8.1 reasons to love Windows 8.1

As you probably know by now, Windows 8.1 has arrived.

If you’re running Windows 8 on your PC,  you can update to Windows 8.1 for free. Just open the Windows Store and download the update like you would any other app. If you’re running Windows 7, you can still upgrade to Windows 8.1, but if you have an older version of Windows, you should take look at the selection of new tablets and PCs. There are some great new devices out there.

At any rate, there are a lot of reasons to love Windows 8.1. We've made a list of the top 8.1.

1. Bing Smart SearchIt's rare that something truly new comes to search. And this is new. Instead of one way to search for files on your PC, another to find websites, and a third to find apps or settings, Bing Smart Search lets you search once for whatever you're looking for, wherever it is. Results come up in a big, super-clean display. And you can actually do stuff from the results. If your mom's info comes up, you can start a Skype call with her with just a click or a tap. If your favorite song comes up, you can play it right from the search result—no need to open up your favorite music app first.

2. More multi-taskingDepending on your screen size, you can now see up to four apps on your screen at once. You can change their size relative to each other, and use one app to launch another one. It's hard to describe the effect of these enhancements. To understand it, you have to experience how easy it is to flow from one task to another. Chat while gaming, shop while watching, or work while listening. It's not about separate apps anymore. It all becomes a single, seamless experience.

3. A better app storeThere are now hundreds more apps in the Windows Store. And with Windows 8.1, the Store has been redesigned to make exploring and discovering new apps easier, with community favorites and personalized recommendations. Windows 8.1 also comes with a crop of new built-in apps like Reading List and Health & Fitness.

4. More choicesWindows 8.1 gives you more tile sizes for apps on your Start screen, and there are also more color options and animated backgrounds. And now you can also use the same background for both your desktop and Start.

5. Better touchscreen typingThis might not be the flashiest feature, but it’s one of my favorites. Not to mention one of the many little details that makes Windows 8.1 feel so solid and responsive. When you type on the touchscreen keyboard, it learns as you type, making suggestions based on what you've written before. If you use more than one language, you'll find that you can enter text more easily with the new keyboard layouts. And those Emoji that everyone loves so much? They're now in color. :-)

6. Automated online storage The tech world sometimes has peculiar ways of describing things. This feature has been called "deep SkyDrive integration." All that means is that you don't have to go through a separate process to save your docs to SkyDrive (AKA your free online storage). You can save stuff to SkyDrive automatically, as easily as you’ve always saved stuff to your PC. Then you can get to the latest versions anywhere—even when you’re on the road or another device. And since it’s all online and backed up for you, it’s always safe, even if something happens to your PC.

7. Browsing by touchInternet Explorer 11 is different from other browsers in that it's designed specifically for touch screens. You'll notice it has larger tabs, simpler controls, and responds fluidly to your gestures. Internet Explorer 11 also has faster load times and lets you browse full screen or put sites side-by-side. 

8. A lock screen you’ll loveYour lock screen is now like a digital picture frame, as you can set it to show a slide show of your favorite photos. The Windows 8.1 lock screen also behaves more like your phone’s lock screen. You can immediately answer Skype calls and take photos without having to unlock your PC.

8.1 The return of an old friendIt's true. The Start button is back. When you're on the desktop, you can use it to get back to Start anytime.

8.1 reasons to love Windows 8.1

As you probably know by now, Windows 8.1 has arrived.

If you’re running Windows 8 on your PC,  you can update to Windows 8.1 for free. Just open the Windows Store and download the update like you would any other app. If you’re running Windows 7, you can still upgrade to Windows 8.1, but if you have an older version of Windows, you should take look at the selection of new tablets and PCs. There are some great new devices out there.

At any rate, there are a lot of reasons to love Windows 8.1. We've made a list of the top 8.1.

1. Bing Smart SearchIt's rare that something truly new comes to search. And this is new. Instead of one way to search for files on your PC, another to find websites, and a third to find apps or settings, Bing Smart Search lets you search once for whatever you're looking for, wherever it is. Results come up in a big, super-clean display. And you can actually do stuff from the results. If your mom's info comes up, you can start a Skype call with her with just a click or a tap. If your favorite song comes up, you can play it right from the search result—no need to open up your favorite music app first.

