Microsoft Kills Update 2 and Patch Tuesday

Microsoft has at last revealed the date when its second major update to Windows 8.1 will ship to customers: never.

Despite months of speculation that the software giant has been planning to push out another major update roll-up for its latest OS this year, much like it did with the oddly named Windows 8.1 Update in April, Redmond mouthpiece Brandon LeBlanc bloggedon Tuesday that we can forget it.

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"Rather than waiting for months and bundling together a bunch of improvements into a larger update as we did for the Windows 8.1 Update, customers can expect that we'll use our already existing monthly update process to deliver more frequent improvements along with the security updates normally provided as part of 'Update Tuesday'," LeBlanc wrote.

Read the rest of the story here.

 

[popeye]

Seems they are moving on to 9 at breakneck speed and simply trying to stem the bleeding with 8.1.

 

[Phone Man]

All the big wigs at MS that brought us Windows 8 have moved on. The new people in charge want to put their on stamp on Windows so her comes Windows 9.

Jim

 

[pparks1]

Lol, and every client of mine that has Windows 8 can't stand it. In fact most of the doctors went Mac and the rest returned their Windows 8 pc's and laptops for a Windows 7 machines.

I guess they are all haters also.

Whatever. Windows 8 has been a massive failure and every day we here about more features of a Windows 8 being removed. Adios Charms Bar....

Did you install a third party start menu, boot straight to the desktop and ensure that no full screen apps opened? Once I did that, everybody thought that 8 was pretty much 7.

 

[popeye]

Lol, and every client of mine that has Windows 8 can't stand it. In fact most of the doctors went Mac and the rest returned their Windows 8 pc's and laptops for a Windows 7 machines.

I guess they are all haters also.

Whatever. Windows 8 has been a massive failure and every day we here about more features of a Windows 8 being removed. Adios Charms Bar....

Did you install a third party start menu, boot straight to the desktop and ensure that no full screen apps opened? Once I did that, everybody thought that 8 was pretty much 7.

Yea, within a couple days I had my laptop looking and acting almost exactly like 7, minus Aero. I'm sure I could do everything within an hour at most now. It is a case of knowing how to do it, which is quite easy.

 

[bru]

I haven't had time to read through all the posts but I know I feel betrayed by Microsoft with the apparent abandonment of 8.1 (that is the term used in several articles I read today). The only way for them to salvage anything in my book would be if they give 8.1 users a free upgrade to 9. Problem is everything I read has mentioned free upgrades for XP, Vista and 7 users but not 8.1.

I feel it doesn't matter how good 8.1 is (with or without third party Start menus, etc). If MS has thrown in the towel and admitted this OS is a failure and will give all the good stuff to 9 without helping out 8.1 users, that is pretty lousy.

 

[vrosa]

I never imagined big changes in update 2, maybe it's really better let anything bigger for 9...

 

[johny]

People don't hate win8 but don't find reason to upgrade from win7. Win7 works flawlessly for work and 3d game. Tile stuff is useless because all the people use phones for mail, calendar, weather, news, facebook, etc.

 

[lehnerus2000]

I Guarantee if I stood in the middle of La Grand -Place / Grote Markt in the centre of Brussels giving out free GENUINE 50 EURO notes there would be some people finding something to complain about !!!!

"You cheapskate! Where is my free genuine 100 Euro note?"

 

[popeye]

I Guarantee if I stood in the middle of La Grand -Place / Grote Markt in the centre of Brussels giving out free GENUINE 50 EURO notes there would be some people finding something to complain about !!!!

"You cheapskate! Where is my free genuine 100 Euro note?"

I miss Europe. Spent 3 wonderful years in Germany, visited France, Belgium, Netherlands, Switzerland and England. Loved the people, the old narrow streets, the outside cafe's, the markets, the trains........I could go on and on. Glad I experienced it.

Oh, Volksmarches were much fun!

 

[pparks1]

I haven't had time to read through all the posts but I know I feel betrayed by Microsoft with the apparent abandonment of 8.1 (that is the term used in several articles I read today). The only way for them to salvage anything in my book would be if they give 8.1 users a free upgrade to 9. Problem is everything I read has mentioned free upgrades for XP, Vista and 7 users but not 8.1.

I think they just want to ensure that XP, Vista and 7 users know they have an upgrade path. I think you can feel free to simply assume that you will be upgraded from 8 to 9...it's just people not on 8 that might have a cause to wonder if they are included.

I feel it doesn't matter how good 8.1 is (with or without third party Start menus, etc). If MS has thrown in the towel and admitted this OS is a failure and will give all the good stuff to 9 without helping out 8.1 users, that is pretty lousy.

I don't see where this is MS admitting that the OS is a failure. They committed to more frequent releases right when 8 came back out. Some talk was a release per year. Windows 8 has been around now almost 2 years.

XP had 3 service packs. Vista had 2 service Packs. Windows 7 only had 1 service pack. And Windows 8 went to 8.1 and now 8.1 update 1...and they just didn't use the term "service pack". It doesn't seem like they are abandoning this release anymore so than any other release.

People don't hate win8 but don't find reason to upgrade from win7. Win7 works flawlessly for work and 3d game. Tile stuff is useless because all the people use phones for mail, calendar, weather, news, facebook, etc.

