October 18 marks an important date for Microsoft. The software giant will be launching four updates simultaneously on the same day. The most important update users of the Windows 8 are looking forward to will be the Windows 8.1 update. The update is available for free to users of Windows 8.

Microsoft also announced updates for Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows System Center 2012 R2 and the latest update to Windows Intune. All the updates will be released on Oct 18. The Windows 8.1 update will be available for a free download by 4 am PT on October 17.The retail launch is on the next day.

October 18 is celebrated as Alaska Day in the U.S. The day is a legal holiday in Alaska, the north western state of U.S. The people in Alaska can expect to have a lot of free time to buy the new update.

Surely, Microsoft did not plan to launch the update just to please the people of Alaska but the update comes as something to cheer about to Windows 8 users worldwide.

Users had quite a few complaints about the Windows 8 operating system. The operating system could be used for a touch screen tablet as well as a touch free desktop. The approach saw some resistance from the desktop users who did not see the benefits of the touch friendly approach. Many however jumped onto the Windows 8 bandwagon because of its enhanced security, longer battery life and faster boot time.

The sales of the Windows 8 suffered initially but saw overall revenues of over $ 800 million. The figure was still less than anticipated. Microsoft decided to increase the sales and marketing budget by about $ 1 billion. The marketing effort of such large proportions is expected to see some improvement in consumer acceptance.

The Windows update is going to address the users' issues, such as the start button. The start button was missing in the original Windows 8.Many users who are used to the start button had complained. Microsoft also has a host of other features in the update like a better smart search, better view on a larger monitor, and new Snap views among others.