WEBVTT
Kind: captions
Language: en

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You've 
probably heard that Windows 8 is very different
from earlier versions of Windows, and it is.

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But the good news is that Windows 8.1 brings
back many of the features that were missing

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when Windows 8 first came out, making it much
easier to use.

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If you have Windows 8, you can download 8.1
for free. Just go to Microsoft.com and click

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Downloads to find the most recent update.

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Windows 8 offers a completely new computing
experience. If you've used Windows before,

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the first thing you'll notice is it looks
totally different. Microsoft has moved a lot

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of things around, and it may take you a while
to figure out how to do even the most basic

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tasks, like finding your files, or switching
to a different program. One reason why they've

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made so many changes is they wanted Windows
8 to run on tablets, as well as desktops and

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laptops.

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There are actually two different views in
Windows 8. Right now we're looking at the

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Start Screen. The other view is the Desktop,
which looks very similar to earlier versions

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of Windows. Chances are, you'll use both of
these views for different tasks, and you'll

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get used to switching back and forth.

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Let's take a look at the Start Screen. You
can click on an app to open it. Unlike earlier

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versions of Windows, apps don't open in a
window; they fill the entire screen. But if

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you prefer multitasking, you can drag the
app to the side, and then open a second app.

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To close apps, just move your mouse to the
top of the screen. If you're using a tablet,

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you can close apps by dragging them down.

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Now let's take a moment to look at the Desktop.
This view is pretty similar to earlier versions

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of windows, but it's gone through some changes
-- most notably involving the Start button.

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When Windows 8 first came out the Start button
had been removed, but a lot of users found

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it hard to adjust to using a desktop without
a start button. So Microsoft brought it back

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in the 8.1 update, but it functions a little
differently than before.

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Let me show you what I mean. The Start button
used to display a list of programs and shutdown

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options. Now clicking it brings you back to
the Start screen so you can access your programs

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and apps - as well as shut down options, and
a new search button.

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While you're on the Start screen, you may
notice some tiles changing. These are Live

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tiles -- they let you see information on the
tile itself without even clicking on it. That

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means you can see the weather, news headlines,
and more right from your Start Screen.

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To get the most out of Windows 8, you'll want
to go to onedrive.com to create a free Microsoft

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account, if you don't already have one. This
will let you use Microsoft's online services.

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For example, you can use OneDrive to store
your documents, photos, and other files in

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the cloud. You can also store your calendar,
contacts, and more online. Why is this important

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for Windows 8? Well, you can log in with your
Microsoft account, and it will automatically

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pull your calendar, email, photos, and more,
so you can access them easily from your Start

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Screen. The coolest part of this is that you
can log in to any computer that has Windows

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8, and all of your settings and your OneDrive
files will be there.

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Now if you're wondering where all of your
old files and folders are, don't worry: You

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can still get to them by going to the Desktop
and navigating to the folder that you want.

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And many of your existing programs will still
run from the Desktop view, although you should

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do some research to find out whether they
are Windows 8 compatible.

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As you can see, Windows 8 has introduced a
lot of changes.

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If you're not comfortable re-learning how
to use your computer, then you may want to

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stick with your current version for now. But
if you're really into new technology, and

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you like the idea of storing your files in
the cloud, chances are you'll feel right at

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home in the new Windows 8.