Windows 8.1 'Blue' preview: It beats Windows 8

Yesterday at the Microsoft Build conference in San Francisco, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer and Windows dev chief Julie Larson-Green introduced the one-and-only "Milestone Preview" of Windows 8.1 (aka Windows "Blue"), touting its remarkable improvements over the much-maligned Windows 8 and Windows RT.
In the 24 hours since, I've had a chance to kick the Preview's tires a bit and look under the hood, employing the jaundiced eye of a longtime Windows veteran who isn't the least bit impressed with Windows 8's Jekyll-and-Hyde approach. What I see leaves me more convinced than ever that Microsoft is running Windows into the ground.

Here's the good news: Windows 8.1 isn't worse than Windows 8.
If you're forced to use Windows 8 or if you're one of the 1 percent (OK, 5 percent) who actually prefer Win8 over Win7, Windows 8.1 and Windows RT 8.1 are shaping up to be must-have updates.

While most of the features in Windows 8.1 should have been in Windows 8, my hat's off to the engineering work done on the update. Microsoft has put together an enormous number of improvements, and it's well on the way to shipping them in less than a year. That has to be the fastest "version 2.0" of a major product in Microsoft history. Plus, it establishes a cadence of annual, substantive updates that Microsoft claims it can maintain.
You can install and run the beta, but it would be wise to understand the limitations first. The final version of Windows 8.1 is widely expected in August or possibly September.

Windows 8.1 'Blue' preview: Well, it beats Windows 8 | Microsoft Windows - InfoWorld

 

[Wenda]

eNuff about that start button. We pretty much knew it was going to be a Start Screen Shortcut which Brink has made available from here "Start" Screen Shortcut - Create in Windows 8 since day 1.

The one aggravating factor about 98, XP, Vista & 7 was after logging in to the desktop and programs are loading. Being in a hurry and familiar with what I needed from start menu. I would click the start button, the menu would pop out and before I could click an item on the menu, a program finished loading and the menu disappeared.
That has not happened in 8 because we log into the start menu and it opens on the desktop. (Unless it is a Modern App)

Why is nobody commenting about the new tile controls that are suppose to be available in 8.1 ?

Why is nobody commenting about the new split portion sizes and multiple windows on the Modern side ?

In my case, because:

A/ I don't consider them to be improvements, merely moving deck-chairs. Small tiles did look good till I discovered that they wouldn't work on real programs, only 'apps'. The split-screen aspect of Metro is irrelevant, as I do not attempt to do serious work anywhere but the desktop, with any number of multiple, resizeable WINDOWS (remember them?) open. This will not be changing.

B/ That blasted "cloud' mentality overarches the whole OS, and I want NO part of that.

C/ The serious (desktop) user is still under the bus.

D/ They appear to have deliberately broken the fixes developed to rectify the mistakes they made in 8 and compounded in 8.1.


I could tolerate/work around most of the non-improvements, but will not countenance the blatant, in-your-face net-centricity of 8.1.

I hated the little of that there was in 8, so 8.1 won't be getting a look-in. I simply can't be bothered going through all the rigmarole again just to get a usable OS without the rubbish.

Sorry, not impressed at all. I'll be staying on Win 7/8.0. 8.1 may go into my OS collection in V-Box as a curiosity (then I can easily cut off net-access), but that'll be about it at this stage.


Wenda.

 

[Mustang]

Why is nobody commenting about the new tile controls that are suppose to be available in 8.1 ?

Why is nobody commenting about the new split portion sizes and multiple windows on the Modern side ?

Might be because not many like the Metro side of Window 8.

:thumb: As Sherlock Holmes was want to say: Elementary my dear Watson!"
Blind man on a galloping horse could see that!

@ pcRat What you say is like a salesman pointing out all the great navigating features on a boat, when the buyer wants a car with a SAT/NAV.

 

[brummyfan]

eNuff about that start button. We pretty much knew it was going to be a Start Screen Shortcut which Brink has made available from here "Start" Screen Shortcut - Create in Windows 8 since day 1.

The one aggravating factor about 98, XP, Vista & 7 was after logging in to the desktop and programs are loading. Being in a hurry and familiar with what I needed from start menu. I would click the start button, the menu would pop out and before I could click an item on the menu, a program finished loading and the menu disappeared.
That has not happened in 8 because we log into the start menu and it opens on the desktop. (Unless it is a Modern App)

Why is nobody commenting about the new tile controls that are suppose to be available in 8.1 ?

Why is nobody commenting about the new split portion sizes and multiple windows on the Modern side ?

May be they are pretty much useless to many as they haven't got the devices to try them or want to use those features.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
Well it WORKS for me. OK not perfect but perfectly useable (needs a little work though and that's what Ms really needs to do - make the OOB experience better).

It's NOT Windows 7 -- and for those that want a Windows 7 interface -- STAY ON THAT SYSTEM.

