Windows 8.1 Preview Product Guide

Microsoft makes no warranties, express or implied, with respect to any information described in this document.
Images show pre-released product which may be substantially modified before the product is commercially released.
Some apps or features described in this document may not be updated or included in Windows 8.1 Preview and may
be modified before the product is commercially released.
© 2013 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Microsoft, Active Directory, Bing, BitLocker, Direct2D, Direct3D, Excel, Internet Explorer, Office, OneNote, Outlook,
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All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.
Windows 8.1 Preview
product guide

Windows devices and services for business
Everything you do for work, from anywhere
Great business devices
Always business-ready
Building Windows Store apps
Make money in the Windows Store
Devices provide a world of choice
Engaging customers through leading user experiences
Modern engineering enables the next wave of app innovation
Advancing the vision of Windows 8
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Contents
Windows devices and services for the way you live
Introducing Windows 8.1 Preview and Windows RT 8.1 Preview
Great, personal devices
The right device for you
Make it unique
Your personal experience across devices
Bringing together all you do
Connect
Create
Discover
Work
Play
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Windows 8 introduced innovation for a new era of devices designed for mobility
and touch. It’s designed for how you work and play, create, connect with people,
and discover, while using the widest range of hardware, modern apps, and other
cloud-connected services.
Connected to the cloud, Windows 8 set out to push boundaries. It expanded the possibilities
of the services you use every day, with new and beautiful apps for entertainment
and productivity and a best-in-class browsing experience with Internet Explorer 10.
Windows 8 gave you the convenience and mobility of tablets along with the productive
experience you expect from a PC. And Windows 8 devices offer the best of both: touch
interaction and keyboard and mouse productivity. Windows has long been synonymous
with choice, and Windows 8 has extended this promise without compromise. Choose
the device that works for you, the style and design you love, and the apps and services
you depend on. Windows fits the way you live.
Windows 8.1 Preview advances the vision set forward with Windows 8 to deliver
the experiences that customers–consumers and businesses–need and expect in the next
generation of PCs, tablets, and other devices. It’s Windows 8 but even better.
Windows devices
and services for
the way you live
4 5preview.windows.com

7preview.windows.com
Introducing Windows 8.1 Preview
and Windows RT 8.1 Preview
Windows 8.1 Preview is the next step forward for a truly modern computing experience
with the widest possible range of devices: from the smallest tablets and convertibles
to the sleekest and highest-powered notebooks, all delivering the latest advances in screens,
battery life, performance, and design. Microsoft and its expansive partner community
continue to innovate and deliver imaginative and diverse hardware to meet the needs
and preferences of the 1.2 billion Windows users around the world.
More personal, more apps
Windows 8.1 Preview enhances the visually stunning Windows 8, making the experience
not only more vibrant and powerful, but also more personal. Apps are a vital part of this
experience. On screens big and small, apps are immersive, rich, and intuitive to use.
The Windows Store is the place to find new apps and old favorites. With over 80,000
apps since the launch of Windows 8, the Store is constantly being refreshed with high-
quality submissions from a global community of creative app developers, and the majority
of top iPad and Android apps will be available by the time Windows 8.1 releases.
More of the cloud and the web
The cloud is now a no-effort affair. When you sign in to Windows 8.1 Preview with a Microsoft
account, SkyDrive brings together all of your Windows 8.1 PC’s or tablets–and even your
Xbox console or Windows Phone. It’s the place to save your photos, docs, and other files,
so you can get to them from virtually anywhere. Powered by Bing, the Search charm now
works across your device, apps, and the web.
More devices
If you’re looking for the latest hardware this holiday season, new Windows 8.1 and
Windows RT 8.1 tablets and PCs will offer more devices and advances in screens, battery
life, and performance. The fundamentals you’ve come to expect from Windows–
performance, stability, security, and fast startup and shut down–are great when you’re using
a Windows 8.1 device.
Free download
Download Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1 for free from your Windows 8 PC. Windows 8.1
is an easy and free update from Windows 8. You get it the same way you get an app from
the Windows Store. Tap or click on the Windows 8.1 in the Store page and download the
update while you continue to use your PC.

Your Windows PC or tablet is an extension of you. What you choose to do with it is unique.
Download apps from the Windows Store. Pin your favorite sites and other content and
contacts to your Start screen, and personalize it with the color, background, and tiles that make
it uniquely you. There are now more ways than ever to create an experience that’s personal,
expressive, and reflects the things that matter the most to you.
Great personal
devices

