With all of the Windows 8.1 Update 1 screenshots that have been leaking onto the web over the past couple of weeks, it wasn’t long before we expected a copy of the actual operating system to show up for us to jump on. A pre-release build of the upcoming update from Microsoft entitled “9600.16596.WINBLUES14_GDR_LEAN.140114-0237”, has made its way onto the World Wide Web in the 64-bit architecture flavor.
The first update to Windows 8.1, known simply as “Update 1”, is rumored to be due out March 11 according to Microsoft journalist, Mary Jo Foley. The first collection of operating system tweaks contained in the update are said to include improvements for consumers using a mouse and keyboard. More major tweaks are also being included that will bring the newer Windows 8 app ecosystem and older legacy desktop environment closer together.
In terms of ease-of-use for mouse and keyboard users, we can now expect contextual menus to appear when right clicking Windows 8 live tiles. The new menus will allow easy control of common tile management functions including unpinning the tile from the Start screen, uninstalling the app itself from the system, running the app with administrator permissions, resizing the tile itself, and pinning the app to the desktop’s taskbar for more convenient access.
Those of you using a mouse and keyboard will also welcome the added addition of new minimize and close buttons to Windows 8 apps – those of you using a touchscreen won’t see them, but mouse and keyboard users will have them as an available alternative to dragging their apps down off of the screen to close them.
Other improvements arriving in Windows 8.1’s Update 1 are expected to include, as we stated above, the ability to pin your favorite Windows 8 apps to your desktop’s taskbar for quick access, along with new Search and Power Management controls on the Start Screen. No longer, must you access the charms bar to perform common functions with your machine – they are all in the upper right hand corner near your username.
Rumors also indicate Update 1 being able to resize the total footprint of the Windows 8 operating system. As with all rumors and leaks, not all is true and much can be changed before final release. We do not recommend searching out the leaked piece of software and installing it, as there is no telling how stable it might be – just leave that job to us and wait for the official release this spring.
Reader comments
Windows 8.1 Update 1 leaks onto the web - confirms much of what we suspected
Does anyone know if the Base Search app gets fixed and lets you also search in apps?
" resize the total footprint of the Windows 8 operating system. " <-- That's important to my tablet...which only has 32GB SSD.
Why is that so many of the tech sites assume "those of you with a mouse and keyboard" are having any trouble at all with Windows 8? I haven't had a single problem. I can move as fast as anyone using a touch screen. I'm so tired of all the lameness going on about Windows 8.
I totally agree with this. I have W8.1 on two desktops (one with two monitors that includes a touch screen), and a laptop. While some of the movements can be challenging on the touch pad, I have had absolutely no issues on the desktops. I'm also less then thrilled with some of the changes they made in 8.1 and appear to be making in update 1. I liked how tiles were installed on my start screen in W8 and I could then remove them. But with 8.1 they stopped that. You then had to go in and find the programs and add them to the start menu. But I loved the Charms, and the context menu on the start button. It seems like they take two steps forward and one step back. I also have concerns with APs showing up in the task bar. I'd rather see the task bar go away and all apps and programs show up with a swipe from the left. That way, we have more space on the desktop. And I don't really like the X and _ buttons on an AP. A well designed ap doesn't need them. It's also not an issue if you know how to actually close the ap, by like swipping down from the top and hold at the bottom until the thumbnail flips. The further they go from the original language the less I like the OS. Like someone else said earlier, I might just skip this update also.
"resizing the total footprint on the OS". Does that refer to the CPU usage, RAM it takes to run I assume?? Because it does make my computer beathe more than it should :/
Anyone know where these ISOs can be gotten hold of? NOT cracked versions, though - I don't mind too much if it isn't activated, I just want to play un a VM lol
It seems some of the changes are backtracking on W8s fundamental design elements, like the charms, dragging to close, etc. I've never had a problem using W8 with a mouse, so I really don't know what all the complaining is about. Also, you can close a Metro app with the keyboard in 8.1, Windows Key + Down Arrow.
MS shouldnt need to pay oems to make windows phone hardware,,, ms should make it free for all hardware maker.,,,people buy Android as their default choice,,fir clever people they buy windows phone,,,
How many of the products your company makes, that they spend billions of dollars developing, do they sell for free? Android is only free because Google is an advertising firm that uses technology to gather data. Android is simply a data gathering mechanism for Google, that then sells your data. You are paying for Android, just indirectly.
