When you first use a new account, animated hints appear in each of the four corners to alert you to their special functions. If you try the action and miss, you get a second level of help text and another animation.

See also:  Windows 8.1 RTM: What's new, what's next?

This is the animated hint that appears in the upper right corner after you sign in to a Windows 8.1 account for the first time.

One of the biggest criticisms of Windows 8 was its lack of any help for newcomers. The new Help _ Tips app aims to change that, with detailed information in six categories.

This is a closer look at the "Start and apps" section of the new Windows 8.1 Help + Tips app.

You won't find any animation or videos in the new Help + Tips app, only these screenshots, explanatory text, and links to online help resources.

One of the loudest complaints about Windows 8 was its weak Mail app. The newly designed, full-featured Mail app in Windows 8 draws heavily from the Outlook.com experience and is far more full-featured than its predecessor.

The People app is part of the unified communications app, which also includes Mail and Calendar. In Windows 8.1 it gets a major overhaul to remove clutter.

It wouldn't be Windows without a selection of desktop themes. The default settings include a new Windows image and a "Lines and colors" slideshow.

The original Start menu is gone, but Windows 8.1 still has the right-click WinX menu. One subtle change in Windows 8.1 is the addition of a Sign Out option in addition to the usual Sleep/Shut Down/Restart functions.

From the Metro version of Internet Explorer 11, you can still turn on Tracking Protection and control Do Not Track requests. For the first time you can also choose to block third-party cookies.

When setting up a new account, you get some additional options, including several that make it very clear you're choosing to send additional information to Microsoft.

It might seem like an odd place to find this feature, but the Windows 8.1 SkyDrive app now acts as a feature-rich version of File Explorer as well.

See also:  Windows 8.1 RTM: What's new, what's next?