The right device for you
Windows 8.1 devices deliver the latest advancements in hardware innovation. A new
generation of chipsets enables powerful, lightweight devices, including 7”-10” tablets
and beautiful touch laptops with high performance and energy efficiency. If you can’t decide
between a tablet or laptop, new devices with detachable screens or convertible designs give
you the best of both worlds. Apps and the web look great on a wide range of aspect ratios.
Choose a small device with a 4×3 ratio, or a medium-to-large device with a 16×9 or 16×10
ratio. Connect your PC to a large screen and enjoy top-notch entertainment with Windows
and Xbox. High-resolution displays light up across all screen sizes. Media-rich 3D games come
to life on powerful, high-end laptops and desktop PCs. Whether you use a touch screen or a
mouse and keyboard, you can switch smoothly between Start, apps, and the familiar desktop.
Desktop
Francine
ParkStart
Jean Stone
Thank you for your help!
It was great to have your help moving
Mail
StoreSkyDrive
House warming party
Jean’s new house
5:30 PM – 9:00 PM 24Monday
Internet Explorer
Health Fitness
Polar bears enjoy fun, freedom in
their new homePhotos
Help + Tips Travel
Reading List
San Francisco
Sunny
Today
65°/ 52° Mostly sunny
Tomorrow
68°/ 53° Partly sunny
68°
Weather
8
Windows 8.1 enables devices to use the latest standards like Bluetooth 4.0 LE, combining
high performance with great battery life. Mobile broadband helps keep you connected
wherever you go. With fast boot and instant resume times, you don’t have to wait for your
PC or tablet–it’s right there when you need it. InstantGo is a feature that keeps data, apps,
and tiles updated with current information by maintaining a network connection and syncing
automatically, even while the device is in a connected standby state. Devices that include
Instant Go also wake up the device instantly–going from connected standby mode to “on”
in under 300 milliseconds–and control power consumption to allow up to 14 days of battery life.
Touch screens are responsive and support multitouch gestures. Using the touch keyboard,
selecting text, or correcting spelling is fast and precise. Touchpads now support more
Windows gestures, making them much more efficient to use. Surfing the web is fast and easy
with touch-optimized Internet Explorer 11.
Make it unique
It’s easy to personalize Windows 8.1 Preview. Set the lock screen to your favorite photo,
or turn the lock screen display into a slide show of your pictures. Pin tiles to your Start
screen for the people, sites, and apps that matter to you, and arrange them the way you
want. Like on Windows Phone 8, the tiles on Start now come in more sizes and give you more
options for arranging them. Group them and pin a lot of tiles, or keep it simple and pin just
a few. See a list of all your apps with one slide or click. You can choose from more beautiful,
vibrant colors, as well as fun backgrounds. We’ve made it even easier to use keyboard and
mouse, and have added more configuration options, like the Start button and the ability
to start in the desktop, so you can use Windows just the way you want.
House warming party
Jean’s new house
5:30 PM – 9:00 PM8∶10Monday, June 24
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Your personal experience across devices
Your Microsoft account is the email address and password that you use to sign in to Windows
8.1. Get online and sign in with your Microsoft account to open up a whole world of options
and experiences and instantly connect to a host of great services from Microsoft. It’s a
powerful way to keep your life connected across all of your devices.
Personal settings like your lock screen and Start screen follow you to other Windows 8.1
devices. Your favorite websites, browser history, and pinned sites on your Start screen move
with you, as well. With a Microsoft account, you can also access your stuff from virtually
anywhere using a browser or the SkyDrive app. Your Calendar, Mail, and People apps are
connected via your Microsoft account, so you can stay in touch and up to date at all times.
Skype, Xbox, Outlook.com, and Windows Phone use your Microsoft account, as well, so your
services and devices are connected with a single user name and password. And, of course,
your Microsoft account also gives you access to all the apps in the Windows Store. You can
download the apps you’ve purchased to any PC or tablet at home or at work that shares
the same Microsoft account.

We all do many things in our lives. Your Windows device is indispensable both at home and
at work. You can connect with people using Mail and Skype, discover new ideas, or find new
travel destinations while you browse the web, work with the full power of Office1
, and relax
with your friends using the rich set of entertainment provided by Xbox. Windows devices,
services, and apps bring together everything you do at work, at home, or on the go. There’s
no limit to what you can do with apps from the Windows Store–they’re beautiful, immersive,
intuitive, and connected, keeping you up to date on the latest news, weather, social media
feeds, and much more.
We’ve added some great features to the apps that come with Windows and also added some
fun, new apps to the mix.
Bringing together
all you do
1
Sold separately.

Connect
You have family and friends in town, across the country, and maybe even around the world.
And when you travel, you need to stay in touch with what’s going on. Your Windows 8.1 PC
or tablet is your essential communication hub. Email, video chat, social updates–it’s all built
right into your Windows experience.
Manage your whole life
The updated Mail app and Outlook.com give you an an amazingly powerful and personal
mail experience. No matter if it’s your personal or your work mail–you can handle multiple
accounts in one place. The people view helps you track incoming mail from your most
important contacts. The newsletter and social update views reduce clutter by automatically
filtering out mail you don’t want to see. Use the Sweep feature to automatically delete or file
email out of your inbox before it arrives. And Mail works great with the updated Calendar app:
you can quickly create events and view your schedule for multiple accounts. Designed to be
flexible across different window sizes and devices, Mail and Calendar are great when used
side-by-side with other apps.
Connect with people
The People app is your universal address book. See contacts from all of your address books
in one place, and get the latest updates from your friends. Also, sync contacts from the social
networks you care about, like Facebook and Twitter. When you want to get in touch with
someone, you can send email, call them, or post to social media directly from the People app.
Stay connected even when you’re apart
But of course mail isn’t the only way to stay in touch. Nothing beats Skype when you want
to catch up, via chat with your best friend, see your kids when you’re on the road, or catch up
with a relative. Skype for Windows 8 works great on Windows 8.1, with your people and recent
conversations just a touch away on your favorite Windows device. We’re working hard to
make Skype even better; stay tuned for more.

