Corey Posted October 5, 2012 Share Posted October 5, 2012 Microsoft (MSFT) this week revealed plans to update a number of Windows 8 apps that come preloaded with the software. In the coming weeks the software giant will update its Mail, Photo, Maps, SkyDrive, Bing, Finance, News, Sports, Travel, Weather, Video, Music and Games apps before the release of Windows 8 on October 26th. Microsoft says that it will be “taking advantage of the integrated way that we can deliver updates to apps through the Windows Store” so that users will “see performance and reliability improvements in the apps” and “some great new capabilities as well.” “We’re super excited to be approaching general availability (GA) of Windows 8 and Windows RT. With thousands of new apps in the Store, there are a lot to choose from and tens of thousands of developers have been very busy around the world creating new apps,” Steven Sinofsky, president of Microsoft’s Windows and Windows Live division, wrote on the company’s blog. “Across Microsoft we’ve been busy since August adding new features and improving the apps that come with Windows and will be updating these apps before GA. We’ll introduce new features, improve performance, and increase reliability.” Microsoft’s update notes follow below. SkyDrive Search within SkyDrive Rename and move folders and files New first-run experience Custom sort order Mail, Calendar, People, and Messaging Conversation view of your inbox Complete IMAP account support Accepting and declining invitations in email Capturing and updating your account picture Improved search Search for a contact within the Messaging app Photos Crop and rotate photos New auto-curated collage slideshows View photos and videos on network locations in your Pictures Library such as Windows Home Server, network shares, and HomeGroups Move through photos in your Pictures Library even when you open them from the desktop Maps Bird’s eye view 3,000+ indoor venue maps Driving directions hints Improved navigation and layout Improved customization, including custom pushpins and roaming options Integration with Bing and Travel apps Bing Richer search results for local content and images Bing rewards integration Use zoom on your search results to see related queries Use the file picker to select an image from Bing to use on your lock screen or in your other apps Finance Additional news and magazine content More market exchanges enabled Finance videos News Additional news content from partners such as The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal Enhanced article reader, including font customization, zoom, pagination, and more Improved offline reading experience News videos Slideshows Sports Additional news and magazine content Sports videos Slideshows New soccer leagues, including MLS, J. League, and Brazilian League Travel Additional news and magazine content Improved flight search and new flight progress indicator Improved hotel listing page Interactive 360-degree panoramas (gyroscope supported) Weather Improved default location usability Hourly weather forecasts, up to 10 days Day & evening high/low temperatures Video Purchasing in local currencies Closed captioning Search by actor or director Music Expanded music services Rich “Now Playing” experience Discover more music with SmartDJ Games Exciting new games In-game purchasing Invites and turn notifications Read View the full article Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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