Windows 8.1 Rolling Out Worldwide

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Aaron Briggs

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May 13, 2013
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It does make windows 8 better, honestly windows 8 isn't as bad as people make it out to be. Its faster, manages resources a lot better, and offers a lot of enhancements in the file system that really makes the OS solid. It runs a lot better on older machines, it revived our old machines at work quite a bit better then windows 7 does. We have been testing 8.1 for awhile now and it brings a lot of great changes especially for free but frankly i think 8.1 should of been what 8 was but at leased they are not charging for the update.
 

monsta

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I agree, I do like Windows 8 myself and it is quite quick, I didn't download the preview so I'm looking forward to this update. Good to see MS is taking feedback and has made a few changes.
 

belardo

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I remember when I ran windows 8 on my wife's think pad. (She is a computer novice). I fixed it when I murdered windows and installed LinuxMint. Boots up just as fast... rock solid and neither she or myself have problems using it. Other than a few pc games of course... but no biggie, the PS4 will take care of our gaming needs.
 

r3dl1n3

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@belardo.. Congratulations for the first TROLL post of many more to come.. If you hate windows and are so happy with Linux.. why are you reading or posting.. Just move along and play with your hobby OS.. maybe one day it'll be popular enough to run with the big boy's. Until that day.. enjoy your .01% market share.. the funny thing is there are more people using windows RT then Linux mint.. LOL..
 

ohim

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8.1 does things to Windows Explorer that i totally hate... why the hell did they touch that ?

I don`t mind the Start screen, say what you want all the Win8 haters out there, but the Win8 start screen is better than Start Button with columns, it just takes a bit to get used to it, but the rest of the metro apps... totally useless, MS tried to do that to bring App Store to Windows and bring more revenue but it doesn`t happen.
 

marck1001

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I am using the MSDN full 8.1 version for 2 weeks now. Awesome improvements. Start button for me still makes absolutely no sense at all. I mean, we already had the same thing before, but with no Start button, we just need to mouse over the left lower corner and we would have the same effect. I had hopes that the resurrected start button had more options rather than just going to the start screen.

Finding new applications is still confusing. Yeah you can go to the All Apps section, but finding the new app you just installed is not intuitive. To avoid that I just type the name of the new app, way better, but for my wife for example, she's used to go through the start menu and find stuff, she's sooooooooo confused.

Booting directly to desktop makes lots of sense for the Enterprise environment. I really don't mind booting to the start screen. I even kind of like it.
 

marck1001

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About Mint linux? WTF is that?? Why the heck are you bunch of morons bringing that to a Windows 8.1 conversation. Since you brought that up, why do ppl need another linux flavor with so many unsuccessful linux entries in the consumer market? (eat your own poison).
 

SteelCity1981

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meanwhile i'll be sticking with Windows 7 just fine. Wake me up when they came out with a Windows that has an actual start menu, a way to totally disable metro and an enable aero glass option. until then I could care less. Oh BTW toms' hardware had a review on Windows 8 vs Windows 7 and it's neck and neck performance wise overall So no Aaron you can try to stop selling Windows 8 as if you are to make Windows 7 look like Windows Vista compared to Windows 8.
 

Tremec

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SteelCity1981 just install Start8 or one of the many other apps and the start button is there and better than ever!
TBH Microsoft needs to make a full blown Start button option or make it standard when a touch screen is not detected - problem solved.
 
Tried auto-updates a few times since 00:00 PST but still can't get it here in the UK. I want to see how it reacts to a W8 system which already has a Start button and a menu.

I don't understand why they don't leave 8 alone for tablets and Windows phones and give everyone else a choice as whether to stick with 8 or move to 8.1.
 

auxo

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Oct 17, 2013
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I've used linux since 2000, starting from redhat and slackware and the wistful days of gnome 2.x, with archlinux my current disto, but I'm also forced to use windows 7 & 8 at work because we use an egregious number of active x plugins. I think Windows 8 is a GREAT operating system that's noticeably faster than win7 even for the average user (especially on a hdd), and aside from the lack of boot to desktop option I didn't even miss the start button after two weeks. The charm screen is simply another start menu expanded into tiles. People simply need an open mind and some time to adjust to the new win8 interface. Headstrong comp sci undergrads will hate Microsoft no matter what they come up with. It was tragic watching windows 8 get such a bashing on tech sites because it's really great for everyday end users who just want to get things done. Even if you're a power user like me, there's always win+r and the command prompt to get the messy things done. I just don't see a single advantage win7 has over win8 other than its backward familiarity of interface.