Create
Unleash your inner creativity with the Fresh Paint app from Microsoft. Fresh Paint includes
everything you need to get started, including highly realistic oil paints, graphite pencils,
and now watercolors. The paints and pencils look and behave just like real paint. You can
blend and mix colors, and even change the texture of the canvas. Paint in the way most
natural for you, including touch, stylus, WACOM, or similar drawing tablet, or even a mouse.
Your paintings are saved automatically for you in your gallery, and you can even pin your
favorite paintings right to your Start screen. Accomplished artists will appreciate the floating
palette for quick access to tools and paints. Aspiring artists looking for quick results can now
turn photos into paintings or sketches in seconds. Just click the image button and select a
photo, or use your PC’s built-in camera button, and bring the image into Fresh Paint. Then
decide if you’d like to turn it into an oil painting, watercolor, or pencil sketch. Almost instantly,
you’ll have a masterpiece you can share with others.
Have you ever missed that perfect shot? If you have a device that supports it, Camera will
capture a series of pictures one second before and one second after you press the shutter
button, allowing you to always select the best picture from a series of rapid shots.
But even the best photographer needs to do some touch up. The updated Photos app has
edge-to-edge, touch-optimized photo and video viewing and great photo editing capabilities.
Even if you’re a novice, you can auto-fix or tweak your photos easily via touch or with a mouse
and keyboard. If you need to do more advanced editing, there are apps available in the
Windows Store.
When you’re done creating your masterpiece, use the Share charm to post it to your
favorite social network or send it to friends and family via email without leaving the app.


People who who prefer photography to express their creative side can use the wide range
of available devices with great cameras built-in. Every step from capturing to sharing is a
delightful, fast, and easy experience. Starting with the built-in Camera app, you get easy-
to-use and clear controls to help you capture photos and videos on your PC or tablet.
When you’re recording video, you can tap anywhere on the screen to take a picture without
stopping the recording. The panorama feature based on the popular Photosynth app allows
you to capture and seamlessly stitch panoramas and create 360° views.

Discover
Browse the web
You browse the web and search for information all the time. Whether it’s looking up game
scores, working on a project, trying a new recipe, comparison shopping, or watching
a movie–you rely on your PC to get you there fast. And while there are an amazing array
of apps to choose from on Windows 8.1, web browsing continues to be one of the most
popular activities on any connected device. On a Windows 8.1 Preview PC or tablet, you
get the best of both apps and web with Internet Explorer 11, which delivers a best-in-class
browsing experience across the full range of Windows devices and screen sizes that’s equally
great for touch, mouse, and keyboard. Internet Explorer 11 builds on the breakthrough
advancements in Internet Explorer 10 and is the only browser that is perfect for touch.
Internet Explorer 11 is the best way to experience everything you love on the web. Pages load
faster, the frequent sites list is simple and fresh, and your Favorites have all of the features
you need to find things fast. Browse tabs side-by-side and pin your favorite sites to Start–
you can do it all and enjoy the most responsive performance on touch devices. You can
continue browsing across your devices because your browsing history, favorite sites, tabs,
and settings are synced across all of your Windows 8.1 PCs using your Microsoft account.
Find more answers
Search engines are pretty good at helping you find information on websites, but what
about all the information contained within Word documents on your hard drive or stored
in SkyDrive? Today, it’s hard to find stuff and you probably have to use a number of different
search tools to find what you’re looking for. With the Search charm powered by Bing, there’s
a better way to find what you’re looking for, regardless of where it’s saved–you’ll quickly find
it, whether it’s a document on your PC, photo on SkyDrive, app in the Store, or a website.
And you can take immediate action right from the results: play songs, start a conversation,
view pictures, launch apps, open files, and browse sites.
Planning a trip to Paris? A quick search and you’ll see beautiful images, upcoming events
in the city, and popular attractions. You can check the current weather and book a hotel.
Your itinerary and budget saved to your laptop are a tap or click away.
Search in Windows, powered by Bing is the first step towards a more efficient and intuitive
way to find the information you want.
With so much available information, it’s easy to lose track of interesting content that you
might want to read or watch at a later time. The Reading List app saves what you find so
you can get back to it without having to repeat your search or browse around. Use the Share
charm to add links to websites or app content to the Reading List. It will be bookmarked there
for you until you’re ready to go back to it.

