Microsoft shows off Windows 8.1 Start button, other upgrades in video

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The video highlights a bunch of the user interface changes that Windows 8.1 makes. In it, Jensen Harris of the Windows User Experience Team demonstrates the richer customization options, the better All Apps view, and the more flexible multitasking.

In addition to making the division between applications in the side-by-side multitasking view flexible (as distinct from Windows 8's fixed sizes), Windows 8.1 also uses the split view automatically in some circumstances. For example, Harris demonstrates opening an image attached to an e-mail. The image does open in the photo viewer. But rather than completely obscuring the mail app, it instead shrinks the mail app to a narrow strip with the picture occupying most, but not all, of the screen.

Most of the video's time is spent on Windows 8.1's search, which is set to receive a fairly substantial reworking. Basic search results are now shown directly below the search box in a strip lining the right hand side of the screen. Full screen search results are possible, but these are now rich results that show a mix of local and online content.

A preview release of Windows 8.1 will ship on June 26, and Microsoft has given some details on how this will work. It will be distributed through Windows Update and when the final 8.1 release is available, that too will come out on Windows Update. If you install the preview, however, there won't be any good way of updating to the final version. While installing the final release will preserve data and user accounts, all applications (both Metro and, on x86 Windows, desktop) will have to be reinstalled.

However, if you skip the preview, you'll be able to install the 8.1 update as a straightforward upgrade. This won't require reinstallation of any applications.

Installing the update will take about 4GB of disk space, but the installed size should be a little smaller than that of Windows 8 due to smarter use of compression and removal of temporary files.