Microsoft has made significant changes to Windows 8, making life for desktop users more like it used to be on Windows 7 - while aiming to keep tablet users happy.
Last year Microsoft reimagined Windows. Windows 8 was released in October 2012, complete with a new touch-friendly personality intended to make the operating system work well on tablets as well as with keyboard and mouse.
It was a bold but controversial experiment. Users have not found it easy to adjust to the Windows 8 Start screen, which replaced the Start menu in Windows 7, and the Windows 8 app market is weak compared to that for Apple or Android apps. "I installed Windows 8 two months ago. I have yet to use a Metro app for anything," said developer Robert Smallshire on Twitter, where "Metro" refers to the new tablet apps which Microsoft officially calls "Modern" apps or Windows Store apps.
Most Windows users still live in the traditional desktop environment, which is why many Windows 8 tablets are "hybrids", with keyboards and trackpads as well as touch screens.
On Wednesday at its Build developer conference in San Francisco, Microsoft unveiled the preview of Windows 8.1, an update which refines the operating system without changing its character. I've been running the preview on the Surface Pro tablet given to all Build attendees.
You can make this desktop-friendly app view the default in the 'start' screen. Photograph: Microsoft
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