Keep up with the latest
The Bing apps help you stay on top of what’s happening in your world with beautiful,
immersive experiences that help you interact with information when it matters most.
Personalize your Bing News app to just the topics that interest you, whether from curated,
top-tier publications or the latest from the Internet. Tracking your portfolio or saving to
buy a house? The Bing Finance app combines comprehensive market data, business profiles,
and analyst opinions with personal finance information and tools. One quick glance at the
new tile and you’ll know the current performance of your top investments. And you won’t be
caught out in the cold using the Bing Weather app, with its hourly, daily, and 10-day forecasts,
notifications of severe weather, and maps that show you what’s ahead. Wondering what’s
up with your favorite team? Track their latest schedule and game history on the Start screen
with the Bing Sports app tile. Enjoy sports news and highlights from your favorite leagues or
watch the live game update in a snapped window. If you want to see the next game in person,
look no further than the Bing Travel app as your resource for trip planning, expert destination
reviews, and hotel and flight booking.
BING TRAVEL
Tahiti
French Polynesia Add to Favorites
Search destinations
Search Flights
Search Hotels
Flight Schedule
Flight Status
TOOLS AND TASKS
We’re introducing two new Bing apps with Windows 8.1 Preview. The Bing Food Drink app
is your comprehensive culinary guide for inspiration and instruction from the tablet to
the table. An indispensable foodie companion that features a hands-free cooking mode,
this app includes an extensive recipe and wine catalog, as well as tips and techniques from
celebrity chefs.
Also new is the Bing Health Fitness app, the one-stop spot for a healthier you, with
informative text and video about fitness, an extensive nutritional guide, and interactive
exercise and diet trackers. A unique, interactive 3D model of the human body allows you
to explore, learn, and be more knowledgeable about your health. Plus, with an extensive
graphical medical reference, you can look up drug information in a database or use the
symptom checker to understand diseases and treatments. You’re just a tap or click away
from a healthier you on Windows 8.1 Preview2
.
2
The Health Fitness app is intended to promote general health and wellness.
It does not treat diseases, or provide medical advice or diagnosis.

Get more apps
Windows 8.1 Preview is built to get the most from the latest and most innovative apps.
The Windows Store is the way to access the apps to complete your Windows 8.1 experience.
The Windows Store has been beautifully redesigned and has some great new features that
make it easy to discover the best apps and games. The Store presents you with a personalized
selection of apps based on your previous choices, and it features apps from across a wide
set of interests and highlights what new apps are currently trending with other people.
Access from virtually anywhere
Have you ever wanted to show a photo or document to a coworker only to realize that it’s
on your other PC? We live in a world of multiple devices, and trying to keep your PC in sync
with your phone, your camera, and your tablet quickly gets far too complex. SkyDrive is the
place to save your files and always have them with you. In Windows 8.1 Preview, SkyDrive is
connected more deeply to your PC or tablet. Start with 7 GB of free cloud storage, and easily
upgrade to more.
SkyDrive is easy to use. Opening, editing, or saving a file works as if your files were on your
PC. And you choose which files or folders you want available when you’re offline, so you
always have them with you. When you sign in to Windows 8.1 with your Microsoft account,
your files are there for you on whatever Windows 8.1 PC or tablet you’re using. You can also
back up important files with SkyDrive to make sure you don’t lose them. Many of your PC
settings are stored in SkyDrive, making it much easier to set up your replacement PC or
tablet. Your Windows Phone comes with SkyDrive built in, and there are SkyDrive apps for
iOS and Android. You can even access SkyDrive from virtually anywhere you have a browser
at SkyDrive.com. Windows 8.1 Preview has a new camera roll (like your Windows Phone) that
lets you take a picture and have it instantly saved to your private SkyDrive.
Because your apps can save files and PC settings directly to SkyDrive, you can start creating
something on one device and finish on another, always working on the latest version.
When you sign in to another PC or tablet, you can pick up right where you left off.
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Delete Cut Copy Rename Availability Open with Clear selection Select all New folder Add files Details
Travel
Cooking
Music
Yoga
BBQ
Assignment 01
Yoga class list
Review docs
Summer Vacation Plans
Assignment 01
Schedule
Assignment 01
Prep notes for Kim
Documents Clara’s materialsSkyDrive 
In the Windows Store, you’ll discover indispensable apps for work and essential apps
for entertainment. New with Window 8.1 Preview, the Windows Store suggests some picks
that might be interesting to you based on your previous selections, ratings, and community
favorites. The Store features staff picks, deals, and apps rising in popularity. Find all of the
categories by swiping in from the top or right-clicking the screen. It’s easier than ever for
you to discover apps that fit your interests.
Apps are updated automatically in the background, so you don’t have to interrupt what you’re
doing to get the latest update for them.

