Microsoft generated much buzz online on Thursday when it mistakenly released a build of the much-awaited Windows 8.1 Update 1, ahead of its scheduled launch in April 2014.
What appears to be the final build of Windows 8.1 Update 1 was leaked out online via Microsoft's Windows Update service, as the Verge reports. Users at this point have to install a series of patches before being able to install the full update, for which they need to make a few registry changes, or download the updates via direct links.
Most of the changes found in the Windows 8.1 Update 1 are said to be focused on keyboard and mouse users, as we see a desktop task bar placed above the Metro UI-style apps, and options that enable the user to minimize, close or snap Metro UI-style apps. The Redmond-based firm is also said to add a 'shut down' button on the Start screen for non-touch user machines. A new search button is also seen on the top-right corner.
Microsoft might also make its Windows 8.1 Update 1 thin-client friendly, as the updated OS is said to support configurations as low as 1 GB of RAM and 16 GB of storage.
On Thursday, reports of Windows Phone 8.5 already being in the works were circulating the Internet. Mention of the new version of the mobile OS was spotted in a tool tip message (see image below) in the updated Windows Phone 8.1 SDK files. Not many details accompanied the Windows Phone 8.5 tool tip message, apart from hints that secondary live tile might be removed, and that the API might be altered or re-designed for some other new features. The firm is also said to be planning to change the start screen in Windows Phone 8.5.
The Windows phone 8.5 leak, coming from Arnold Vink forum, additionally mentions "Since a WP 8.1 application is now almost the same as a Win Rt application we can also (at least in the current dev preview) use the background tasks used in Win Rt apps which will allow us to run a background task every 15 minutes."
Further, some freshly leaked Windows Phone 8.1 SDK images by Roman l. via Wm power-user suggest that the proposed 'Action Center' or the notification center in WP 8.1 can support a maximum of 20 notifications for each app, messages that will be deleted after seven days. The users can tap on the notification navigating right to the particular application. The users can also clear the notifications one by one or altogether according to their needs.
If the leaked images are to be believed, developers will be able to manage notifications by tagging, grouping or replacing them as the new one comes in. The developers can also set a 'ghost toast' and an expiration time that will make the notification appear only in the Action Center and not as a toast notification on top of the screen.
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