News - Windows 8.1 Update 1 to arrive on 11th March?

[HEXUS]

Also prolific Windows leaker 'WZor' has lots of screenshots for you.

Read more.

[TheAnimus]

Power Button on the Metro Start Screen. Good for mouse, pointless for touch. Afterall touch devices and laptops have power buttons, or simply close screen.

[Saracen]

Are any of these additions particularly welcome to HEXUS readers?

Probably, but the attitude of this Hexen won't surprise anyone that knows my opinion of Win8.

But for the record, here it is ....

Does it give me my Start button and functionality back? Does it let me turn Metro off completely? Then no, it's not welcome. But it's also pretty irrelevant to me, now. It may well be small improvements for those using Win 8.1 and in that sense it's welcome.

So for me, short of a dramatic about-face by MS, which I don't expect, anything they do with Win8 is neither welcome nor unwelcome, merely irrelevant. And for me, even that about-face would probably be too late.

[Noxvayl]

They are slowly making the desktop more useful. I think it is too late to save the lacklustre sales of Windows 8 but is good for those using it on non-touch screen computers. If these features were present when Windows 8 launched then I would of bought Windows 8. It is sad that Microsoft has to learn the hard way, I don't know how they thought the lack of these options would be beneficial on a desktop computer.

I'm still waiting for them to remove that horrible charms bar and settings, I'd like to be able to change my user account password from control panel rather than using the separated PC settings in the charms bar. It is ridiculous that an Operating System would have two separate area's where settings are collected, especially when one area has been the core of Windows systems for decades and suddenly loses some functionality.

[crossy]

Power Button on the Metro Start Screen. Good for mouse, pointless for touch. After all touch devices and laptops have power buttons, or simply close screen.

Disagree. First off there's a LOT of non-touch devices out there. Secondly there's a lot of folks (call us "old school" if you want) who don't like to mash the power button to do an OS shutdown and prefer an explicit OS shutdown.

And I don't know about your laptop, but the Windows8 lappie here, if you just close the screen it puts it into hibernate, not shutdown.

The laborious path to shutdown was one of my annoyances about MUI - at least until some kind Hexus'er pointed out the Windows-I shortcut. Windows 9 is looking more and more appealing at this rate...

[Dooms]

Still very much enjoying my 8.1 experience after setting it to boot/minimize to desktop and installing classic shell to give me back my start menu & keyboard start button.

Basically windows 7 but its snappier

[MrJim]

Yup, just another exercise in turd-polishing by Microsoft...

[TheAnimus]

Disagree. First off there's a LOT of non-touch devices out there. Secondly there's a lot of folks (call us "old school" if you want) who don't like to mash the power button to do an OS shutdown and prefer an explicit OS shutdown.

sorry but you have to "mash" a power button, but clicking a mouse is easier!

That must be why I'm using my mouse and an onscreen keyboard to write this response rather than my mechanical keyboard......

And I don't know about your laptop, but the Windows8 lappie here, if you just close the screen it puts it into hibernate, not shutdown.

Why would I want to shutdown when it hibernates?

The laborious path to shutdown was one of my annoyances about MUI - at least until some kind Hexus'er pointed out the Windows-I shortcut. Windows 9 is looking more and more appealing at this rate...

Can also just right click on the start icon.

My point anyway was more about the problem of creating a one size fits all OS, for a touch user, I would say having this is actually a 'bad' thing. Take my surface, I've got the touch cover, which will switch it off and on, I've got the mechanical button. Why do I need more on screen.

I think it is defiantly a good idea for mouse users.

[simonpreston]

Is anyone else getting just a tad confused by Microsoft's update naming system?

They seem to have done away with the service pack system, but 8.1 is basically 8 SP1 in all but name. Why is this not 8.2? 8.1 update 1 is just odd.

[Saracen]

I guess they're trying to say it's minor tweaks and bug-fixes to 8.1, with minimal changes to features.

[crossy]

That must be why I'm using my mouse and an onscreen keyboard to write this response rather than my mechanical keyboard......

Greasy finger prints all over the screen - yuk. Bane of my life with my tablets - cleaning them darned things off. (Slightly damp microfibre cloth seems to work well for me).

Why would I want to shutdown when it hibernates?

Some apps don't work properly with hibernation. Plus hibernate != shutdown.

Can also just right click on the start icon.

That being the new Start icon? Didn't know that, will have to give that a go - thanks!

My point anyway was more about the problem of creating a one size fits all OS, for a touch user, I would say having this is actually a 'bad' thing. Take my surface, I've got the touch cover, which will switch it off and on, I've got the mechanical button. Why do I need more on screen. I think it is defiantly a good idea for mouse users.

Nice to see the "MUI not a one size fits all" argument from the other side - to this point the naysayers have all been from the "conventional" (mouse and keyboard) users.

Is anyone else getting just a tad confused by Microsoft's update naming system? They seem to have done away with the service pack system, but 8.1 is basically 8 SP1 in all but name. Why is this not 8.2? 8.1 update 1 is just odd.

It's maybe down to the scale of the update. SP1 is perhaps just a few (<30) closely related updates, whereas the ".1" release was something more extensive. Plus there's the marketing downside of having two point releases in the same year.

[Biscuit]

why the hell didnt they just call it windows 8.2.... arrrghhhhhh!

[Noli]

Agree - 8.2 would be easier for all!

I'm fine with MS making incremental improvements - shows they care. I'd rather they make incremental changes correctly than big sets of changes badly.

In the early days there were many huge changes with Android but there was so much to do back then. From ICS to Kit Kat 4.2.2 (or whatever) now the changes have been so minor and yet the technorati rave about each small advance.

Now MS are doing the same thing, I think people should cut them some slack and be happy about progress. Hell I'm still on Win 7 so what would I know.

[kudos1uk]

8.1 mucked up my wifi when I upgraded so I just hope this might hep my situation.

[anselhelm]

Are any of these additions particularly welcome to HEXUS readers?

Probably, but the attitude of this Hexen won't surprise anyone that knows my opinion of Win8.

But for the record, here it is ....

Does it give me my Start button and functionality back? Does it let me turn Metro off completely? Then no, it's not welcome. But it's also pretty irrelevant to me, now. It may well be small improvements for those using Win 8.1 and in that sense it's welcome.

So for me, short of a dramatic about-face by MS, which I don't expect, anything they do with Win8 is neither welcome nor unwelcome, merely irrelevant. And for me, even that about-face would probably be too late.

*claps and cheers*

Waiting to see if Windows 9 adopts some sense in this regard.

[TheAnimus]

why the hell didnt they just call it windows 8.2.... arrrghhhhhh!

Because it isn't such a significant release.

This is just 8.1.1, but thanks to marketing types, 8.1 is afterall just 6.3.96

So yeah, in marketing lingo this would be just 8.1.1.