It's tough to get lots of tech information over in a video in just a couple of minutes, but Microsoft's Windows Phone people have done a great job here on the official YouTube channel, with just over two minutes of friendly and accessible chat summarising what's new in Windows Phone 8.1 for users of WP8. We've embedded the video below.

Summarising its own official 'What's New' page, Microsoft's video covers (in order):

• The Cortana digital assistant
• Cortana's notebook and customisation
• Start screen backgrounds
• Adding a third column of medium tiles to the Start screen
• Action Centre and how to get to it
• Wi-fi Sense
• 'Shape Writing' - I thought this was called 'Word Flow'? Has there been an official change of name here?
• New split volume control
• Updated Calendar

The aim with any operating system in 2014 should be that everything either 'just works' or is self-evident when the user starts to get to grips with it, providing help and instructions. And Windows Phone 8.1 is largely there, maybe the video above will be all that people need in order to get them experimenting.

Anyone remember the days when an operating system came with a shelf full of manuals? No? Well, I do - I go back a long way!!