Video please!
See Denis Padua's post above.
Minimize & close. Exactly what i wanted. Plus pin metro to taskbar is cool. Not only that the taskbar is visible even in full metro opened so we can quickly switch to another app.
Being somebody who uses Windows 8.1 on a non-touch device as well,I seriously hope the menus and the window borders get some kind of tweaking before the final release,just doesn`t really fit in with the general windows 8 experience,the modern UI.Microsoft seems to be trying too hard to give a single user experience across the OS and i for one don`t like the way they seem to be going though it might solve ,to an extent,the aforementioned problem.
Starting to wonder if i should have waited till windows 9 in the first place :[
Nope. This way windows 9 won't be so complicated to learn.
How long will windows phone 8 users receive updates?.. Will it stop after a short time?
Who knows
Please someone find a way to disable the context menu. Been using this and it sucks in every single way. Probably the worst Update since Windows 8 arrived in 2012. The only thing I welcome is the IE update.
Then use 7
As long as the dumbing down of the UI is optional and I will not end up with horrible right click context menus on my start screen fine. I am afraid however that just like with Xbox One MSFT will cave in to try and silence the moaning minority which is causing more harm than they should be.
Agree!
Its good that Microsoft is actually listening to customers and making appropriate changes, unlike apple that launched a faulty device and argued back saying"you are holding it wrong"
Amen!
Appropriate for whom? I don't like these changes. Been using W8 since beta. No problems using it with a keyboard. It's faster with a keyboard actually.
I sure hope those right click start screen menus end getting the Metro stylings rather than keep the Win32 stylings. Ugly!
Yeah
I really like the new feature to have metro apps in the taskbar. Now it can be minimized and opened from the taskbar.
For the first time not feeling like doing an update. I see and hear no worthwhile improvements for my surfac pro. That will be annoying if there are general system improvements integrated with this update.
Why would you not do a free update?
Hi Nik,
Thanks for your question.
Because I have the impression microsoft grades succes by also measuring volume, in this cae download volume of an update. By not downloading I'm hoping to prove a point that update one is not ready. As a microsoft customer owning a surface pro and loviing productivity on a touch device, update 1 is an illogical experience and doesnt, in my experience adress issues regarding problems with 8.1. Even so 8.1 is in some regards a step down in a productive experience. A clear example is the degrading of universal search in winodws 8 to an odd bing search with app contextual search hidden at the bottom of a drop down menu list in the charms search. What's up with that? Plainly awful. I would even argue that the universal search in windows 8.0 was even closer to the trusted and familiar windows 7 search. I do not know what to call the current search, but it hasn't improved my expiernce.
Simply the current updates, in my experience, is cleary for the mouse and keyboard use. The only feature I would find useful is the power button on my surface pro. But I would argue to put it in the charms bar. One, beacuse of startscreen clutter, and two because of accidental pressing onscreen in plain view on the startscreen. There is enough spacing in the charms bar above the search button or below the settings button to put it there. Unless search in update 1 will open a textbox at the top of the smartscreen, if it opens the search of the charms bar, it is no better than just a mouse over function to the right side of the screen to open the charmsbar and then hitting search. Then, if the textbox on the startscreen does appear, I would advocate for it to be at the bottom. They also did this for internet explorer for the modern UI from 8.0 to 8.1. I like the minimalistic look of the startscreen. So get rid of the search button, I say. More options are good, but I think its good to think if all options are necessary if there already quick and easy options avaialble, or at least offer the option to select/deselect them.
What I'm still missing in update one is a seperate settingsbutton for bluetooth in the charms bar. WiFi already has it, but for bluetooth one has to dig deep in the settingsmenu. I would also have liked to see more live tile size options. Why, for example is there a horizontal and huge square live tile, but no vertical rectangle or Huge rectangle live tile? And why can I still not share pictures to facebook within the Photos app, skydrive app or peoples hub or other social media or selected apps from the share charm????
Nick Rolls must be hitting himself right now ..
Absolutely agree that the universal search in Win8 being way better than the current implementation.I really miss it.The second,well,i suppose in trying to keep things uncluttered,there is a level of accessibility that shouldn`t be sacrificed,and hiding the power button isn`t a nice idea IMO.
If you miss the search from Windows 8 then just disable Bing search in your settings and voila!
Turned it off in pc settings. Still don't see a difference. Am I forgetting something?