I'm quite happy to have an OS that works with NEWER devices too -- I don't even mind some touch stuff on a laptop (but don't even THINK of putting your fingers anywhere near my large LCD screen !!).

I really don't have any problems running ANY classic desktop application just like I ran it in W7 (or earlier). OK it means re-arranging some of the tiles and messing around tidying up after installing applications but that's usually a ONE OFF type of job. Boot to desktop also removes any of the start screen irritation I might have and using a custom toolbar gives me a decent "menu" type of system as well without needing any 3rd party stuff. (Scrshot shown below)

I don't mind being able to have some dynamically changing applications viewable at the same time as doing ordinary work --for example if you are interested in Stock Market data it's quite nice to have a Real time streaming data app on your desktop INDEPENDANT of any your broker might have provided.

@ Brummyfan -- regarding Metro stuff.

The main problem with the current crop of Metro apps is that they are essentially RUBBISH -- probably written by some sub-teens who have yet to experience a REAL WORKPLACE and also through no fault of their own haven't got any experience of what people might want as REAL applications that are better than games and small apps suitable for running on Mobile Phones. I expect though some to be quite good soon -- as happened with Gadgets in VISTA / W7 -- the original ones were just junk too.

The application INSTALL process is better in W 8.1 than W8 but it still needs to be tidied up.

However W8.1 is definitely an improvement over W8 -- although still IMO not a totally finished product yet.

I'm also not sure what the problem is with The Cloud -- I'm not using it and I can't see anywhere in W8 or W8.1 where you are forced in any way to have ANYTHING to do with it if you don't want to -- just use a LOCAL account when you install the OS.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[brummyfan]

Hi jimbo,
There's no option to sign in with local account when you install with iso image on a separate partition, I don't mind signing in with Microsoft account but I feel slight discomfort as if I'm being watched.

 

[startas]

Well, there is new news everyday about same thing, so basically in all these news discussions are the same. There is one thing, that could change it (about windows 8), but i bet this world wouldnt like it veeeery much, so. Nothing in this world goes as it should or as we want, and there is no peaceful way to change it, and even that other way is not much of a solution, as it would expand to much and there wouldnt left anyone.

 

[McRuff]

Hi jimbo,
There's no option to sign in with local account when you install with iso image on a separate partition, I don't mind signing in with Microsoft account but I feel slight discomfort as if I'm being watched.

You can actually sign in locally when you install from an ISO, they just hid it. If you enter an invalid Microsoft account ID when you are prompted, it will return an error and the installer will give you the option of signing in locally or retrying. I found this by mistake because I stuffed up my password with a valid email address.

 

[Der Snoober]

Boot to desktop also removes any of the start screen irritation I might have and using a custom toolbar gives me a decent "menu" type of system as well without needing any 3rd party stuff. (Scrshot shown below)

Hi Jimbo!

Cool sollution you have there with the custom toolbar.

I've one question about it. Did you link the custom toolbar to some already excisting directory? Or did you first create the 'menu' yourself in some directory?


Greetz,

Rover

 

[caperjack]

Hi jimbo,
T I don't mind signing in with Microsoft account but I feel slight discomfort as if I'm being watched.

many people on meds feel the same way .

 

[McRuff]

Hi jimbo,
T I don't mind signing in with Microsoft account but I feel slight discomfort as if I'm being watched.

many people on meds feel the same way .

Nothing at all with a healthy dose of Paranoia. With both Microsoft and Google I stay logged out as much as possible. After all you are the "product" on their free services.

I cannot see any reason to make life even easier for them or the NSA

 

[sygnus21]

Hi jimbo,
T I don't mind signing in with Microsoft account but I feel slight discomfort as if I'm being watched.

many people on meds feel the same way .

Nothing at all with a healthy dose of Paranoia. With both Microsoft and Google I stay logged out as much as possible. After all you are the "product" on their free services.

I cannot see any reason to make life even easier for them or the NSA

If you visit the internet, use a cell phone, or even go outside someone is watching. Might not be right or fair, but it is the reality we live in. With that I say live life and stop worrying... they've already go enough info on us already

 

[SIW2]

Hi jimbo,
There's no option to sign in with local account when you install with iso image on a separate partition, I don't mind signing in with Microsoft account but I feel slight discomfort as if I'm being watched.

Agree.

You can switch to a local account and turn off some of the other spying , eg, smartcreen.

 

[Mustang]

Last time I was on a plane an English guy said to me -- How can you tell that there's a load of "Aussies" on this flight -- answer -- we've landed, the captain has switched the Engines off but the Whining hasn't stopped. !!!!

That's strange. Last time I was meeting someone arriving at the international airport, a guy from Iceland came up to me and asked if I could give him a dollar as he needed it for his fare to get back home.

