In Pictures: The Windows 8.1 Preview

[DjEaZy]

@lancelot123 for a tech a person it is no problem... and i use the WinH8.1 Preview on my secondary machine... and it is a hard thing to translate this terrible OS to my clients, that are used to previous Windows versions, learned it in school of haz taken courses starting from '95 to Win7... this version is still m$ s#!tting all over its costumer base... M$ needs to separate mobile OS from desktop OS.. tie together things, that work together, but not try to make one-fits-all solutions, because not everything is the same... MS is hurting them self and the whole PC industry...
... surfice is a flop, XBox One is not a homerun, Lumia's are starting to be better, but it would be quicker with android... apple and google & allies are juggernauts in tablet and smartphone space... MS, do, what you do the best in every second OS - do a good Desktop OS!!!

 

[tolham]

looks good, i really want to try out w8 now.

 

[godfather666]

"Clicking the Start Button brings up either the Start Screen, with its Live Tiles, or the slightly reconfigured All Apps screen, which is somewhat closer to the traditional Start Menu's content. In Windows 8.1, you’re able to choose the screen that gets displayed by default."

THIS made my day. And being able to boot to desktop.
I think that's a great change, which will make Windows 8 an enhanced version of Windows 7 for desktop users. So now, it becomes truly capable of being both an excellent desktop as well as tablet OS, imo of course.

 

[godfather666]

I'm reading the comments here, and I'm not understanding all the hate. I feel that most people didn't read the article.
Windows 8.1 allows you to:
1. Boot straight to the desktop
2. Make the start menu take you to the "All Apps" screen instead of the Metro screen. The All Apps screen is basically a nicer looking versin of the old Start Menu, with the exact same functionality and easy search.
3. An easy way to shut down.

I don't know about you, but for me, those were my main complaints about Windows 8. Sure, they're still developing their modern UI. Obviously, they believe it is key to their long-term success, which I agree with. But 8.1 is way more desktop-friendly than 8.0. Am I missing something?

 

[Bloob]

"Blue" is a series of updates, of which 8.1 is the first (and likely largest)

 

[hannibal]

Well, guite a lot improvements and guite many of them adress desktop usage. Any news about new disk operation system? Is it included, or will it be win9 feature?

 

[happyballz]

Windows 8-8.1 The official Hipster OS.
All the flashy and pretty colors and minimum sense and intuitive workflow/design.

 

[Saga Lout]

The Apps Tile screen was only one click away from a conventional desktop with background and icons of your choosing anyway.

 

[whiteodian]

So many people were just so lazy to figure out how everything worked. Kudos to M$ for creating 8.1 to allow more customization.

 

[allawash]

I love all the Microsoft employee replies, brilliant stuff.

8.1 Is just as terrible - i've used it. Fundamentally you can decorate it up all you want with changes and 'features' but a turd is still a turd.

The fact is Microsoft have a certain OS history that is worth pointing out, i'll not go back too far or go in to service packs, but it's a consistent pattern:

Windows 95: all new and changed, but riddled with bugs and problems.
Windows 98: fixed the above and a good OS.
Windows XP: the only example of getting it right first time (SP2+ mainly)
Windows Vista: once again new big changes, and it was terrible and bug riddled and had a plethora of issues.
Windows 7: fixed the above.
Windows 8: again, new and changed, and again riddled with problems and 'features' that only piss people off.

So we can assume that Windows 9 is where it'll be 'at'. I'll wait for that one thankyou Microsoft.

You forgot one, Windows ME, might even out the XP balance.

 

[CheesyHotDogPuff]

Looks excellent, though i wish the start menu was brought back.

 

[dimar]

I wonder how many users here posted that are getting paid by microsoft, or being microsoft employees..

 

[Rodrigo Guerrero]

My guess as the final result of this update is: 2 or 3 percent increase on sales of PC's. That’s equal to nothing.
People will still not like it since the changes are not really notorious to the regular and common user. They still find a UI that they don’t know and don’t want to re-learn a full OS. They will be asking for PC's with Windows 7. OEM's can´t wait too much for Windows to recover their lost sales; they must be planning something.

 

[bigpoppastuke]

I gave windows 8 a shot. I didn't like it. I'll give this a shot though too. Windows 7 is going to be hard to beat.

