-24). This can be useful if you need to access a file that you forgot to copy to SkyDrive and your computer is turned on and connected to the Internet. Access to your local files is optional and is always protected by two-factor authentication.

Figure 1-24. Use SkyDrive to access files stored locally on computers from across the Internet.

The SkyDrive website provides browser-based tools to access common files, including Microsoft Office documents. Depending on the file type, you might need to install apps on mobile devices to view or edit documents. SkyDrive requires logging in with your Microsoft account, which has the same credentials most users use to log in to Windows.

Many apps, including the Photos and Video apps, allow you to copy files to SkyDrive by using the Share charm, as shown in Figure 1-25.

Figure 1-25. Use the Share charm to quickly copy files to SkyDrive.

As of September 2013, SkyDrive offers users 7 GB of free storage, with the option to buy additional storage. For more information about SkyDrive, read Chapter 13.

With Storage Spaces (shown in Figure 1-26), you can access hard disk storage any way you want. For example, you can connect three different disks to your computer, combine them as a storage pool, and then access them as a virtual drive (such as D:) to store your documents. Later, you could easily add more disks to increase the space. You can even configure redundancy, protecting your data in the event a disk fails.

Disks in a storage pool can be different sizes and connected through USB, SATA (Serial ATA), or SAS (Serial Attached SCSI). Storage Spaces provides two data-resiliency options to protect your data in the event a single hard disk fails:

Figure 1-26. Use Storage Spaces to combine multiple drives and to provide data resiliency.

Unlike with traditional RAID mirroring and parity, you do not need to use identical partition sizes. You cannot boot from a Storage Space. Therefore, you always need a separate physical disk to use as your boot disk.

You can protect individual pools differently by using mirroring, parity, or no redundancy. For example, you could use mirroring to protect your Documents folder, parity to protect your Videos folder, and no redundancy to protect your Downloads folder.

Storage Spaces is not available with Windows RT. Chapter 12, discusses Storage Spaces in more detail.

For users with two or more monitors attached to their computer, Windows 8.1 offers two improvements:

Task Manager gives you detailed insight into the inner workings of your computer and the power to prioritize and stop processes. The redesigned Task Manager is both easier to use and more powerful.

When you open Task Manager by pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del on a keyboard or Windows+Power on a tablet and then clicking Task Manager, Windows 8.1 starts Task Manager with a simplified interface, shown in Figure 1-27, that simply displays a list of applications and the End Task button. This interface (which replaces the Applications tab in earlier versions of Windows) is ideal for casual users, but it does not allow a user to stop the Explorer task and lacks the level of detail power users might have become accustomed to in earlier versions of Windows.

Figure 1-27. The simplified view of Task Manager lets you close running applications.

Click the More Details link to view expanded information about running applications and the operating system’s state. This view of Task Manager displays seven tabs:

Figure 1-28 shows the new Processes tab of Task Manager.

Figure 1-28. Task Manager has been completely redesigned.

At times, Windows might not perform as well as it did when new. Windows might seem slow, or you might experience seemingly unexplainable problems. The cause of these types of problems varies, but often they might be caused by unreliable drivers, corrupted system files, or malware. In the past, many users resorted to reinstalling Windows to solve these problems.

Windows 8.1 gives you two easier options on the General page of PC Settings:

Both options reinstall Windows; however, the process happens automatically without prompting the user for the information usually gathered during setup, including choosing a preferred language and providing a product key. For more information, refer to Chapter 27.

Windows 8.1 includes Hyper-V, which provides the ability to run virtual machines. A virtual machine is an isolated computer within your computer that can run a second copy of Windows or many other operating systems. Essentially, it’s a separate computer running inside a window.

When working with virtual machines, the term host refers to the physical computer that is running Hyper-V. The term guest refers to the virtual machine that is running within Hyper-V.

Virtual machines create a simulated environment that behaves very similar to a physical computer. The guest operating system seems to have all the physical resources any operating system might have: one or more processors, memory, disks, network adapters, monitors, and a keyboard and mouse. However, all these resources are virtual, giving you complete control over the guest operating system.

