Whether this is your first time using Windows 8, or you just upgraded from Windows 8 to 8.1, you should have a guide to help you out.
I have had my current Windows 8 computer
for six months, and until I received this Windows 8.1: The Missing Manual a few
weeks ago, I hate to admit that I knew so little. I managed to find my way
around, but within the first chapter or two, I found that there were quicker
ways for me to do everything. I also began using the App Side much more, or
whatever you want to call the part of Windows 8 that looks like a tablet, as
opposed to the desktop side.
This Windows 8.1 manual is about 900 pages.
This is what I learned in just the first 30 or so pages:
Windows 8 comes with free antivirus
software
There is now a powerful family safety tool
offering web protection, daily time limits and more for kids
One of the free apps is Microsoft Xbox
Music (which has nothing to do with Xbox), where you can listen to any music
that you want for free
In the 8.1 update they added back the start
button to the lower left corner of your desktop, however when you click, or
touch it, the only thing it does is take you to the Start Screen (App Screen)
There is more than one way to do
everything, but as I learned the hard way, some ways are much better than
others
There are easier ways of logging in to
Windows 8.1 that typing in a password.
The App Screen also displays Desktop apps
if you want it to. You can choose which of your apps that you want to show on
the screen.
I also learned how to easily find the Start
button and the Charms bar from anywhere
Most of the time it is better to put your
computer in sleep mode than to shut it down
App Screen or Tile World
Now I’ve had my Window 8.1 computer for 6
months, and I am fairly tech-savvy, and just learned all of the above from the
Introduction and chapter one of David Pogue’s extremely helpful manual. Think
of how much more that you can learn in the additional 27 chapters and 4
appendixes. You will learn everything about the App Screen (or as Pogue calls
is “Tile World”), the Desktop, Windows Online, Pictures and Music, Hardware and
Peripherals, the health of your PC and the Windows Network.
The author of Windows 8.1: The Missing Manual, David Pogue, is one of my favorite tech writers. Until very recently he was a tech columnist for the New York Times. He recently joined Yahoo to launch a new consumer tech site. If you ever get the chance to see him speak in person, go for it. He is extremely funny and some of that humor seeps into his tech manuals as well.