 

[iniger]

version enterprise x64 not stable in VMware and virtualbox. freeze. no final antivirus to works with it. immature os....

 

[razor512]

No one really cared about the start button, what people cared about was the menu that the start button allowed to be displayed.

Not including the proper menu that goes with the start button is like sticking a door knob onto a brick wall and calling it a fire escape. Microsoft needs to work on more than just the button.

 

[doogansquest]

"Now people will have to relearn..."

So. Technology changes. Microsoft is just ahead of the curve, and will be the first to have integration across all their devices. Their game has always been to beta release and adjust based on feedback. They take big risks, but also enjoy the biggest payoffs.

"They are screwing their customers!"

How? You have to volunteer to buy it, and more people are giving it positive reviews than negative ones. The negative people are just the loudest. For the millions enjoying it, you won't hear them write an article or start a thread about how it operates as expected.

"I want the Start Menu back!"

Because you don't know jack about computers? You are satisfied with an antiquated, clunky, and obtuse file management system? You're afraid of change that makes sense? I have found Windows 8 to be easy because I TOOK THE TIME TO LEARN HOW TO USE IT. Then again, I took the time to learn going from DOS to a UI-OS as well. I remember the complaints then. Eventually, the complaints went away when people stopped to realize they were dumb and MS knew what they were doing.

People complained when Windows basically remained the same, functionally, but just received a face-lift over and over. Now they change that to something more intuitive, streamlined with other gadgets, and appropriate for a market moving AWAY from desktop PC's, and people pout.

If you're biggest complaint is that it doesn't run exactly like previous versions of Windows, you were right. It doesn't, and it's better for it.

 

[doogansquest]

Oh, and to the idiots claiming that this is Microsoft telling the people what they want instead of listening to what they want: you have no idea what you are talking about. You are the ones who want an operating system that requires no learning, no improved and streamlined functionality, and no updates ever. You are the ones being inflexible.

Give it a real, open-minded shot. Learn how to use it instead of going into it thinking it's Windows 7. It really isn't that hard to figure out. If, after learning EVERYTHING, you feel the same way, go back to the old while the rest of the world moves on.

Keep in mind, PC's have been steadily declining in sales; even while XP was still around and with the success of Windows 7. On the gaming front, build-it-yourself PC's are declining as well, because more games are moving to consoles, handhelds, and app formats, thus requiring less of the super-beefy hardware. Corporations are getting people on tablets and other mobile devices, while their "big" computing is on a laptop.

Microsoft is seeing the trend and simply being prepared for it. There's less and less need to spend money separating the desktop from everything else. Apple didn't outgrow Microsoft on the computer front; in fact, it was moving away from computers and focusing on gadgets that catapulted them to the front.

As for XBox One: it hasn't even launched yet, so we have no idea if it's going to be successful. People took a media-features-heavy preview of the system and ran with it as a non-gaming platform. Then MS showed off a bunch of games at the E3... People are just too stupid to give something a chance or wait a few days. They jump off a cliff and join the groupthink in a hurry. Concurrently, consoles are no longer just about gaming anyway; there's enough tech that companies can cram in there to have it serve as more than just gaming. It's a full blown entertainment piece in a $400 box. Don't be fooled by those claiming PS4 is "more gaming" focused; it's not. They are using it to serve the exact same function, competitively, as Microsoft. They just advertised more about the gaming side of things. Even if it were the case that Sony went gaming heavy while MS tried to be a catch-all, I'd spend the $50 more to get everything besides just gaming.

"But I just want my console to game!"

You are in the minority, my friend. Most of the PS3 sales weren't even for the games. People bought it to be a Blu-Ray player that could also game. Families buy these things more than gamers do anymore, so you aren't the voice that drives the market. Get used to it.

 

[fulle]

Windows 8 has been pretty annoying to support so far. Across all my customers, 50+ companies, big and small, I haven't found a single person who prefers Windows 8 to Windows 7. I haven't seen something as universally hated in the corporate environment since Vista.

The thing has issues with common software, like Citrix. As an example, someone installs the Receiver, so they can connect to a published Citrix application. They then try to launch the application through IE, and it won't work. Turns out, there's multiple versions of IE on the machine, and they're confused as to which the Receiver is trying to use when launching the application link. Time to install Firefox.

