2. The rise of modern UI PC settings

One of the worst flaws of Windows 8 is the way it splits crucial settings options between the traditional desktop Control Panel and the modern-style PC Settings found in the Settings charm. The schizophrenic design is most painful on Windows RT devices, where the need to navigate to the otherwise useless desktop and fiddle with non-finger-friendly options is nothing short of a headache. Windows Blue fixes this with its vastly expanded PC Settings, which now contain many of the options hidden within the Control Panel.

Windows Build 9364's PC Settings now let you fiddle with default apps, resolutions, fine networking details, and a whole lot more—including a new SkyDrive section that we'll talk about in a moment.

Your fingers will love the difference if you're a Windows tablet user, but more portentously, the rise of Windows Blue's PC Settings foretell a future in which the Control Panel could be excised completely.