Windows Blue becomes Windows 8.1, is free update

The first major update for Windows 8 is coming later in the year under the banner of Windows 8.1.

Previously known by less obvious codename Windows Blue, the free update will do much the same thing as the old service packs through which Microsoft issued major changes to prior operating systems.

Microsoft has strongly hinted that the update would bring Windows 8 to 7 and 9 inch tablets, saying that the operating system was great for everything from "the smallest tablets" to desktops.

In addition, the update seeks to resolve some of the issues consumers and developers have had with the new operating system.

This is rumored to include a solution to Windows 8’s lack of a "start" button.

Sister site Develop has the full story.