While most users will never need to create a virtual machine, they can be very useful to advanced users. You can use virtual machines to:

Each running virtual machine requires dedicated memory. For example, if you want to run Windows 8.1 within a virtual machine, you need to allocate at least 2 GB of RAM to the guest operating system. This would reduce the amount of RAM available to apps running on your host. Each virtual machine also needs to store its own system files on a virtual disk. Therefore, if you plan to use virtual machines, you should consider adding extra RAM and hard disk space to your computer.

Using Hyper-V requires the 64-bit version of Windows 8.1 Pro and a computer with second level address translation (SLAT) capabilities (found in some Intel Core i7, Core i5, and Core i3 processors and in AMD processors that support Rapid Virtualization Indexing). You might need to enable SLAT by configuring your computer’s BIOS settings. Hyper-V also requires an additional 2 GB of RAM, for a total of at least 4 GB of RAM.

Hyper-V is not enabled by default. To enable it, select the Hyper-V option from Turn Windows Features On Or Off in Control Panel. Then, restart your computer. You can then launch the Hyper-V Manager desktop app to configure Hyper-V.

One of the biggest innovations in Windows 1 (released in 1985) was the ability to run multiple apps side by side in separate windows. That innovation was so important that an entire operating system was named after the feature.

Windows 8.1 still supports traditional windows on the desktop. However, the Windows 8.1 touch interface runs most apps full-screen.

In Windows 8, you could run two apps side by side. However, one app always ran at a resolution of 320 pixels, while the other app took up the remaining space. That worked well on most tablets, but it looked rather silly on my 30-inch monitor because the second app took up a narrow strip of only 12 percent of my screen.

The Windows 8.1 update removes the 320-pixel limitation, allowing you to resize side-by-side apps to any width. For example, you can have two apps running side by side, evenly sharing the display, or you can resize the apps, as long as each is wider than 320 pixels.

If you have a 1080p resolution screen (1920x1080 or higher), you can run three or more apps side by side in Windows 8.1. Figure 1-29 shows four apps running on a 2560x1600 pixel monitor: Photos, Weather, the desktop, and SkyDrive. If the maximum number of apps are running side by side and you launch a new app, Windows 8.1 prompts you to choose which app you want to replace.

Figure 1-29. Windows 8.1 provides more flexible multitasking.

Windows 8 always showed you the Start screen after booting. Some users prefer to work on the desktop, however, or they need to automatically start a desktop app, such as Home Theater PC (HTPC) software. With the Windows 8.1 update, you can start the desktop automatically after logging in.

To go directly to the desktop when you log in, search from the Start screen for navigation properties and select it. Then select Go To The Desktop Instead Of Start When I Sign In, as shown in Figure 1-30.

Figure 1-30. Windows 8.1 lets you boot to the desktop. Finally!

You’ll find a few other useful options on the Navigation tab:

In Windows 8, users had to open the Start screen by pressing the Windows logo key on the keyboard or a tablet, or by clicking in the lower-left corner of the desktop. As shown in Figure 1-31, Windows 8.1 has added a Start button to the desktop, in the same place earlier versions of Windows had it.

Figure 1-31. The Windows 8.1 desktop has a Start button.

The desktop Start button doesn’t open a Windows 7–style Start menu like you might expect; it displays the Start screen. If you’ve already learned how to open the Start screen without using the Start button, you can turn it off by installing the free StartKiller app from http://www.tordex.com/startkiller/.

If you miss your Windows 7 Start menu, get it back by installing Start8 from http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/.

The WinX menu has always been my favorite power user’s tool—open it by pressing Windows+X or right-clicking the lower-left corner of the screen. The WinX menu now gives you more options, including the options to sleep, restart, or shut down your PC.

Your lock screen can now display a photo slide show. That’s nice if you have a tablet displayed in a common area of your house, such as a tablet propped up in your kitchen. To set up a slide show, follow these steps:

Figure 1-32. Use PC Settings to configure a slide show on the lock screen.

On touch PCs, you can allow users to take pictures without unlocking the PC, similar to what you can do with most smartphones. Simply swipe down from the lock screen to open the camera without logging in. Some of the features will be limited until you log in and authenticate yourself.

