Word on the street is that Windows 8.1 Update 1 is very close to hit RTM status, and in fact, a recent report claimed that Microsoft is about to finish primary development work on it on February 23.
This is the day, then, when the upcoming update hits RTM status — if you believe this report.
What this means is that Redmond will be sending off the final build to hardware and software partners, OEMs and developers for testing purposes in the coming days.
And what this further means is that this new version could (potentially) leak out in RTM form before the month is out.
In fact, this is that latest talk in town, meaning once again you might be able to get the final version of the Windows operating system a lot earlier.
Microsoft will, one might assume, continue adding in new features and refining current ones up until the update is ready to be rolled out via Windows Update — around the April Patch Tuesday cycle.
The company also plans to talk about Update 1 in detail when the BUILD 2014 conference kicks off on April 2, but if the final RTM version does indeed leak out before that, the community will probably have discussed it in elaborate detail by then.
In any case, the leaked RTM build, if it comes out, will likely be released in MSU format, and would require all previous Windows 8.1 updates to be installed before it could be deployed.