Work
When it’s time to focus on your work, you can rely on Windows to help you stay productive
and complete projects as efficiently as possible. Multitasking is a normal part of your work life
and Windows 8.1 Preview helps you get more stuff done. In addition to Windows Store apps,
Windows 8.1 Preview is compatible with your Windows 7 apps, including Office 3653
. Windows
RT 8.1 Preview runs Windows Store apps and comes with Office 2013 RT, including Outlook
2013 RT.
More devices you depend on work right out of the box, like scanners and printers–with seamless
support from Windows Store apps. All while keeping you more secure. Windows takes care
of a lot of things in the background so you never have to worry about them and can focus
on the things that matter to you.
Collaborate with Office 365 and SkyDrive
With Office 365, you have access to the Microsoft Office tools you know and rely on. For your
new Windows 8.1 Preview PC or tablet, the new Office apps are perfect–like Windows, they work
great with a keyboard and mouse, pen, or with touch input. They’re connected to SkyDrive
so you can access your files from anywhere. Office 365 is truly designed for collaboration,
with shared calendars, real-time document editing, and worldwide calling.
When you’re working on a project with other people for work or school, it’s easy to share
notebooks and files. You can send a link or use free Office web apps to view and edit them.
New features in Word mean you can add an online video into your document, open and edit
a PDF file, and align pictures and diagrams with minimal fuss. Excel templates do most of the
setup and design for you, so you can focus on your information. Your presentations will be
stunning with new design tools in PowerPoint that help with alignment, color-matching,
and great templates. Draw, handwrite, type, click, or swipe your notes in OneNote. Your notes
are saved, searchable, and synced to OneNote apps on your other devices. Sync tasks and
calendars with Outlook to put all your plans together.
Multiple monitor options
Bring your tablet to work and dock it to a large screen, or set up your workspace with several
monitors. Windows 8.1 Preview provides a refined, coherent experience for people who want
to get more space to work. Display multiple Windows Store apps on all monitors or use the
desktop side-by-side with other apps. Windows Store apps and the desktop now work together
in any arrangement across multiple monitors, allowing you to move between everything seamlessly.
3
Office 365 is not included with every Windows 8.1 PC or device. Windows 8.1 RT devices include Office 2013 RT. 4
Default settings require at least 2560 pixel width on a 24” or larger monitor.
More adaptable windows
You have even more flexibility in what you see on the screen at one time. You can now open
up to four apps on the screen at once and change the size of each window4
. You can also have
one app open another app and automatically arrange them side-by-side. Tap or click a photo
email attachment and the photo automatically opens in a new window next to your mail,
so that you can view and reply without losing your place.

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Play
Whether you like to relax and listen to music, watch a movie, or complete the next level
of your favorite game, Windows 8.1 Preview, Xbox LIVE, and our many entertainment partners
will delight and amaze you.
Endless entertainment
The power of Xbox on your tablet is more than amazing games and connecting with your
online gaming friends. With Xbox Music, you have millions of songs to discover, stream,
and download. Create playlists and have them available on your Windows Phone and Xbox.
Use Xbox Video to stream your favorite HD movies and TV shows on your tablet or PC,
or download them for viewing when you’re offline. Built-in support for wireless display allows
you to project to Miracast enabled devices, such as TVs and projectors. Like any second
screen connected to Windows, you can select between duplicating or extending your screen.
Install the Xbox SmartGlass app and you can even tell a movie to play on your Xbox 360 while
you look at background info on your Windows 8.1 device. You can also use SmartGlass
to control your Xbox, search the catalog, and get contextual game help.

Windows devices
and services
for business5
In the same way that Windows brings innovation to consumers, it also brings great
value to businesses. Mobility and cloud services are just as relevant in the work place.
IT professionals face new and unique challenges and Windows 8.1 Preview allows them
to adapt and create unique solutions for the way people expect to work.
Windows 8.1 brings together everything your people need to do–using mobile apps for
your business, Office productivity work, searching and browsing, or accessing their data
from anywhere. Their experience is consistent across all their Windows devices–from
business tablets, to thin and light notebooks, to high-performance workstations–whether
at home, in the office, or on the road.
Windows takes care of the essentials–you can manage personal devices in your
organization, utilize your investments in your enterprise infrastructure, and enhance
the security of your environment.
5
Some of these features may require Windows 8.1 Pro or Windows 8.1 Enterprise devices.

