Microsoft publicly acknowledged that the company will issue an update to Windows 8.1 this spring that provides more tools for owners of traditional PCs controlled by mouse and keyboard. In a press conference at Mobile World Congress (MWC) Joe Belfiore, the executive in charge of Windows Phone's and Windows 8's user experiences, announced that the update will launch this spring.

Most analysts and pundits have used "Windows 8.1 Update 1" as the name of the impending update, and believe it will be released in early April. April 8 is a good day as it is when Microsoft will deliver the final public security updates for Windows XP.

"We are making improvements to the user interface that will naturally bridge touch and desktop, especially for our mouse and keyboard users. We have a number of targeted UI improvements that keep our highly satisfying touch experience intact, but that make the UI more familiar and more convenient for users with mouse/keyboard," Belfiore said.

Other changes involve improvements to search, power and settings icons displayed on the Start screen; the ability to launch and switch "Metro" apps from the desktop's taskbar; and a right-click menu that lets mouse users close apps and return to the Start screen.