Free Windows 8.1 upgrade released - but faces sluggish PC market

UPDATE / Oct 18: Windows 8.1 was released as scheduled today.

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Free Windows 8.1 upgrade October 18 - but faces sluggish PC market

UPDATE / Aug 16: Microsoft NZ says Windows 8.1 will be available worldwide as a free update for consumers through the Windows Store from midnight October 18 NZ time.

The company says it is expanding apps and services that come in-box with Windows 8.1, including IE, Bing, SkyDrive and Skype.

News of the release comes on the heels of new analysis from IDC. The marke reasearch company had expected 17% to 18% of laptops sold this year would have touchscreens - allowing them to take full advantage of Windows 8.

It has now downgraded that estimate to 12%.

The PC market remains tough overall, IDC says, with June quarter sales falling more than 11% year-on-year amid the tablet and mobile computing boom.

Huzzah! Start button returns with Windows 8.1

June 27: At its Build developer conference in the US, Microsoft has previewed Windows 8.1 (aka Windows Blue) - a free upgrade that will see the return of the Start button.

Microsoft billed Windows 8, released last year, as fast and fluid with its sliding live tiles - a radical new interface shared with the company's Windows Phone software.

Some analysts pin slowing PC sales on people balking at the new Windows, although the situation is shaded by a general shift in spending toward tablets.

ABOVE: Microsoft's official Windows 8.1 preview clip.

The return of the Start button (bottom left). It doesn't do everything the Windows 7  Start button did; users are still nudged toward the Start Screen (below).

The Windows 8 Start screen is made more customisable, including the ability to resize tiles.

Windows 8.1 also offers smarter search, Microsoft says, plus a better photo editor. It adds two free apps, one to track health and fitness, the other a recipe collector and meal planner.

Microsoft is also giving the Windows Store (its version of the iTunes AppStore or Google Play) a pep up.

Check out an All Things D Windows 8.1 preview here; Microsoft's official Windows 8.1 blog here (which includes instructions for downloading the preview version if you're game; the final version is due at an un-named time later this year).

At the other end of the scale, Microsoft is previewing the cloud-friendlyy Windows Server Blue.

Computerworld US - a frequent critique of Microsoft - likes what it sees in this case, calling it a must-have.