Microsoft vs. Apple: Part 2, iOS 7 Beta 2 vs. Windows RT 8.1 Preview

Microsoft vs. Apple: Part 2, iOS 7 Beta 2 vs. Windows RT 8.1 Preview http://t.co/pIBsrRZ64E (https://twitter.com/rwoods716/status/350115922289229824)

Windows 8.1: The World’s Most Advanced Operating System

Windows 8.1: The World’s Most Advanced Operating System

by Richard Woods

When I thought of what I was going to call this, a number of titles crossed my mind. Among those was “Microsoft, Start Your Buttons”, because the “return of the Start Button” seems to be the main headline surrounding Windows 8.1 along with the ability to boot straight to the desktop. I found it interesting that the two biggest headlines around Windows’ biggest update since its release are the two features that add the least functionality to the OS. There’s already a Start Button on everyone’s keyboard and if your PC or tablet is new enough, there’s one right below the screen. Let’s not forget about the charms. Booting to the desktop is fairly pointless when it’s so easy to get there from the Start Screen.

The feature of Windows 8.1 that I found most impressive is one that no one seems to be talking about and it’s a feature that’s only found so far on the Android OS and has been there for years. They call it Active Desktop. It’s the ability to have a moving image as your background on your screen. In Microsoft’s own words: “Windows 8.1 offers more colors and backgrounds for the Start Screen – including ones with motion.”

This is a feature that is not available for iOS nor on Mac OS. Also, Mac OS is clearly not optimized for a touch screen. So, next time you read the headline on Apple’s web site that reads iOS: The World’s Most Advanced Operating System, you may just want to question it.

Although this is just a cosmetic change like the Start Button and “boot to desktop”, this is a more important one because it’s showing that Apple is falling further behind. Another feature of Windows 8.1 that’s important is the unveiling of Internet Explorer 11, which promises to be the world’s first touch based web browser. A feature like this one does more than just make the screen look better, but it will add much needed functionality to the web browsing experience.

Right now if you compare the major browsers – those being IE10, Safari, and Chrome – Safari is undoubtedly the worst at handling a touch screen, even on iOS. Take a simple concept like tapping a hyperlink with your index finger, for example. In Chrome on an Android device, you would tap the link and if the device is unclear at all about the link you meant to click it will magnify the link and the surrounding links to make it easier for you to click. With the new Windows 8 touch screen devices, the stylus makes it all easier to navigate; however, in Safari many times you will find yourself having to click the back button because you clicked the wrong link. It can get tedious.

These are only a few of the features coming to Windows. As you can see at the screenshot at the top of the screen, we will be able to split the screen in more ratios than the current 1:2 or 2:1 ratio that’s currently available on Windows 8, but perhaps more importantly is the integration of Bing into search. As Windows 8/8.1 continues to build momentum, the integration of Bing will bring Bing along for the ride with Windows which should finally make it the competitor with Google that they always wanted it to be.

Windows 8.1 clearly is going to have the functional advantage over iOS 6, Mac OS X, and Android 4.2. With the introduction of the new Xbox One, Microsoft clearly has some big things in the works. Microsoft is building momentum and they are building it fast and as I pointed out in an earlier post, Microsoft is the smart bet.