Windows 8.1

Hey all,

I'm at the Microsoft TechEd 2013 convention this week and Microsoft announced that Windows 8.1 will be a free upgrade for Windows 8 users.

 

I think they need to make a version of windows 8 without the metro screen and make one with the metro just for tablets. At least they are giving users back the start menu button, that was a stupid move on their part.

 

I will avoid the pointedly sarcastic comments questioning the notion of calling Windows 8 any kind of an upgrade and just stick with - 'I have not used it on any system equipped with a touchscreen so maybe it actually is workable that way.'
Windows 8 is actually 'decent enough' once you strip away the hideous metro interface and bring the older windows look with a functioning start button. Personally I am upgrading to Win 7 64 bit on the desktop at some point so I can use a proper amount of RAM, and then calling it good.
--- merged: Jun 4, 2013 at 2:23 PM ---

I had to find one of the free options out there to bring the start button back when I helped a friend out with a new laptop. That metro thing looked like the xbox interface, and that was an instant "hell no" for me. Never have owned anything more advanced in the gaming system world than a Nintendo Wii, and have spent maybe five minutes total using any kind of xbox or playstation in the past 13 years.

 

Every time I try to shut my laptop down I feel like a baby trying to find thumb

 

Ralphie, I can help you out with a few things. Shortcuts help a lot with Win8, let me see if I can dig up that page with all the shortcuts on it. Also, do you want the metro screen to go away and get a start menu button back again?

 

I'd appreciate that, myself, Lordeden, if you don't mind.

 

-takes off Linux hat-

I dunno, man. I'm still not sold on Windows 8. The new interface is still a clusterbomb to get used to and, in my opinion, still has no place on a desktop system. It's absolutely fantastic for phones and for tablets, and possibly even for some desktop/laptop systems with touchscreens, but for 'normal' desktop and laptop systems, it just feels out of place.

And, from what I understand, that Start button that they're bringing back is just a button that takes you back to the new Start screen. It's a band-aid.

I've also heard horror stories that Windows 8 is horrid to administrate. The amount of training that has to go into each new user sometimes might cost more in labor than it would cost to just downgrade most/all of the Win8 workstations back to Windows 7.

Personally, I have a Windows 7 partition on my laptop for music recording and I have a barebones Windows XP VM that I use for Netflix when I don't feel like rebooting, but other than that, I just... I don't know what Microsoft was thinking.

Also, think about this... That 'modern UI' interface? It's in use on Windows Server 2012. They're using an interface designed for tablets, on SERVERS. That just... boggles my mind.

Anyways. Sorry for the rant. I just am not a big fan of Windows 8. I'll stick with Windows 7 for now.

-puts on Linux hat-

 

I would pick the Unity desktop from Ubuntu every time over the horrible looking default Xbox thing, and do enjoy it when I boot into linux. I cannot speak for the touchscreen experience obviously but personally my interest in buying any type of touchscreen right now is less than zero. I felt like windows 8 was trying to hold my hand with the metro thing and walk me through everything when all I had to say to that look was "get the f**k away and let me work".

 

An app named Classic Shell brings back your start button and gives you a highly configurable selection of XP, Vista or Win7 start menus. Boot up takes you straight to the desktop and sleep/shutdown options are on the start menu where they should be. I recently tried 8.1 preview and its not ready for the average user. Hell, I consider myself an advanced user and it definitely wasn't ready for me! Overall, the 8.1 preview experience (and data loss) was enough to get me out of the beta/preview game forever (maybe).

 

Classic shell is the only way I would touch Win 8, with the possible exception of a good touchscreen which I have never used for any version of Windows and thus cannot comment on. I understand that win 8 is optimised for that type of interaction but the default UI is so god awful it looks like a drunk chimpanzee designed it after taking a bet to make the worst look possible.

 

Windows 8 is great on a touch screen. The metro component of the OS is jarringly different than the traditional desktop component, but it works well with the touchin' and the swypin'. In some ways, it's loads better than Windows 7, though that "betterness" is conditional on having a touch screen. I haven't messed with 8.1 at all, because I'm too busy to fuck around with "preview" versions of Windows.

 

I agree Bodkin regarding the Wins 8 touch screen. I just have to keep reminding myself my aMac is NOT a touch screen, like my laptop, when i'm using Wins 8 on my aMac desktop

There's only one Wins 8 thing that, after 2-3months use, still annoys the hell out of me and that's accessing the updates. Having to go to Settings, then to Change PC Settings, and then Wins Update is one too many screens - the updates should be a second option, not the fourth, in the Settings options.

Otherwise I love Wins 8 so not even interested in Wins 8.1.

 

Have y'all been able to get Firefox and Adblock to work on Win 8?

 

I'm on Firefox Nightly running Adblock right now. Works well. I don't use the Metro version though.

 

Keeping in mind that I haven't used Windows 8 in months and months and months, but can't you just go to the Start screen and type "update" and Windows Update shows up in the list that appears?

 

nope, don't work
--- merged: Jul 14, 2013 at 1:31 AM ---

Adblock USED to work on my Firefox but recently when i installed Adblock, after reinstalling Firefox, Adblock doesn't work anymore

 

Thanks, Bodkin van Horn and Caustic Rebel.

I just downloaded Firefox Nightly and am configuring my settings, atm.
I'll see if I can get Adblock working later on.

Appreciate the info, guys.

 

No prob.