[USA Today]
Microsoft today said it will start rolling its much-anticipated Windows 8.1 update in October.
Windows 8.1 will start rolling out as a free update worldwide on Oct. 17 at 7 a.m. ET (or midnight on Oct. 18 in New Zealand, Microsoft notes in a blog post).
Consumers can get the update through the Windows Store. It will also be available at retailers and on new devices on Oct. 18.
Microsoft has taken some critical knocks for the Windows 8 operating system, which it set out to build to work equally well across traditional computers as well as touchscreen devices. Sales have been less than stellar for machines running Windows 8, which represented a dramatic overhaul of the Windows OS.