Chapter 3: Working with Charms and Notifications

In This Chapter

arrow.png Charmed to meet you

arrow.png The Windows 8.1 Smart Search is smart — for Microsoft

arrow.png The anatomy of a notification

arrow.png Limiting notifications

The new tiled Windows 8.1 Metro interface brings two completely new solutions to Windows age-old problems.

The problems? Telling Windows what you want it to do, quickly and easily, and receiving messages from Windows about something you need to do. In the past, people have been treated to all sorts of warnings and bubbles and bleeps and blops.

The solutions? Charms and notifications. These two new features not only address the two aforementioned problems, but also set up Windows to accomplish both of those goals in a touch-friendly universe.

This chapter gives you a quick overview of the Charms bar — the quick and dirty way you can interact with the most exposed parts of Windows — and notifications, which are notices from Windows to you, delivered in a very specific way. Er, ways. It also warns you about the new-to-Windows 8.1 Smart Search, which brings a whole new dimension to privacy concerns. ...

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