2. More multi-taskingDepending on your screen size, you can now see up to four apps on your screen at once. You can change their size relative to each other, and use one app to launch another one. It's hard to describe the effect of these enhancements. To understand it, you have to experience how easy it is to flow from one task to another. Chat while gaming, shop while watching, or work while listening. It's not about separate apps anymore. It all becomes a single, seamless experience.

3. A better app storeThere are now hundreds more apps in the Windows Store. And with Windows 8.1, the Store has been redesigned to make exploring and discovering new apps easier, with community favorites and personalized recommendations. Windows 8.1 also comes with a crop of new built-in apps like Reading List and Health & Fitness.

4. More choicesWindows 8.1 gives you more tile sizes for apps on your Start screen, and there are also more color options and animated backgrounds. And now you can also use the same background for both your desktop and Start.

5. Better touchscreen typingThis might not be the flashiest feature, but it’s one of my favorites. Not to mention one of the many little details that makes Windows 8.1 feel so solid and responsive. When you type on the touchscreen keyboard, it learns as you type, making suggestions based on what you've written before. If you use more than one language, you'll find that you can enter text more easily with the new keyboard layouts. And those Emoji that everyone loves so much? They're now in color. :-)

6. Automated online storage The tech world sometimes has peculiar ways of describing things. This feature has been called "deep SkyDrive integration." All that means is that you don't have to go through a separate process to save your docs to SkyDrive (AKA your free online storage). You can save stuff to SkyDrive automatically, as easily as you’ve always saved stuff to your PC. Then you can get to the latest versions anywhere—even when you’re on the road or another device. And since it’s all online and backed up for you, it’s always safe, even if something happens to your PC.

7. Browsing by touchInternet Explorer 11 is different from other browsers in that it's designed specifically for touch screens. You'll notice it has larger tabs, simpler controls, and responds fluidly to your gestures. Internet Explorer 11 also has faster load times and lets you browse full screen or put sites side-by-side. 

8. A lock screen you’ll loveYour lock screen is now like a digital picture frame, as you can set it to show a slide show of your favorite photos. The Windows 8.1 lock screen also behaves more like your phone’s lock screen. You can immediately answer Skype calls and take photos without having to unlock your PC.

8.1 The return of an old friendIt's true. The Start button is back. When you're on the desktop, you can use it to get back to Start anytime.

Microsoft Office 365 for education

Educators, staff, and students get anywhere access to email and calendars, Office Web Apps, video and online meetings, and document-sharing. Office 365 has your favorite Microsoft Office features online and allows you to better prepare coursework, create sophisticated reports and presentations, and collaborate over the web with fellow teachers or students. Find Office 365 resources for teachers.

​Teach from virtually anywhere, and reach more students

• Conduct and attend online classes: share high-resolution videos, applications, and desktops, so you can be fully present without physically being there.
• Minimize the learning curve and be productive right away with Microsoft Office tools you already know.
• Create class and group sites to share documents and information using Microsoft SharePoint. You can work together on projects in real time, because everyone has access to the documents and information they need from virtually anywhere.
• Hold office hours without being in the office. With Microsoft Lync Online, students and faculty can check presence and exchange instant messages (IMs), start or join a conference, make an online call or have a video chat.
• Work online or offline via Microsoft Office desktop applications on PCs and Macs. When you’re not on campus, you can access your Inbox with Outlook Web App, view and edit assignments with Word Web App, or join an online classroom with Lync Web App.

​Teach software skills employers are looking for

• Microsoft Outlook is the world's leading business e-mail software.
• Office 365 for education includes access to Office Web Apps built with the same Microsoft Office interface used by more than 500 million users worldwide.
• While students are communicating with peers, writing reports, analyzing data, and preparing presentations, they are also mastering the tools that can give them a competitive edge as they enter the job market.

​Provide enterprise-class tools, and help reduce costs

• Provide a hosted Microsoft Exchange solution at no cost with 25-gigabyte Inbox per person.
• Help keep teacher and student data private, and promote online safety.
• Provide students with free, online storage on Microsoft SkyDrive.
• Give your university a reliable and easy-to-manage solution with enhanced security.

Microsoft Office 365 for education

Educators, staff, and students get anywhere access to email and calendars, Office Web Apps, video and online meetings, and document-sharing. Office 365 has your favorite Microsoft Office features online and allows you to better prepare coursework, create sophisticated reports and presentations, and collaborate over the web with fellow teachers or students. Find Office 365 resources for teachers.