MS bashing/linux chauvinism reminds me every time of 1) the initial lukewarm reception online of the Samsung Note series and 2) Apple's condescending marketing strategy that forces useless technology on lay masses. Most people in tech are young and male. And that demographic often overlooks the fact that 50% of the world is female, that 90% simply want to get things done, and that a great many of us are not in our twenties anymore.

Anyone 30 and over will appreciate larger fonts and screens. My father switched to samsung note after peering overlong at his iphone 6" from his face for two years. I'm thinking of switching too for the simple reason the small text size is starting to give me headaches. And the retina display? Do people really need more pixels than 2560x1440@27" much less on a 10" screen unless they're into graphics? And while I do think iPhones are prettier than Samsung's offerings, as a woman with average sized hands I usually find myself typing on my iPhone with two hands so Job's one-hand argument doesn't apply to us. Not to mention most laptop reviews favor keyboards with plenty of tactile feedback and activation force (e.g., thinkpad keyboards). I much prefer chiclet layouts with very short key travel, due to less musculature in my hands and longer nails. And any laptop over 2.7-8lbs is simply out of the question for me.

In short and put harshly, I think many hardcore techies, especially the young fresh-out-of-college crowd are often tunnel visioned in their product opinions. I understand why it happens, but I often wish the needs of the rest of us were better represented in tech product reviews.
 

tomfreak

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The most useful in the update is the smallest tile size, With that, I can pin a lot more of my frequent use stuff on start screen. I dont need to have many shortcut icons on desktop anymore
 

back_by_demand

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Steelcity1981, in the time it took you to compose your moan about the lack of a Start Menu you could have downloaded ClassicShell (which works with 8.1) and configured it, but I guess moaning is more constructive.
 

back_by_demand

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Many people have been saying for years that if Windows can get viruses then why does Windows not ship with a virus checker built in, but certainly don't boycott using Windows or pour hatred all over them for that reason because there is a veritable theme park of free anti-virus options - same applies to the Start Menu today, so MS removed your favourite toy, the most it should have riled was a furrowed brow followed by "that's a bit annoying" then a Google search for "Start Menu Windows 8" and you will get loads of entries. For me some of the free ones are better than what MS could have done, for example ClassicShell also enhances your file browser with functions similar to Xplorer2, the Start Menu give 2 separate lists for normal programs but also Start Screen tile launchers - even if MS reversed themselves and gave your "vanilla" Windows 7 style Start Menu the 3rd party options are already better with more features
 

monsta

Splendid


Hey there you can't download it from Windows Update , you download it from the Windows Store on the Metro screen.
I'm downloading it now , its a very slow download and it keeps getting error messages....meh
 

noblerabbit

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I recently tried Win 8.0 for the first time with a new Asus Laptop, and while it is pretty, the touch is intuitive, but the OS itself! is completely and utterly useless as teets on a bull. I find myself having to go sideways like a cat in a mirror to get anything that is on the forefront of my mind. Perhaps governments and the like are trying their best to continue the trend of dumbing down society to keep the money machine well oiled.

If I want to do anything productive, I thankfully have my mainstream gaming desktop PC powered forever to be by Windows 7 pro, until Microsoft dictates their way to get that deactivated. If that was ever to happen, I'll just fireup AmigaOS thereafter.

I will give 8.1 a shot no doubt on my laptop, and i still have to figure out how to even customise that metro screen, as currently it's stock and barrel (with Mcafee and some other malwares uninstalled) so the laptop will continue to be served as a kitchen appliance for some time.

I work in IT distribution, and you want to know the truth? Windows 7 oem still outsells Windows 8 by a healthy ratio of 10,000:1 to a 300 million dollar nationwide revenue of professional IT VARS and integrators.

MS Windows 8 is a complete dictatorship fail by MS, but who cares, they have more money to waste and experiment with, than we can 3D-print.
 

InvalidError

Titan
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I had to try three times before Windows Store managed to connect to the server and then the download only went at ~100KB/s so I decided to pause it and try again some other time.

Does the Windows Store install offer to write a DVD of the install or a copy of its ISO/whatever file so I can burn it at some other time? If not, I should just find a torrent of the thing's ISO.
 
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