Some people claim to hate 8. I don't feel compelled to spend money to upgrade any of my Windows 7 boxes. But if I buy a new Windows computer, I'm not compelled to get anything but 8 on the new box.

 

[Thatwindows8guy]

Well Lets think about what is to come on Windows 9 after they kill the windows 8.2 update

 

[alphanumeric]

I'm with RBS, the way I read it is we'll get upgrades along with updates. Some of the updates will be what was originally proposed for update 2. Some will likely be kept for Windows 9. You just won't get them all in one big update. This may work out better actually. IMHO less chances of something going wrong, and easier to fix for Microsoft if it does. Patch Tuesday now becomes Upgrade Tuesday.

 

[BstuSCO]

I honestly prefer a soft boiled egg. Some people just prefer them harder. Both are eggs, boiled. Thank you.

 

[CountMike]

I honestly prefer a soft boiled egg. Some people just prefer them harder. Both are eggs, boiled. Thank you.

In this case it's Scrambled !!!

 

[insane014]

Hi there

As a previous poster said - I'd rather wait for W9 rather than any minor changes to W8.1. If you are running W8.1 update 1 with the relevant updates applied it seems to work pretty well.

Let Ms get on with W9 and sort out the way Metro works -- the current method doesn't really please EITHER desktop or Mobile users -- re-sizeable windows on these are a MUST as well as concurrent visibility -- very few people are only doing one thing at time on Windows in a workplace -- even if you are connected to a backend ERP type system you might be connected to a TEST and a PROD machine and a DEV if you are a developer. Even if you are only an ordinary user you might be connected to 3 or 4 systems at different locations or different functionality, as well as running WORD / EXCEL etc.

I wouldn't worry either about Ms's financial position -- IMO Apple is more at risk - hence its desperate tie up with IBM to try and get a foothold into the corporate market which has largely ignored Apple. Ms makes a LOT and will continue to make a lot from its office suite - and it provides a huge amount of services to business.

The Markets don't seem to have any worries about Ms -- here's it's graph for the last 3 months - a period of Market volatility -- Russia / Ukraine, Sanctions on Russia, Chinese problems with Ms, Israeli conflict in Gaza, Fed reducing "Quantative Easing" - I.e pumping money into the economy etc. I've drawn a reasonable "trend line" in green. - Don't invest without doing YOUR OWN research though.

Cheers
jimbo

You would like metro apps to act like desktop windows? That's bold, but that also asks the question why do we need metro then? I love the separation between lightweight metro apps and desktop environment. My mail, calculator, calendar, etc are all left in metro and I dotn want them to intrude on my work in desktop like PS or Solidworks. The way I see it it's the border between consuming and creating content.

Although one thing I cant get a hang of is metro IE, I set all my links to go desktop app instead. I find desktop IE much easier to manipulate with tabs.

 

[JohnBurns]

I honestly prefer a soft boiled egg. Some people just prefer them harder. Both are eggs, boiled. Thank you.

In this case it's Scrambled !!!

Just keep Justin Bieber away from your eggs - they'll end up on the neighbor's house - scrambled for sure.

 

[jimbo45]

I honestly prefer a soft boiled egg. Some people just prefer them harder. Both are eggs, boiled. Thank you.

In this case it's Scrambled !!!

Just keep Justin Bieber away from your eggs - they'll end up on the neighbor's house - scrambled for sure.

Hi there

Pardon my Ignorance -- Who is he exactly and why should I even care. !! I suppose it's one of these talentless individuals that think they can randomly screech a few notes resulting in a hideous cacophony that makes a load of Road Drills and tunnelling equipment sound pleasant. !!

(Mind you I am an Engineer -- "Old School" type !!).

Cheers
jimbo

 

[CountMike]

Just a spoiled brat that adolescent girls think is cool. Trying to sing but no talent at all. Anyway real music is far removed from him. Besides R&R, classic music and any other real music, my most loved tune is in the middle of working factory.

 

[DavidY]

You would like metro apps to act like desktop windows? That's bold, but that also asks the question why do we need metro then? I love the separation between lightweight metro apps and desktop environment. My mail, calculator, calendar, etc are all left in metro and I dotn want them to intrude on my work in desktop like PS or Solidworks. The way I see it it's the border between consuming and creating content.

I see where you're coming from, but I bet that Microsoft don't want Metro apps to just be about content consumption.

I reckon that they'd love more developers to swell the (still somewhat empty) shelves in the Windows Store with all sorts of utilities.

I've read a lot of people making comments along the lines of 'Windows 8/8.1 is great because you can hide Metro and stick with all the Desktop software you know and love', and given that, why would an app developer go to the trouble of replacing their Desktop app with a Metro version, especially as many people would still demand the Desktop one to be available as well? If Metro is available in a resizeable Desktop window (so you might not need the Desktop version), then maybe more developers would start writing good software for the Windows Store.

And of course if some future version of Microsoft's own Office was a Metro App available in resizeable Metro windows, it might just stay usable.

 

[CountMike]

Just read that there's over 300,000 Apps for windows phone, given right environment computer apps might be more plentiful with time especially if they make them to behave like desktop ones.