Stuff like that ALL day long with Windows 8. It's a freaking nightmare. From trying to get the goddamn charm bar to pull up in a remote session, to how the search defaults to Apps now, instead of Everything, to how they're pushing Metro after how useful the taskbar improvements were in 7 (jumplists)... users having to install programs like Start8 and Modernmix to get normal functionality out of the OS....

I have to say... I really really really hate Windows 8. And literally everyone I've seen try to use it as their business machine also hates it.

 

[althaz]

... there is a start button, bot no easy to access to shut down and restart button... no search in start... no easy app close for desktop's and laptop's with no touchscreens... it is still awful... and i work in retail... nobody sticks with windows 8, they downgrade or buy a computer without windows and get a copy of Windows7...

Access to shut down and restart is exactly the same in Win 8.1 as it is in Win7...Search in start is in Win 8 and is superior to Win7 or 8 search in Win 8.1 (it's awesome)...Metro apps can be closed with alt-F4 (same as before) or by clicking and dragging from the top of the screen (I agree it's stupid that they don't have an "x" to click to close them though, or at least I used to think that before I got used to it)...hardly anybody has ever downgraded form Win8 to Win7 (WAY more upgrades than downgrades) and Win8 is the third most popular operating system of all time (behind Win7 and XP).

You can argue that it's not a compelling upgrade for desktop and laptop users (I wouldn't agree, but could absolutely see your point), but there's actually no argument to be made for Win8 being worse than Win7. Not worth the upgrade price != worse. It means you shouldn't buy it (although I would argue that Win 8.1 especially is easily worth the upgrade from Win7).

You listing a bunch of things that aren't even partially true just shows how uninformed (and therefore worthless) your opinions are.

 

[ananke]

1. I don't need to learn something new in order to do exactly the same things I have done before. I value my time.
2. I don't like to pay for something that forces me to learn how to use it so I can do the same things that I've done with the older, already paid for, software
3. It is pointless to "innovate" just for the sake of innovation AND to expect to sell it. There were no demand or expectations of Win 7 users of something "revolutionary" new .
This thing the way it is implemented is tolerable for home use - not appealing to purchase it, but usable. I have 5 machines at home with W8, because it cost me $10-15 each. There are things, like the Photo gallery that are behaving annoyingly though, and the majority of the apps are absolutely uselessly irritating. Actually, I would live without the apps completely comfortably.

4. W8 metro GUI is absolutely NOT applicable in business environment. It slows productivity, and productivity means money. NO business will decrease profits because of lost productivity.

So far, Microsoft tought me that I shall buy Android tablets and MacBook laptops, and to seek a way to use Linux for desktops whenever possible.

 

[vern72]

I love all the Microsoft employee replies, brilliant stuff.
Windows 95: all new and changed, but riddled with bugs and problems.
Windows 98: fixed the above and a good OS.
Windows XP: the only example of getting it right first time (SP2+ mainly)
Windows Vista: once again new big changes, and it was terrible and bug riddled and had a plethora of issues.
Windows 7: fixed the above.
Windows 8: again, new and changed, and again riddled with problems and 'features' that only piss people off.

They got Windows XP right the first time? You forgot about Windows ME just before it.

 

[10tacle]

Meanwhile I continue to buy OEM copies of Win7 for my builds and will use that OS for many years to come unless MS returns us to a DESKTOP interface.

 

[10tacle]

Most of the PS3 sales weren't even for the games. People bought it to be a Blu-Ray player that could also game. Families buy these things more than gamers do anymore, so you aren't the voice that drives the market. Get used to it.

1) Bullsht on the PS3 claim. MOST were purchased as gaming systems BY gamers. SOME were purchased in place of Blu-Ray, because unlike the Xbox, the PS3 also was/is media center focused. Game sales back that up.

2) Fine. If MS wants to that route and shove tablet-style OS's at us in the future, then good riddance and hello Linux. I've already got one backup PC running it. We power users and gamers can live without MS if forced to do so. Let MS enjoy the ignorant dumb mAsses when it comes to get. A fool and their money....

 

[cobra5000]

Great, three clicks for Win 8 shut down? Two clicks for Win 7. What its wrong with this picture? I am glad to have the start button back but it should be full functioning. Oh well, baby steps..