Everything you do for work, from anywhere
Apps for business
Whether at home, at work, or on the go, Windows 8.1 boosts people’s creativity
and productivity virtually anywhere. Combined with the full power of Office with Outlook,
Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote, workers can create plans and presentations to help
businesses succeed. With files spread across multiple devices, sites, and in the cloud, finding
the right information can be a challenge. With Windows 8.1, the updated Search features helps
find results from many information sources–apps, documents, the web, photos, and even
PC settings.
Windows Store apps developed specifically for your organization can easily be deployed
outside of the Windows Store directly to your employees. And people can still use their
existing apps–including desktop productivity, line-of-business apps, as well as web apps.
Mobility for business
More and more workers need to work from anywhere at any time, staying connected to
the people, apps, and information they need. Windows 8.1 continues to make significant
investments in mobile connectivity and productivity, letting people work virtually anywhere
on any Windows device.
Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.1 RT devices allow you to connect more securely with several
built-in VPN clients in addition to the built-in Microsoft RRAS VPN. These give workers
additional connection options for existing virtual private networks. The built-in clients are
deployed and managed through Windows PowerShell or Windows Intune, supporting
deployment to many devices simultaneously. Auto-triggered VPN prompts users as soon
as they’re trying to access an internal app or URL. Or, if workers already provided their
credentials when signing in to Windows, the VPN will connect automatically.
As in Windows 8, Windows To Go lets workers put a complete enterprise environment (including
operating system, apps, and other data) onto a USB drive. They can then boot the USB drive on any
PC certified for Windows 7, Windows 8 or Windows 8.1 regardless of the running operating system.
Windows 8.1 introduces composite drives for Windows To Go. Windows To Go certified drives
include certificates by the drive manufacturer for multifactor access, allowing the device to work
both as a storage drive for Windows To Go and a security device for the certificate. Windows Store
access is enabled by default, allowing workers to download and install apps on the Windows To Go
drive from the network.
Stay connected with broadband tethering by turning your mobile broadband-enabled
PC or tablet into a mobile Wi-Fi hotspot. This allows other devices to connect via Wi-Fi and access
the Internet.

Great business devices
Someone’s business device should be just as customized, responsive, and easy to use as their
own personal device. Each person in your organization has unique needs. Some need a highly
mobile, always connected device. Others need the high performance of a notebook packed
with features. Windows 8.1 provides flexibility and choice across a range of options–touch,
type, or voice input–individuals can choose the device that best fits their needs.
Works the way you want
Workers can customize their Windows 8.1 Preview device to suit their individual needs and
work styles. Multiple windows and multimonitor enhancements allow workers to arrange their
apps, sites, customize their Start screen, and change their desktop just the way they need
to. IT professionals can allow workers to customize their Start screen with relevant apps
and live tiles or they can choose to manage the Start screen experience through Group
Policy either for individuals or for groups.
With new desktop enhancements, including the new Start button, workers can easily transition
between the Start screen and the desktop. IT professionals can also customize the Start
button to open the Apps view, which provides a complete list of installed apps. This list can
be reordered by category, date, or name, and desktop apps can appear at the front of the list.
Windows 8.1 can also boot right to the desktop. In fact, you can start directly in any view–
the Start screen, Apps view, the desktop, or even a single app.
Make important apps easily accessible in the Start screen on company-issued devices.
This includes the ability to manage different Start screen configurations for different groups
and roles by using Group Policy.
With assigned access, you can enable a single Windows Store app experience on dedicated-
use devices. You might want to run a customer service app in a retail store device, or have a
single learning app running in school. Enabling assigned access turns on a predefined set of
filters that blocks other actions so the specified app runs and system files and other apps can’t
be accessed.
Always business-ready
Managing personal devices
Windows 8.1 makes managing personal devices much easier for Bring Your Own Devices
(BYOD) programs. New features make it possible to more securely allow access to corporate
resources–like work folders, apps, and services–from any Internet connection.
The management,security, monitoring, and compliance benefits of Windows Server,
Active Directory, Group Policy, Domain Join, System Center, Windows Intune, and MDOP,
can continue to support devices running Windows 8.1. You can also benefit from the high
levels of hardware and software compatibility with Windows 8.1. The majority of Windows
desktop apps and Windows Store apps will run on Windows 8.1.
Windows 8.1 Preview delivers enterprise-grade security through enhanced access control,
improved data protection, and new features that make devices less susceptible to malware threats.
Windows 8.1 Preview and Windows Server together introduce many features that make
it easier for you to embrace BYOD programs, keeping your people productive on their
own mobile devices, while company information is protected.
Windows 8.1 gives you more options to manage user-owned and controlled devices.
New Open Mobile Alliance Device Management (OMA-DM) capabilities are built in
and enable mobile device management using third-party MDM solutions with no additional
agent required. Enhanced policies allow you to manage more settings from both Windows
Intune and the third-party MDM solutions for both Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1 devices.
Windows 8.1 personal devices include an option to join the workplace, allowing workers
to access network resources, such as a SharePoint site from their personal devices.
They can also choose to enroll in the device management service, to gain access to access
to the company portal, get corporate apps, and manage their own device. With work folders,
they can access their work files across all their devices, with automatic synchronization to your
file servers in your data center and back out to their other devices. IT professionals can enforce
dynamic access control policies on the Work Folder Sync Share (including automated rights
management.) When workers remove their device from the corporate network, the corporate
data can no longer be accessed.
The Web Application Proxy is a new service in the Windows Server Remote Access role.
It provides the ability to publish access to corporate resources and enforce multifactor
authentication, as well as apply conditional access policies to verify the user’s identity
and the device they’re using before access is granted.