​Teach from virtually anywhere, and reach more students

• Conduct and attend online classes: share high-resolution videos, applications, and desktops, so you can be fully present without physically being there.
• Minimize the learning curve and be productive right away with Microsoft Office tools you already know.
• Create class and group sites to share documents and information using Microsoft SharePoint. You can work together on projects in real time, because everyone has access to the documents and information they need from virtually anywhere.
• Hold office hours without being in the office. With Microsoft Lync Online, students and faculty can check presence and exchange instant messages (IMs), start or join a conference, make an online call or have a video chat.
• Work online or offline via Microsoft Office desktop applications on PCs and Macs. When you’re not on campus, you can access your Inbox with Outlook Web App, view and edit assignments with Word Web App, or join an online classroom with Lync Web App.

​Teach software skills employers are looking for

• Microsoft Outlook is the world's leading business e-mail software.
• Office 365 for education includes access to Office Web Apps built with the same Microsoft Office interface used by more than 500 million users worldwide.
• While students are communicating with peers, writing reports, analyzing data, and preparing presentations, they are also mastering the tools that can give them a competitive edge as they enter the job market.

​Provide enterprise-class tools, and help reduce costs

• Provide a hosted Microsoft Exchange solution at no cost with 25-gigabyte Inbox per person.
• Help keep teacher and student data private, and promote online safety.
• Provide students with free, online storage on Microsoft SkyDrive.
• Give your university a reliable and easy-to-manage solution with enhanced security.

Microsoft by the Numbers

A collection of statistics about Microsoft products and services.
 More than 100 million Windows 8 licenses have been sold to date. (Source: Microsoft)

 The Windows Phone Store features more than 170,000 apps and games. (Source: Microsoft)

 Over 250 million people have a Sky-drive. (Source: Microsoft)

 More than 76 million Xbox 360 consoles have been sold worldwide. (Source: Microsoft)

 Bing holds 17.86 percent of the U.S. search market share. (Source: comScore Explicit Core Search, June 2013)

 Skype users spend up to 2 billion minutes per day using the service. (Source: Microsoft)

 Microsoft’s employee Giving campaign has donated $1 billion to over 31,000 charities. (Source: Microsoft)

 Xbox Live has over 48 million members in 41 countries. (Source: Microsoft)

 The Windows Store has seen 250 million app downloads from users. (Source: Microsoft)

 Enterprise social network Yammer now has over 7 million registered users. (Source: Microsoft)

 Outlook.com has over 400 million active users and is the world’s fastest-growing email service. (Source: Microsoft)

 Microsoft YouthSpark has helped 80 million young people. (Source: Microsoft)

 Office 365 Home Premium has 1 million subscribers and growing. (Source: Microsoft)

 More than 24 million Kinect sensors have been sold worldwide. (Source: Microsoft)

 Xbox 360 has spent 30 straight months as the best-selling game console in the U.S. (Source: NPD Group)

 The Microsoft Art Collection includes 4,728 pieces, including a chandelier by Dale Chihuly and a piece of the Berlin Wall. It’s one of the largest corporate art collections in the world. (Source: Microsoft)

 MSN received 5.8 billion page views worldwide in June 2013. (Source: comScore, June 2013)

 50 percent of Fortune 500 companies use Windows Azure. On average, over 1,000 new customers sign up for Windows Azure every day. (Source: Microsoft)

 Within Microsoft there are 16 different $1 billion-plus businesses. (Source: Microsoft)

 ‘Halo 4’ earned over $220 million in global sales in the 24 hours after its release. More than 50 million copies of ‘Halo’ games have been sold worldwide. (Source: Microsoft)

 About 2,600,000 gallons of free beverages are consumed every year by employees on our campus. The most popular soda selection is Coke Zero – 1 million cans are consumed annually. (Source: Microsoft)

 Over 1 billion people use Office. That’s 1 in 7 people on the planet. (Source: Microsoft)

 Xbox delivered 18 billion hours of entertainment in 2012. (Source: Microsoft)

 Office 365 is on track to become a $1.5 billion business – one of the fastest-growing in Microsoft history. (Source: Microsoft)

 Internet Explorer’s usage share was over 56 percent worldwide in July 2013. (Source: Net Market Share.)

