What’s new in Windows 8 RTM

The following article tells you What’s new in Windows 8 RTM. Windows 8 RTM is out and about! So are the new goodies this final build comes up with. And that’s what we focus on today. Although Microsoft will be working on tweaking the built-in apps making their updates available through WindowsStore, what you get with this version is what Windows users will get on October 26th, the date of the final release.

Providing Windows users with more customization options for the Start Screen, the latest build allows us to customize the Start Screen with one of the 14 “personalization tattoos”. You can also opt for one of the several borders available to line the Start Screen or choose one of the patterned backgrounds this version of the operating system features.

Windows 8 and Aero won’t make a couple. Microsoft gave up Aero as the company announced some time ago. But that only makes the desktop have a more flattened look and that will surely make many Windows users happy.

Besides the apps you’ve most probably seen in the previous versions of Windows 8, there’s a new one: Bing. At this moment, when the app is launched, it displays a screen that is mostly blank featuring just a search-bar and a background picture. When one types  results, Bing offers suggestions quite quickly. These are displayed as tiles users can swipe through from side to side. They are not displayed in a linear order as some would expect. And although Bing is an expert at queries related to flight and travel, the app can be used only for simple image and keyword searches. You’ll still have to go for the Travel app for more complex searches.

The People app got a facelift allowing users to scroll through names in alphabetical order and to link their Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts. This makes it possible to see all notifications on one page. There’s also the “What’s new?” page where you can see your friends’ posts.

New with RTM are Minesweeper, Solitaire, Xbox SmartGlass and Mahjong as well and WindowsStore now supports 54 new markets. Developers can opt to certify the apps they come up with in 24 languages.

Microsoft has promised to improve the hibernation speeds, the battery life as well as the I/O performance over Windows 7. Different compression codecs have been implemented in order to speed up both the download and installation process.

The changes Windows 8 RTM comes up with are not major, so if you’re running the Release Preview version, you shouldn’t think that you’re missing too much of the latest build. Moreover, what you experience now in matters of Windows 8 is not far from what you’ll get with the final version.