One of the worst kept secrets rattling around Microsoft's campus is Windows Blue, the forthcoming update to Windows 8 that addresses users' bugbears about the OS. Now, Microsoft is officially rechristening the platform, and with a more staid name: Windows 8.1. Tami Reller, the CMO and CFO of Microsoft's Windows Division made the big reveal during JP Morgan's Technology, Media & Telecom Conference. The upgrade will be free and available from the home screen when it launches, while a preview version will be opened up to the public on June 26th at the beginning of Build 2013. Unfortunately, Reller wouldn't get any more specific about a formal release date, saying simply that it will be delivered "later in the calendar year." The only clarification she would offer is, "we know when the holidays are."

As anticipated, the Windows 8.1 update will come to both the full version of the OS as well as the ARM-friendly RT. While we haven't officially seen any sub-10-inch slates announced yet, it's been rumored that 8.1 would enable smaller devices. Reller's comments only backed up those expectations, when she suggested that Windows 8 is great for everything from "the smallest tablets" to desktops.

Filed under: Software, Microsoft

Comments

On the fence about heading to Build? Microsoft's annual conference is scheduled from June 26th to the 28th, and developers in attendance will likely hear quite a bit more about the latest version of Windows 8. MS will also make a public preview available during the event, Julie Larson-Green shared at the Wired Business Conference in New York City today. A final version of Windows 8.1 "Blue" is expected by the end of the year, bringing cosmetic updates and other features, such as a new side-by-side app view and Internet Explorer 11. In March, we managed to dig through pre-release build 9364 -- it sounds like we'll be able to take a much closer look at the new operating system this summer, but you can click through our gallery of screenshots for an early preview, right now.

Filed under: Software, Microsoft

Comments

Source: Microsoft

In a market crowded by ocelots, cows and mountain lions, it's nice to see an operating system that isn't named after an animal. The trend bucking OS? Debian's 7.0 update, Wheezy. Okay, it's technically the name of a penguin from Toy Story, but we'll give it a pass. The distro's latest revision hit over the weekend, offering users an improved installer, new media codecs, UEFI support and a handful of tools to help users create their own XCP and OpenStack cloud severs. Perhaps even more significant is multiarch support, which allows the OS to install packages for both 32 and 64-bit machines simultaneously, improving support for legacy applications. The update includes a ton of software updates as well. Thinking of upgrading? You'll find release notes and download information at the source link.

Filed under: Software

Comments

Via: Phoronix

Source: Debian