Enterprise-grade security
Windows 8.1 Preview delivers enterprise-grade security through enhanced access control,
improved data protection, and new features that make devices less susceptible to malware threats.
Device Encryption helps to protect data on Windows RT and Windows Phone 8 because
it’s automatically provisioned. For Windows 8.1, Device Encryption is included on all Windows
editions and is enabled automatically if the device meets the Instant Go device requirements.
When Device Encryption is provisioned on a device running Windows 8.1 Pro or Enterprise,
you can add BitLocker protection for increased security and management capabilities.
In addition to device encryption, remote business data removal gives IT professionals
the ability to remove corporate and confidential data from a user-owned device, while leaving
user data untouched. This feature helps protect business data when employees leave the
organization, or if their device is stolen or lost.
All editions of Windows 8.1 and Windows 8.1 RT include improved biometric capabilities that
provide authentication based on a user’s biometric identity. Windows 8.1 is optimized
for fingerprint-based biometrics and includes a common fingerprint enrollment experience
that works with a variety of readers, including touch and swipe.
Attesting TPM Keys enables certificates to be hardware bound, so that access to networks
and resources can be gated. This helps to prevent stolen certificates from being shared
and used to access corporate networks or resources.
Trust in the Public Key Infrastructure (PKI) is based on the assumption that certificates
and keys will be securely issued, stored, and used. Sometimes, this assumption isn’t valid
and there might be cases where certificates and keys are fraudulently issued, tampered
with, or impersonated. The cloud-based certificate service in Windows 8.1 helps to increase
the trustworthiness of Internet certificates by crawling the Internet to collect and analyze
certificates that are used in the public domain. This helps identify fraudulent use
of certificates.
There are number of significant improvements that help make Windows more resistant
to malware. Windows Defender, the antivirus solution from Microsoft in Windows 8, includes
network behavior monitoring to help detect and stop the execution of known and unknown
malware. Internet Explorer scans binary extensions (ActiveX for example) using the antimalware
solution before potentially harmful code runs.

Building Windows
Store apps Windows 8.1 Preview builds on the bold vision and solid foundation of Windows 8,
evolving the development platform to enable the next wave of app innovation.
The range of hardware supported by Windows 8.1 is unprecedented. The user
experience has evolved, increasing ease of use and engagement. The Windows
Store continues to offer best-in-class economics while enabling new revenue
opportunities, better merchandizing, and improved app discoverability. And new
engineering principles and telemetry data facilitate platform advances across
hardware, devices, and the user experience.

Make money in the Windows Store
Windows 8 introduced the world to the Windows Store, a new way to discover and download
apps for Windows. Windows 8.1 Preview evolves the Store experience to better highlight
and showcase great apps. With Windows 8.1, app updates and new in-app offers get pushed
to users automatically, creating new opportunities to generate excitement and revenue with
your apps.
Refreshed Windows Store experience
The Windows Store is alive with activity, just like Windows, and is home to an ever-expanding
catalog of high quality apps. With more opportunities for app discovery and merchandizing,
fresh, new apps are front and center, generating interest and excitement. Recommendations
are now personalized and relevant. Tiles that represent apps in the Windows Store are more
visually striking. And enhancements to the Windows App Certification Kit (WACK) make
validating Windows Store apps easier and more efficient.
Additional revenue opportunities
The Windows 8.1 Preview opens up additional revenue streams through the Store. Gift cards
enable users who otherwise wouldn’t be able to acquire apps or content to download items
from the Windows Store, and this opens a channel for prospective customers all around
the world, especially in locales where access to credit cards is uncommon. Windows 8.1 also
removes the 100-item limitation for in-app catalog items, enabling large catalogs that
can continue to grow over time.

42
Devices provide a world of choice
The hardware and devices that run Windows 8.1 Preview are amazing. From the smallest
tablets and convertibles to high powered Ultrabooks and PCs, the breadth of the Windows
device market is unrivaled and enables unprecedented opportunity to reach consumers
with your apps.
High performance and longer battery life
Supporting a variety of processors and architectures, including the latest in low-power
chipsets, Windows 8.1 Preview enables you to design and build lightweight mobile devices
with high performance, energy efficiency, and longer battery life.
Connectivity wherever you go
With enhanced and new mobile broadband features, and improved support for Bluetooth
and NFC, Windows 8.1 Preview delivers a great, always-on, and always-connected experience.
Windows Runtime enhancements for hardware and devices
The Windows Runtime makes it easier than ever to take full advantage of hardware and device
innovations. Windows Runtime now provides native support for Human Interface Devices
(HID), Universal Serial Bus (USB), and Bluetooth connectivity. It also supports device-specific
APIs, including Point of Service (POS) devices, 3D printers, and scanners.