I gave him $10,000 and told him to take 9,999 of his mates with him for the crime of telling pathetic jokes.


Then there was the story of the Icelandic man who installed central heating in his igloo and when it "burnt" down, (melted), tried to claim it on insurance.

Jimbo methinks the cold in your igloo has affected the brain cells mate. Or was it one too many blubber juices?

 

[Mustang]

Just realize that Microsoft isn't going to go back. They're just going to go forward by refining the user interface.

And when they've finished refining it to get ultimate performance and efficiency it will look exactly like the Windows 7 GUI ... and not a Tablet/Smartfone GUI. Already the smaller tiles are starting to mimic normal desktop icons. All Metro needs now is a traditional start menu.

In terms of efficiency Winy7 GUI leaves W8 for dead. The most M$ can hope for is the most efficient Tablet GUI. But compared to Win7 it's chalk and cheese.

Sure horses for courses, but give traditional desktop users the course they want ... and keep Metro for those who want it.

But no, Mighty Mouse M$ know what's best for us. Yeah, in ya dreams!

 

[lehnerus2000]

Only time will tell

Just realize that Microsoft isn't going to go back. They're just going to go forward by refining the user interface.

That remains to be seen.

If W8.1 is a wild success, then MS will keep pushing tablet GUIs onto everyone's PCs.

If it bombs like W8, then a lot of people will lose their jobs (hopefully only upper management) and MS will give up on it and return to a more traditional GUI.

 

[brummyfan]

Hi jimbo,
There's no option to sign in with local account when you install with iso image on a separate partition, I don't mind signing in with Microsoft account but I feel slight discomfort as if I'm being watched.

Agree.

You can switch to a local account and turn off some of the other spying , eg, smartcreen.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll give it a try.

 

[Wenda]

Hi jimbo,
There's no option to sign in with local account when you install with iso image on a separate partition, I don't mind signing in with Microsoft account but I feel slight discomfort as if I'm being watched.

Agree.

You can switch to a local account and turn off some of the other spying , eg, smartcreen.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll give it a try.

You can create a local account, but as yet I have not been able to create an Admin account (apart from the MS one), only 'user' accounts..

Not much use to me, so I stayed on the MS account. I'll play around with it some more when the setup is complete (well, the OS and some programs are installed, but there's still lots more to do).


Wenda.

 

[brummyfan]

Agree.

You can switch to a local account and turn off some of the other spying , eg, smartcreen.

Thanks for the suggestion, I'll give it a try.

You can create a local account, but as yet I have not been able to create an Admin account (apart from the MS one), only 'user' accounts..

Not much use to me, so I stayed on the MS account. I'll play around with it some more when the setup is complete (well, the OS and some programs are installed, but there's still lots more to do).


Wenda.

I changed the Local account to Admin from Standard type but when I log in with local account some features won't preform well enough, for example Frequent sites won't load correctly for me, so I also continue to use Microsoft account, I feel the pain of screw tightening

 

[Mystere]

Do you really think that most of us are incapable ! Most people here, including those who complain about Windows 8/8.1, can adapt to any innovation or change. What is being discussed here is that we do know what is better for us, not Microsoft or any other company. Innovation is good, but listening to the consumers is a way to demonstrate respect. Don't get me wrong, but you went wrong with your words.

"The Customer is always right" has been proven to be a fallacy. The problem is, which customer? What happens one two customers are contradictory? What happens when a customer demands things that are unreasonable? What happens when a customer just doesn't understand the reasons for a change? What happens when a customer demands things that violate the law?

That last one is important. Did you know that Windows must meet legal requirements for disabled users? That means providing high contrast themes for those with color blindness or cataracts.. That means providing API's for screen readers for the blind. That means making the user interface work better for people with poor motor skills.

The change to the start menu was not 100% driven by tablets.. there were many other factors, such as the fact that the start menu became unusable after a certain number of applications were installed, and the fact that it was difficult to navigate by people with motor control issues. Tablets were another reason, of course, and was key in defining the way the new start screen was designed, but the move away from the old menu was something that would have happened regardless.

The old start menu is dead, and will never come back (officially) from Microsoft, and no matter how much people whine or complain, it won't change it. They have many reasons for ditching the old menu, and some of them have legal repercussions.

The fact is, Microsoft can't "listen to the customer" because for every customer that wants A, another customer hates A. So saying that listening is a sign of respect just doesn't understand how customer service actually works.

 

[Mystere]

You can create a local account, but as yet I have not been able to create an Admin account (apart from the MS one), only 'user' accounts..

Maybe i'm missing something, but what's wrong with creating a new account, going into the account properties and changing it from Standard to Administrator?

I do notice that if you use the Metro UI to change the user to Administrator, I get "an error occurred". But if you open up the Manage Accounts applet from control panel, you can do so without a problem. this is most likely a bug. It also does the same thing if you try to change from Administrator to Standard.