Microsoft seeds Windows 8.1 to manufacturers ahead of October 18th launch

We heard a couple days ago that Microsoft had "finished" Windows 8.1, and now Microsoft officially announced that it has started seeding Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1 to manufacturers, so devices will be ready for the street date. Microsoft says that the update will bring a "greater unified experience" to users. We already know that 8.1 will bring back the Start Button, and offer users an option to boot straight to the desktop. 

The update will bring IE 11, performance upgrades, and a number of other improvements. We're willing to bet that this means the update will be leaking soon enough, but more importantly, it should mean that we're going to hear about new Surface tablets, and other Windows tablets and hybrids in the near future.

source: Blogging Windows via Engadget