Engaging customers through leading
user experiences
Windows 8.1 Preview brings you apps that work better together, are easier to maintain,
and provide richer experiences across a range of devices.
New useful controls
A range of new XAML and WinJS controls enable more beautiful and engaging apps with
better performance than before.
XAML developers benefit from new Hub, Flyout, and Date and Time picker controls. The new Hub
control makes it easy for apps to use a hub-like navigation pattern, without the need to manage
multiple ListViews. The GridView, ListView, and WebView controls all have improved usability and
performance. And a new DirectX-XAML interop element called SwapChainPanel lets you place
one or more DirectX surfaces (with swap chain) anywhere in the XAML element tree.
The new Hub control, Navigation bar, WebView control, as well as support for a new Item
control have also been added to WinJS. Far more than just a simple iframe, the WebView
control supports the ability to navigate (Back, Forward, Stop, Reload, etc.), includes support
for HTML5 functionality like Geolocation, and Clipboard, and provides better support for
touch input. In addition, ListView controls in WinJS now support drag and drop operations.
Francine
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With the introduction of global search in Windows 8.1, the Search charm has evolved to enable
search of the entire system and the web. To provide local app search functionality, a new
Search control for has been added for both XAML and WinJS. The Search control enables
the exact same in-app search experience as Windows 8, only now Search is more easily
discovered with no need to go through the charms.
More ﬂexible live tiles
Live tiles are now more useful because they have greater flexibility. They start working
immediately when an app is installed, and new tile layouts (70×70px and 310×310px) offer
greater customization of the Start screen.
Multiple window states
With Windows 8.1 Preview, there are no more view states. App sizes are determined
by the user, with a minimum width of 500px, and apps can indicate in their manifest that
they support a smaller minimum of 320px. And more than two apps can share the screen
at the same time–the result is greater productivity, with apps working together and more
efficiently to complete complex tasks.

Modern engineering enables the next wave
of app innovation
Windows is engineered with innovation in mind. The platform is constantly evolving
and improving, thanks to great customer feedback and user telemetry, enabling advances
across hardware, devices, and the user experience.
DirectX enhancements
With Windows 8.1 Preview, we’ve made a few changes under the hood to make your DirectX
games look even better and run even more smoothly. New GPU scaling lets you dynamically
resize your frame buffer to keep your 3D graphics smooth, while hardware multiplane
overlay support keeps your gorgeous 2D art and interfaces looking their best in native
resolution. Support for tiled rendering means you’ll get better performance from mobile
Media optimization and playback
Audio and video playback support is improved with Windows 8.1 Preview, with support
for additional file formats, improved performance, and better battery life. The platform
now supports playback of DRM-protected CFF video, as well as Encrypted Media Extensions
(EME) for HTML5. EME enables playback of protected content without the need for plugins.
Transcoding is now supported as a background task, so users can continue to use their PC
during lengthy transcode sessions. And improvements to Play To ensure better compatibility
with support for additional devices beyond those supported by Windows 8.
Touch browsing
Internet Explorer 11 is the touch-optimized way to browse the web with Windows 8.1 Preview.
Internet Explorer 11 features faster tab switching, and better navigation of favorite sites.
It integrates the web experience with Windows even better, provides industry-leading
security, and features completely redesigned developer tools that help you test across
devices, browsers, and even Windows Store apps.
and newer GPUs with little effort, and the new, low-level Direct3D Trim APIs for efficient device
resource management make transitions from different hardware states smoother and faster.
Additionally, DirectX provides a map default buffer operation that lets you access a GPU’s
default buffers directly from your app (if supported by the device) without the need for
an expensive intermediate copy operation.

48
Optimized for connectivity
Windows 8.1 Preview adds support for a new HTTP API that offers expanded capabilities
and greater performance to support today’s connected apps. Apps can take advantage
of prefetching content via HTTP before it’s actually needed–that way, the content is ready
immediately when the user wants it. And new real-time communication (RTC) features improve
the user experience for apps that use background networking.
Desktop app advancements
The Windows desktop continues to evolve so developers can build outstanding productivity
experiences that take full advantage of the latest hardware. Windows 8.1 Preview improves
support for high-resolution (200 DPI) monitors. Improvements to DirectComposition enable
smoother animations and effects. And updates to DirectManipulation increase
app responsiveness and add ways to interact with apps.
Resources for developers
Download all the tools you need (like Visual Studio 2013 Preview and the Windows 8.1 samples
pack) from dev.windows.com. The new Windows Dev Center is full of resources, code tutorials,
and videos to help you transition your apps. And if you don’t have time to update your
existing apps to take advantage of new platform features, don’t worry–your current
apps will continue to work great with Windows 8.1.

Advancing
the vision
of Windows 8 Windows 8 ushered in a new era for tablets and PCs–nearly limitless hardware choices
and form factors, mobility, and new and exciting apps. It brought together the latest
advancements in hardware, apps, web, and cloud services. Windows 8.1 Preview brings
together everything users need to do at home and at work–create and entertain, be
productive, search and browse, and access their data from anywhere. Windows 8.1
works across devices–from tablets, to thin and light notebooks, to high-performance
workstations or all-in-ones, whether at home or in the office.
Windows 8.1 enables businesses to more securely manage personal devices in Bring Your
Own Devices (BYOD) programs. For developers, Windows 8.1 creates a new frontier of app
development, enabling their creative vision with the most power, flexibility, and widest
reach of any platform.
Windows 8.1 is for the way you live and work.

Windows 8.1 Preview Product Guide

Windows 8.1 Preview Product Guide

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Windows 8.1 Preview Product Guide