Microsoft Update Tackles Windows 8 Gripes

Microsoft is to roll out an update to its Windows 8 operating system by the end of the year in the hope of reversing waning interest.
Provisionally code-named Windows Blue, details of the update will be released in the next few weeks.
Windows 8 is the first Microsoft operating system primarily designed for touch commands, but it has failed to capture consumers' imaginations or make a dent in a tablet market dominated by Apple and Samsung.

Microsoft has sold 100 million Windows 8 licences in the six months since it launched, which is roughly in line with the previous version.
Windows 7 went on to hit 240 million sales in its first year, which is a figure Windows 8 is not expected to match.
Microsoft hopes to combat falling interest with a substantial update to make it easier to use, and compatible with smaller tablets.
One leading research firm, International Data, says Windows 8 contributed to a 14% decline in worldwide PC sales during the first three months of the year - the biggest year-on-year drop ever.

Meanwhile, sales of smartphones and tablet computers are booming.
Tami Reller, Windows marketing and financial chief, said Microsoft still realised changes were needed to make Windows 8 easier to navigate and capable of taking full advantage of technology improvements that have come out since October.
"Are there things that we can do to improve the experience? Absolutely," Reller said "There is a learning curve (to Windows 8) and we can work to address that."
Reller said more details about Blue will be released before Microsoft holds a developers conference in San Francisco in late June.

Some of Blue's features are expected to be previewed at that conference.
Reller did not say whether the Blue update would restore the start button, the lack of which has been a common complaint.
But, she said, Microsoft would pay more attention to helping customers adapt.
"We've considered a lot of different scenarios to help traditional PC users move forward as well as making usability that much better on all devices," she said.

May 07, 2013