 The Microsoft Partner Network includes over 430,000 organizations with more than 160 million mutual customers worldwide. (Source: Microsoft)

 Over 1.65 million students from more than 190 countries have participated in Imagine Cup, the world’s premier student technology competition. (Source: Microsoft)

 To date, 11 billion photos have been stored on SkyDrive, along with over 1 billion Office documents. (Source: Microsoft)

 About 554,000 pizza slices and an additional 250,000 personal-sized pizzas are consumed each year by hungry employees in Microsoft cafeterias. (Source: Microsoft)

 Microsoft Research scientists have won more than 320 major awards, including the Turing Award, MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, MIT Technology Review’s TR35 Award, the Draper Prize, IEEE John von Neumann Medal, IEEE Piore Award, the Kyoto Prize, multiple Oscars and a British knighthood.

Microsoft by the Numbers

A collection of statistics about Microsoft products and services.
 More than 100 million Windows 8 licenses have been sold to date. (Source: Microsoft)

 The Windows Phone Store features more than 170,000 apps and games. (Source: Microsoft)

 Over 250 million people have a Sky-drive. (Source: Microsoft)

 More than 76 million Xbox 360 consoles have been sold worldwide. (Source: Microsoft)

 Bing holds 17.86 percent of the U.S. search market share. (Source: comScore Explicit Core Search, June 2013)

 Skype users spend up to 2 billion minutes per day using the service. (Source: Microsoft)

 Microsoft’s employee Giving campaign has donated $1 billion to over 31,000 charities. (Source: Microsoft)

 Xbox Live has over 48 million members in 41 countries. (Source: Microsoft)

 The Windows Store has seen 250 million app downloads from users. (Source: Microsoft)

 Enterprise social network Yammer now has over 7 million registered users. (Source: Microsoft)

 Outlook.com has over 400 million active users and is the world’s fastest-growing email service. (Source: Microsoft)

 Microsoft YouthSpark has helped 80 million young people. (Source: Microsoft)

 Office 365 Home Premium has 1 million subscribers and growing. (Source: Microsoft)

 More than 24 million Kinect sensors have been sold worldwide. (Source: Microsoft)

 Xbox 360 has spent 30 straight months as the best-selling game console in the U.S. (Source: NPD Group)

 The Microsoft Art Collection includes 4,728 pieces, including a chandelier by Dale Chihuly and a piece of the Berlin Wall. It’s one of the largest corporate art collections in the world. (Source: Microsoft)

 MSN received 5.8 billion page views worldwide in June 2013. (Source: comScore, June 2013)

 50 percent of Fortune 500 companies use Windows Azure. On average, over 1,000 new customers sign up for Windows Azure every day. (Source: Microsoft)

 Within Microsoft there are 16 different $1 billion-plus businesses. (Source: Microsoft)

 ‘Halo 4’ earned over $220 million in global sales in the 24 hours after its release. More than 50 million copies of ‘Halo’ games have been sold worldwide. (Source: Microsoft)

 About 2,600,000 gallons of free beverages are consumed every year by employees on our campus. The most popular soda selection is Coke Zero – 1 million cans are consumed annually. (Source: Microsoft)

 Over 1 billion people use Office. That’s 1 in 7 people on the planet. (Source: Microsoft)

 Xbox delivered 18 billion hours of entertainment in 2012. (Source: Microsoft)

 Office 365 is on track to become a $1.5 billion business – one of the fastest-growing in Microsoft history. (Source: Microsoft)

 Internet Explorer’s usage share was over 56 percent worldwide in July 2013. (Source: Net Market Share.)

 The Microsoft Partner Network includes over 430,000 organizations with more than 160 million mutual customers worldwide. (Source: Microsoft)

 Over 1.65 million students from more than 190 countries have participated in Imagine Cup, the world’s premier student technology competition. (Source: Microsoft)

 To date, 11 billion photos have been stored on SkyDrive, along with over 1 billion Office documents. (Source: Microsoft)

 About 554,000 pizza slices and an additional 250,000 personal-sized pizzas are consumed each year by hungry employees in Microsoft cafeterias. (Source: Microsoft)

 Microsoft Research scientists have won more than 320 major awards, including the Turing Award, MacArthur Foundation Fellowship, MIT Technology Review’s TR35 Award, the Draper Prize, IEEE John von Neumann Medal, IEEE Piore Award, the Kyoto Prize, multiple Oscars and a British knighthood.

