Windows 8.1 History

In February 2013, ZDNet writer Mary Jo Foley disclosed potential rumors about "Blue", the codename for a wave of planned updates across several Microsoft products and services, including Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, Outlook.com, and SkyDrive. In particular, the report detailed that Microsoft was planning to shift to a more "continuous" development model, which would see major revisions to its main software platforms released on a consistent yearly cycle to keep up with market demands. Lending credibility to the reports, Foley noted that a Microsoft staff member had listed experience with "Windows Blue" on his LinkedIn profile, and listed it as a separate operating system from 8.[8] [9]

A post-RTM build of Windows 8, build 9364, was leaked in March 2013. The build, which was believed to be of "Windows Blue", revealed a number of enhancements across Windows 8's interface, including additional size options for tiles, expanded color options on the Start screen, the expansion of PC Settings to include more options that were previously exclusive to the desktop Control Panel, the ability for apps to snap to half of the screen, the ability to take screenshots from the Share charm, additional stock apps, increased SkyDrive integration (such as automatic device backups) and Internet Explorer 11.[10] [11]  Shortly afterward on March 26, 2013, corporate vice president of corporate communications Frank X. Shaw officially acknowledged the "Blue" project, stating that continuous development would be "the new normal" at Microsoft, and that "our product groups are also taking a unified planning approach so people get what they want—all of their devices, apps and services working together wherever they are and for whatever they are doing."[12]

In early May, press reports announcing the upcoming version in Financial Times and The Economist negatively compared Windows 8 to New Coke.[13] [14]  The theme was then echoed and debated in the computer press.[15] [16] [17]  Shaw rejected this criticism as "extreme",[18]  adding that he saw a comparison with Diet Coke as more appropriate.[19]

On May 14, 2013, Microsoft announced that "Blue" would be officially known as Windows 8.1.[20]  Following a keynote presentation focusing on this version, the public beta of Windows 8.1 was released on June 26, 2013 during Build.[21] [22] [23]  Build 9600 of Windows 8.1 was released to OEM hardware partners on August 27, 2013, and became generally available on October 17, 2013.<sup id="cite_ref-RTMblog_24-0">[24] <sup id="cite_ref-25">[25]  Unlike past releases of Windows and its service packs, volume license customers and subscribers to MSDN Plus and TechNet Plus were unable to obtain the RTM version upon its release; a spokesperson stated that the change in policy was to allow Microsoft to work with OEMs "to ensure a quality experience at general availability."<sup id="cite_ref-ext-81rtm_26-0">[26] <sup id="cite_ref-tnw-msdnsp1_27-0">[27]  Microsoft stated that Windows 8.1 would be released to the general public on October 17, 2013.<sup id="cite_ref-release_lifecycle_28-0">[28]  However, after criticism, Microsoft reversed its decision and released the RTM build on MSDN and TechNet on September 9, 2013.<sup id="cite_ref-verge-rtmmsdn_29-0">[29]  Microsoft announced that Windows 8.1, along with Windows Server 2012 R2, was released to manufacturing on August 27, 2013.<sup id="cite_ref-release_lifecycle_28-1">[28]  Prior to the release of Windows 8.1, Microsoft premiered a new television commercial in late-September 2013 that focused on its changes as part of the "Windows Everywhere" campaign.<sup id="cite_ref-verge-81ad_30-0">[30]

Shortly after its release, Windows RT 8.1 was temporarily recalled by Microsoft following reports that some users had encountered a rare bug which corrupted the operating system's Boot Configuration Data during installation, resulting in an error on startup.<sup id="cite_ref-verge-81pulled_31-0">[31] <sup id="cite_ref-pcw-rtpulled_32-0">[32]  On October 21, 2013, Microsoft confirmed that the bug was limited to the original Surface tablet, and only affected 1 in 1000 installations. The company released recovery media and instructions which could be used to repair the device, and restored access to Windows RT 8.1 the next day.<sup id="cite_ref-pcw-surfacertfix_33-0">[33] <sup id="cite_ref-pcw-81returned_34-0">[34]

It was also found that changes to screen resolution handling on Windows 8.1 resulted in mouse input lag in certain video games that do not use the DirectInput API's—particularly first-person shooter games, including Deus Ex: Human Revolution, Hitman: Absolution, and Metro 2033. Users also found the issues to be more pronounced when using gaming mice with high resolution and/or polling rates. Microsoft released a patch to fix the bug on certain games in November 2013, and acknowledged that it was caused by "changes to mouse-input processing for low-latency interaction scenarios".<sup id="cite_ref-tomsguide-81mouse_35-0">[35] <sup id="cite_ref-pcw-mousefix_36-0">[36]