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- #Start skype preview on windows start windows
#Start skype preview on windows start windows
Once you’ve dispensed with the basics, Windows 8.1’s ability to have three or more apps “snapped” open at once, complete with the option to adjust the size of each app dynamically, amps up the usability of the modern UI. Usability calibrations Two Internet Explorer windows, each snapped to fill half the screen.
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Windows 8.1 will still be a shock to new users, but it promises a far easier learning curve than Windows 8 required. Even the Windows Store received an overhaul for easier browsing. A downward-pointing arrow appears when you move your mouse on the Start screen, marking the way toward the All Apps screen. A new, baked-in Help + Tips app provides straightforward tutorials on all aspects of controlling your machine, with lush visuals and short animations.
#Start skype preview on windows start how to
Whereas Windows 8 cast new users into the mix with nary a peep, Windows 8.1 veritably beats newcomers over the head with helpful tips such as the one shown here.īig, bold boxes pop up after installation, clearly identifying the various hot corners and explaining how to use them. While Windows 8 was lambasted for its hands-off, sink-or-swim approach to guiding users through the revamped UI-it was so bad that many manufacturers preinstalled their own tutorial apps on their PCs-Windows 8.1 is packed with helpful usability clues and improvements. The boot-to-desktop option makes using Windows 8 on nontouch devices far less frustrating ditto for the new shutdown options found in the ‘Power User’ menu, which you can open by pressing Windows-X or by right-clicking the lower-left corner of the desktop. Although the feature is as simple as simple could be, and buried deep in an obscure submenu, its existence is a boon to desktop diehards who resorted to arcane workarounds to avoid Windows 8’s mandatory Start screen. That effort to meet in the middle is embodied by Windows 8.1’s new boot-to-desktop option. The new shutdown options in the power menu. My colleague Mark Hachman hit the nail on the head in his wrap-up for the Windows 8.1 Preview: “Windows users skewered Windows 8 for various sins, and Microsoft took the high road by addressing a number of the problems in 8.1.” Now, less than a year later, longtime Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has announced his resignation. PC devotees felt jilted, and complained about their perceived second-tier status. More than just another update, Windows 8.1 is a lesson in true compromise-for Microsoft, and for us. And in a bid to push everyone into the modern mobile age, Microsoft eradicated the beloved Start button and made booting directly to the desktop impossible. The modern UI-while gorgeous-felt half-baked at best, chock-full of byzantine interfaces and missing functionality. To make matters worse, the operating system had a nasty habit of ripping you away from one interface and unceremoniously dumping you into the other. Rather than delivering a seamless experience, the modern UI and the desktop interface gave Windows 8 a warring, “Jekyll and Hyde” feel.