Windows 8.1 enables this feature by default. To turn it off, access the lock screen settings from the PC & Devices page of PC settings, and then select Use Camera From The Lock Screen at the bottom of the page.

You can now select larger or smaller sizes for tiles on your Start screen. The larger tile sizes allow you to get more information from live tiles without opening the associated app. The smaller tile sizes allow you to fit four times more apps on the Start screen without scrolling.

Figure 1-33 shows each of the different tile sizes: wide, large, small, and medium. To change the size of a tile, select it by flicking or by right-clicking it, and then click Resize.

Figure 1-33. On the new Start screen, you can choose large and small tile sizes.

Just swipe up from the bottom of the screen (on touch-screen PCs) or click the down arrow in the lower-left corner of the Start screen to view all your apps, including those that don’t have a tile on the Start screen. As shown in Figure 1-34, click the list at the top of the All Apps screen to change how the apps are sorted.

Figure 1-34. The All Apps screen makes it easier to find the app you need.

You’re no longer limited to the handful of colors Windows 8 supported for the Start screen. As shown in Figure 1-35, you can select almost any color you want by opening the Settings charm and then selecting Personalize. You can also select your own desktop wallpaper, though you can’t select a different image as your wallpaper.

Figure 1-35. You can now select custom colors for the Start screen.

Windows 8.1 also makes your Start screen more dynamic by using motion accents. Basically, graphics move with your Start screen, providing an interesting, almost three-dimensional effect. Watch the video at the link provided at the beginning of this section to see motion accents in action.

Perhaps my favorite improvement in Windows 8.1 is search. Now, you can simply type from the Start screen and Windows will find what you’re looking for, whether it’s an app, setting, document, picture, news, or webpage. As shown in Figure 1-36, Windows 8.1 displays the results using a full-screen interface that’s much nicer to browse than any web search engine.

Figure 1-36. Windows 8.1 makes it easier to find anything.

Windows 8 featured a handful of settings accessible from the touch interface (available from the Settings charm by selecting Change PC Settings). However, to change most settings, you still had to open Control Panel on the desktop, exactly as in Windows 7. That worked well with a keyboard and mouse, but it could be difficult to use with touch.

Windows 8.1 moves more settings from Control Panel to the touch interface. Now, all the settings most users might need to change are accessible through touch. Some settings accessed less frequently, such as configuring BitLocker or Windows Firewall, still require you to use Control Panel from the desktop.

In Windows 8, you could access Adobe Flash–based websites only from the desktop. The Windows 8.1 update includes Internet Explorer 11, which supports Adobe Flash, whether you’re using the touch-screen interface or the desktop. Additionally, Microsoft will now distribute updates to Adobe Flash using Windows Update, which allows Adobe to more quickly fix newly discovered vulnerabilities.

Internet Explorer 11 also supports Enhanced Protected Mode (EPM) on the desktop, and EPM is enabled by default. EPM runs webpages in a sandbox, preventing them from accessing important system resources and your personal files. EPM also provides 64-bit tabs, which are less vulnerable to attacks such as buffer overflows than are 32-bit tabs.

Together, these security improvements reduce the risk of getting a malware infection from a website.

Windows 8.1 includes several improvements to security:

Windows 8.1 supports printing directly to 3-D printers, so you can print 3-D objects using plastic. You can do this with earlier versions of Windows, but doing so required additional software. For more information about 3-D printing in Windows, including apps to help you get started, visit http://channel9.msdn.com/Events/Build/2013/3-9027.

Windows 8.1 supports tethering. With tethering, you can use Wi-Fi to share an Internet connection. For example, if your Windows 8.1 PC has a mobile broadband connection, you can enable tethering and then connect other wireless devices to a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot. Any device that connects to the hotspot will be able to use the mobile broadband connection to access the Internet. Tethering is particularly useful when you are traveling because you can share a single Internet connection between all your wireless devices.

In Windows 8, you had to follow a complex series of steps to enable tethering or use a third-party app.

This book focuses on using Windows 8.1 in the home environment. However, I do want to mention the features that Windows 8.1 adds that are primarily intended for business environments: