The first major update for Windows 8.1 has been released for making life a little bit easier for mouse / keyboard users. The close button is now back for the Modern apps and all the apps can now be pinned to the taskbar. Remember, this is not an option update. You won't receive any future security patches to your Windows 8.1 without this update. Continue reading for the download links.
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Windows 8.1 Update 1 Released

Winmatrix member hb860 has come up with his new freeware named 'IE Search Customizer' which allows users to define custom searches in Internet Explorer. With the help of this little app, users will be able to create short and extremely useful aliases for the address bar of IE.
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Add Custom Search Engines to Internet Explorer

Microsoft is going to release Windows 8.1 Update on April 8th through Windows Update. The ISO files have already been uploaded for MSDN / TechNet customers. The update offers a lot of tweaks to the OS for the desktop users who use mouse and keyboard to control their PCs.
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Windows 8.1 Update coming on April 8th

Microsoft announced Windows Phone 8.1 and a voice-controlled assistant named Cortana today. Cortana lets you set appointments, play music and perform searches. Similar to Google Now, it learns from the web searches you perform and the locations you frequent to try and provide contextually sensitive and timely information.
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Windows Phone 8.1 brings voice-controlled assistant Cortana

GREAT NEWS! Microsoft Office is completely free for Android phones and iPhone from now on. An Office 365 subscription is no longer required. You can view and edit Microsoft Office documents without any restriction. Microsoft is likely making this change in response to Apple's iWork and Google's QuickOffice, which are available for free.
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Microsoft Office is now completely free for smartphones

Mozilla Firefox 29 will be a landmark release because of the long awaited Australis UI. You can now download Firefox 29 Beta for giving a try to the new user interface. According to Mozilla Wiki, the final version of Firefox 29 will be released in the fourth week of April.
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Firefox 29 features long awaited Australis UI

Starting today, Google Now notifications will be available to Chrome users on their PCs. To enable this feature, simply sign in to Chrome with the same Google Account you're using for Google Now on Android or iOS for weather, sports scores, commute traffic, and event reminders cards.
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Google Now Cards finally available in Chrome for Windows

Winmatrix contributor and the owner of Winaero.com hb860 has come up with his another free and portable application named 'ModernUI Tuner for Windows 8.1 Update 1'. As the name suggests, it can control several secret hidden options of the "Update 1" and will make your Windows a bit tunable and flexible.
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Modern UI Tuner for Windows 8.1 Update 1 released

Firefox 28 for desktop and mobile now support VP9 decoding and has Opus support in WebM power media playback in HTML5. The desktop version of the browser also gets a new volume control for HTML5 audio and video. Mozilla decided to pull the Windows 8 Metro mode because only about a 1,000 users were using it per day.
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Firefox 28 Final Released, Metro Version Dropped

Microsoft OneNote for Windows desktop and Mac is now available for free. Previously, the note taking service was available for free for Windows RT, web and mobile devices only. Everything you create in the free PC and Mac versions are synced to OneDrive, so you can access them from your phone and tablet too. OneNote now also has a web clipper for Chrome, Firefox, IE, and Safari.
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Microsoft OneNote Now Free

Microsoft has yet to release Windows driver for the Xbox One controller but still you can use the gamepad for playing games on your PC. The solution uses a combination of a generic USB driver, a free controller emulating software and an application made by Lucas Assis.
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How to use Xbox One controller on Windows PC

Boot UI Tuner by hb860 allows Windows 8 users to edit the Boot Screen and the Boot Options Menu. You can enable or disable Windows logo, loading circle, change whole modern boot UI and turn it into legacy boot mode, etc. Version 2 has a clean UI and a new option to "to always show the boot menu."
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Edit Windows 8 Boot Screen and Options Menu with Boot UI Tuner 2

Microsoft is going to release a full-featured OneNote desktop application for free for Windows and Mac to take on Evernote note-taking app, which is also free. OneNote apps is already free for all the mobile OS but OneNote desktop app is a part of Office 2013 suite.
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Microsoft to release OneNote for free to take on Evernote

Microsoft has released Windows 8.1 Update 1 (Spring Update) to manufacturing, according to Mary Jo Foley's unnamed sources, as well as the known Windows leaker WZor who reports that the RTM build was compiled on February 21 and signed off on February 26. The expected launch date of the "Spring Update" is April 8.
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Windows 8.1 Update 1 hits RTM

Infamous Windows leaker WZOR has released some screenshots of a new Windows product edition, or SKU, called "Windows 8.1 with Bing". Windows 8.1 already includes Bing SmartSearch and most of Microsoft services by default but Mary Jo Foley who writes for ZDnet thinks the new SKU is key to Microsoft's experimentation with monetization.
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Rumor: Free Windows 8.1 with Bing

Facebook has decided to shut down Facebook Messenger for Windows desktop which was released last year. The app will automatically stop working on March 3, 2014. Facebook Messenger for Firefox will also stop working on the same date. The official app is now available for Android and iOS only. A Windows Phone version is coming soon.
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Facebook shutting down Messenger for Windows

Office 2013 Service Pack 1 (SP1) has been released today. The SP1 (KB2817430) includes all the previously unreleased fixes. In addition to general product fixes for improving stability, performance, and security, all the monthly security updates that were released through January 2014, and all the Cumulative Updates that were released through December 2013 have also been added.
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Microsoft releases Office 2013 Service Pack 1

If you are one of those unlucky SkyDrive users who missed the free 100 GB giveaway when Microsoft re-launched SkyDrive as OneDrive last week then it's your chance! The company is offering 100 GB of OneDrive storage to all the members of Bing Rewards for just 100 credits. You can earn credits by searching the web every day. All you have to do is stay signed-in and keep searching with Bing.
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Free OneDrive 100 GB offer for Bing Rewards members

Microsoft has officially announced that the first ever update for Windows 8.1 is coming this spring. Windows 8.1 Update 1 is aimed especially for mouse and keyboard users. It includes UI enhancements like title bar at the top of modern apps and power / search buttons on the Windows 8.1 Start Screen.
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Microsoft officially announced an update to Windows 8.1

Microsoft has rebranded its Office Web Apps to Office Online after re-launching its SkyDrive cloud storage service as OneDrive. "We heard from customers that the inclusion of Apps in our name was confusing", says Microsoft. "Are they something I install? Do I go to an app store to get them? No, to use them all you need is a web browser. Ah! You say. So it's like Office, online. Yes, exactly. Office Online".
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Office Web Apps relaunched as Office Online

Microsoft has relaunched its could storage service SkyDrive as OneDrive with some new features including automatic camera backup for Android and the ability to share and view videos just as easily as photos. The company has also added new ways for you to earn more storage.
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Microsoft launched OneDrive with new features

Windows 8 Transformation Pack 8.0 is the easiest way to get the Windows 8.1 experience on Windows 7, Vista and XP. The pack has been brought to you by Windows X, the man behind the popular Windows transformation packs. He also released Windows 8 UX Pack 8.0 today for those who want to get Windows 8.1 UI without modifying any system file.
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Windows 8 Transformation Pack and UX Pack 8.0 Released!

Microsoft is thinking about allowing Android apps to run on both Windows and Windows Phone according to Verge's sources. Some people in Microsoft favor the idea of simply enabling Android apps inside its Windows and Windows Phone Stores, while others believe it could lead to the death of the Windows platform and lower user's interest in the Modern (Metro) apps.
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Microsoft could bring Android apps to Windows

Google is going to bring Windows apps to its Chromebooks. The Windows apps like Office and Photoshop will run in VMWare's cloud-based infrastructure and stream to Chrome OS. Microsoft is dropping Windows XP support in April and Google's intention is to capture the market of Windows XP powered small industries which are ready to switch to a cheaper cloud-powered service.
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Google to bring Windows apps to Chrome OS via VMware

OneDrive (formerly SkyDrive) will offer 8 GB of extra storage for completing some simple tasks, similar to how Dropbox asks its users to share referral links with friends. A second "bonus offer" involves extra storage for using the camera roll feature of the iOS, Android, or Windows apps to backup photos to the service.
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Microsoft OneDrive to offer 8GB bonus storage

The release of Windows 8.1 Update 1 has been shifted to April 8th. That date aligns with Microsoft's monthly Patch Tuesday round of fixes, and it's rumored that the company will distribute the update through Windows Update rather than the Windows Store.
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Windows 8.1 Update 1 Coming Next Month

Firefox 27 Final allows users to see their social networking updates directly in the web browser (without any plug-in), thanks to its SocialAPI feature which is now capable of handling multiple providers simultaneously. So it's now possible to receive your notifications and chat messages from all of your social networks.
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Firefox 27 final released

In December 2013, Windows XP had a 28.98 percent market share, but in January 2014, the share rose to 29.23 percent. Windows 7's market share dropped from 47.52 percent to 47.49 percent. Market share of Windows 8 also fell from 6.89 percent to 6.63 percent because Windows 8.1 which was offered as a a free update.
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Windows XP isn't dying, gained market share last month

Windows 8.1 Update 1 has been leaked to the web ahead of its March release. The update will bring some new features like title bar for Modern apps which will make it easier to minimize or close them, ability to pin apps to the taskbar and thumbnail previews for the apps etc. It will also reduce the memory and disk space requirements for Windows 8.1.
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Windows 8.1 Update 1 Leaked Online

Microsoft has uploaded a series of its Super Bowl video ads to its YouTube channel. The videos are about how technology can improve our everyday lives. The ads show people (including football player Steve Gleason who was diagnosed with neuro-muscular disease ALS in 2011) using the company's technology for improving their lives. The videos are after the break.
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Microsoft's 'Empowering' Super Bowl ads