Microsoft is on the run to launch the Windows 8.1 preview in the forthcoming months. Recently, Microsoft revealed some of the improved sectors in the Windows 8 upgrade in the Build 2013 Developer conference.

The traditional PC users faced it a bit difficulty to cope up with the Start screen and live tiles in Windows 8, and felt that the changes were more tending towards touch screen devices. However, the updated Windows 8.1 platform provides users with the legendary Start button, which was not included earlier in the Windows 8 pack. The Start button would see only a minute change, using a trendy flat version of the Windows logo.

Clicking on the Start button in the traditional desktop view would show the list of all programs of the Start screen and apps. In addition to that, right clicking over the icon would present power options, and turning the system off, or putting to sleep, becomes much easier. Furthermore, users can boot the system directly to the traditional desktop mode to reduce the hassle of switching from the Start screen.

The Windows 8.1 upgrade would also allow users to run multiple applications simultaneously with a 50:50 screen ratio. The operating system would support up to running eight applications at the same time for PC’s, while it would allow running two apps concurrently in tablets. The inclusion of animated Start screen backgrounds, and slideshow option instead of the lock screen, is an eye-catching feature, where the improved Windows Store would allow downloading apps much easily, and add to the delight.

The improved Search feature in the upgraded platform would present with results from the computer, applications, as well as from the web collectively. The Results page is much advanced as well. For instance, searching for a singer would provide a play button and links to their songs and albums in the results page.

Though the Internet Explorer 11 does not look much different from the earlier versions, the changes in the program include moving the tabs to the bottom of the screen, and users can simply create separate live tiles and pin them to the Start screen for ease of access. The Internet Explorer 11 would also allow saving pages to read them later, and would automatically detect phone numbers in the web pages to avoid copying them to the clipboard for calling.

Apart from all these features, the Windows 8 upgrade would support 3D printing, and complex printers like Cubify, PP3D, and Makerbot would work without any complications. The added features in the upgraded Windows 8.1 platform intends to acquire its reputation back, with an improvement in the PC market to some extent. Let us hope it does.