Office 365 Education: Shared Calendars

Summer Term 2012, and your year eleven groups were on study leave. They were mainly a diligent, hard-working lot, and you smile when you think of them. So keen were they, in fact, that some of them couldn’t keep away.

‘Sonja Smith was here looking for you this morning,’ a colleague told you one lunchtime early in the leave period. ‘We couldn’t find you and I didn’t have your timetable. She was keen to ask you something that had come up in her revision. I think she was quite worried.’

She was just the first. Quite a few students called the school or came in on the off chance of catching you. Sometimes they were lucky and you were right there in the department office, or in the staffroom. Sometimes they waited around and eventually caught you. And sometimes they went away disappointed because they hadn’t time to hang around.

Jump ahead now, to Summer Term 2013. Your year eleven groups were on study leave again, and again they were mainly a diligent hard-working lot. Again some of them couldn’t keep away.

This time, though, there was to be no hanging around, or going away disappointed. This time you realised that if you put Office 365 Education to work, and did some forward planning, you might make study leave into a productive and enjoyable experience.

The secret, you realised, lay with Outlook Calendar, which you can share in whole or part with anyone you choose. So before study leave started you said to your groups.

‘I’m going to share my calendar with you all, showing when I’m available – sometimes before school, sometimes after, some of my free periods, some of my PPA time, some lunchtimes. I know you’re on your phones all the time, so keep checking because some of the availability might change – things can come up as you know. So if you want to see me, book into my calendar with a brief message saying what it’s about. The rest of you keep an eye on all that, because you might find you want to come along to the same meeting. The key thing is – keep in touch. Keep checking the calendar.’

Did it work? Of course it did. The students really appreciated being able to book specific slots. There were times when so many people came along to join a meeting booked by one person that it became almost like a lesson – except it was more relaxed.

And did the students do well in their exams? Of course they did. It would be too much to claim that they did better as a result of Office 365 Education and calendar sharing, but in some cases it wouldn’t be an unreasonable assumption. The whole exercise certainly did wonders for morale.

Office 365 Education: Shared Calendars

Summer Term 2012, and your year eleven groups were on study leave. They were mainly a diligent, hard-working lot, and you smile when you think of them. So keen were they, in fact, that some of them couldn’t keep away.

‘Sonja Smith was here looking for you this morning,’ a colleague told you one lunchtime early in the leave period. ‘We couldn’t find you and I didn’t have your timetable. She was keen to ask you something that had come up in her revision. I think she was quite worried.’

She was just the first. Quite a few students called the school or came in on the off chance of catching you. Sometimes they were lucky and you were right there in the department office, or in the staffroom. Sometimes they waited around and eventually caught you. And sometimes they went away disappointed because they hadn’t time to hang around.

Jump ahead now, to Summer Term 2013. Your year eleven groups were on study leave again, and again they were mainly a diligent hard-working lot. Again some of them couldn’t keep away.

This time, though, there was to be no hanging around, or going away disappointed. This time you realised that if you put Office 365 Education to work, and did some forward planning, you might make study leave into a productive and enjoyable experience.

The secret, you realised, lay with Outlook Calendar, which you can share in whole or part with anyone you choose. So before study leave started you said to your groups.

‘I’m going to share my calendar with you all, showing when I’m available – sometimes before school, sometimes after, some of my free periods, some of my PPA time, some lunchtimes. I know you’re on your phones all the time, so keep checking because some of the availability might change – things can come up as you know. So if you want to see me, book into my calendar with a brief message saying what it’s about. The rest of you keep an eye on all that, because you might find you want to come along to the same meeting. The key thing is – keep in touch. Keep checking the calendar.’

Did it work? Of course it did. The students really appreciated being able to book specific slots. There were times when so many people came along to join a meeting booked by one person that it became almost like a lesson – except it was more relaxed.

And did the students do well in their exams? Of course they did. It would be too much to claim that they did better as a result of Office 365 Education and calendar sharing, but in some cases it wouldn’t be an unreasonable assumption. The whole exercise certainly did wonders for morale.