(CNN) -- The newest version of Windows is getting some changes. Among them? A little dose of old Windows.
Microsoft is making adjustments to its Windows 8 operating system, beginning with the resurrection of the Start button.
The changes, announced today at the Microsoft Build developer conference
in San Francisco, address some of the complaints leveled at the hybrid
tablet and PC operating system that surfaced when it was released late
last year.
The company also unveiled
improvements to its Bing search engine, built-in support for 3-D
printers, an updated Xbox Music app, and new tools for developers making
WIndows 8 applications.
"The PC, the Windows
device of today, doesn't look a lot like the PC of 10 years ago or of 15
years ago," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer at a keynote address
kicking off the conference.
Ballmer outlined some of the new changes to Windows 8.1, which he described as a "refined blend."
When the radically
different, touchscreen-optimized system came out eight months ago, many
Windows users were upset about radical departure from the typical
Windows interface, especially the lack of a Start button. The button is
back, and now it leads to a list of all your applications.
The company announced a
few new applications for Windows 8, including an official Facebook app,
Flipboard and NFL Fantasy football. Though there was a brief preview of a
new version of PowerPoint for WIndows 8, the next version of the
Microsoft Office suite won't be released until 2014.
The speedy Windows 8 update is part of Microsoft's new approach to releasing fixes and adding features to products.
The software and
hardware company is now focused on a "rapid release" cycle, which will
let it roll out changes to software in a matter of months instead of
years. It has already released a number of changes to Windows 8, but
this version is the biggest overhaul so far.
A free preview version
of the Windows 8.1 update for developers is available to anyone
interested in installing it. The version for regular consumers will come
out later this year.
Other changes include
the ability to boot directly into the desktop, more flexibility with the
tiles on the Start screen, support for high-resolution displays, and
greater Bing integration.
"Search is not just a
list of links, it's things you can do," said Julie Larson-Green,
corporate vice president of Windows, who demonstrated some new Bing
features.
Developers can now tap
into Bing, which has opened up access to its 3-D maps, entities and
knowledge database, and natural user interfaces.
The big Xbox Music update is a radio feature that builds a station for listeners based on a song, much like Pandora.
As part of a feature
coming later this year, people will be able to automatically create Xbox
Music playlists based on Web pages, like a Pitchfork list of top songs
of the year.
Microsoft also
highlighted a few of the of the 3,000 Windows 8 certified tablets, PCs
and hybrids, including an 18-inch Dell tablet. It highlighted more
touchscreen devices, "workhorse" 2-in-1 tablets and smaller tablets.
"We're going to see a proliferation of Windows 8 small tablet devices over the next few months," said Ballmer.
Microsoft's own entry in
to the hardware world wasn't forgotten. After some scripted banter
about how much they loved their own Surface tablets, presenters
announced that developers attending the conference would all receive
free Surface Pros. Attendees will also get Acer Iconia W3 tablets.
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