+1
>Being able to resize the footprint of the OS.
This interests me quite a bit. Will it use even less RAM now, or are we talking harddrive space taken up? Anyway... I've gotten used to everything else with Win8, and I really don't care what the future brings. I thought 8 was going to be a slog up hill in the snow, but it proved to be far more user friendly than the media made it out to be.
I'll be looking forward to everything that MS can do to unify the Metro and Desktop UIs. Maybe one day they'll be one and the same.
I'm having problem with memory leakage, if I do stuff on my pc for like 1-3 hours my memory keeps filling up untill it's at max and then the pc starts slowing down dramatically, it's so annoying because I can't find the solution :(
I have 8gb
Memory leaks are more often due to an issue with an application installed than the OS. My Windows 8 laptop is on 24\7 for work and don't experience any memory leak issues or slow downs.
That's an application issue. What applications, including browsers, are you using?
I have chrome, steam, origins, spotify, skype, vlc, wmplayer, avast!, daemon tools (never actually used that), utorrent... and probably way more stuff...
Most likely disk space, ie maximum space taken up by temporary files and swap base (disk-based RAM).
I personally feel like they will merge at some point. Probably in the opposite form to what you're seeing in this update though, with traditional desktop apps getting new touch-friendly UIs and becoming full-screen memory-managed apps.
It will be a long time before the desktop loses its usefulness, but it will be outgrown one day as people find newer and better input methods.
Taskbar in metro apps is awesome and how I always imagined it should be. I wish there is a way to make it always visible. One-tap app switching would be amazing.
-_-
"Rumors also indicate Update 1 being able to resize the total footprint of the Windows 8 operating system."
so it feels faster?
OT: what do you think NOKIA will do with WP8.1?... I mean like it has done with BLACK, AMBER.. All we know that MS will bring notification center, volume separate etc etc.. But someone has never thinked about what NOKIA will bring to consumers? For me it'll be a HUGE update for Lumia's owners! :)
By that time Nokia will under MS control.
Nokia has already brought separate volume controls to Lumia. On my 928 I have separate volumes for the phone ringer, media playback, and Bluetooth. It's been there from the beginning.
Are people really complaining that the new layout is too hard? I really want to know of that truly is what the masses complain about, or if they are just complaining that windows 7 looked better and they hate the idea of the app store. And no, the the two complaints are not the same in any way.
People are complaining simply because it's different and it's Microsoft. No other reason. People like the admin assistants at my company, whose primary job is to manage an execs calendar and email using Outlook, have been in the job for years, and still have no idea how to use Outlook. One of them still uses pencil and paper. Those are the idiots Microsoft is trying to appease. Bad move I think.
Doesn't seem fair to call then idiots. Maybe they just prefer the other layouts better.. When windows 8 came out, I was adamant about staying at 7. I didn't like that my program names changed.. I couldn't find anything at first either. I still use 7, but I have 8 here too. I still prefer 7, but I'll admit that 8 is kinda fun. I still prefer my classic desktop too, obviously. It is just familiar and faster since I've spent years managing myself around there.
Windows 8.1 in Windows phones will bring Multi touch functionality in start screen or in other apps?
*autumn
They better apply this update in windows rt too. It would make desktop mode and multitasking way better
Being someone who has used a Windows Tablet PC since 2002 I can assure you that both a my Tablet and my desktop, with three 22" screen, have their usefulness. It just depends what you are doing... Which, I would add is quite obvious.
The 'desktop dullards' are the people who make your metro apps in the first place. Never forget that.
"all the dullards can have their desktops while they last". Hardcore gamers that overclock their processors and such NEED the desktops so they can add liquid cooling etc to stop their PCs from melting. Not all desktop users are dullards. While I don't overclock, I am one of those that needs the versatility of a desktop, so that I can run powerful specs so my games don't run like trash. Good luck getting 60fps on ultra settings on GW2 on ANY tablet on the market.
*cough* Razor Edge *cough*. But I know what you're saying. I am one of those overclock people, and I couldn't imagine using full metro for everything I do.
Well said Potter.
EXACTLY
- a PC gamer
The desktop isn't going away, although it may change form a bit. I don't understand people hanging on to "desktop" vs "tablet". Just because Apple made the giant iPod touch, with its dumbed down OS, the standard for tablets, doesn't mean that's what the rest of us want. I want one device to rule them all. Enter the Surface line of products. I don't care if it's in "desktop" or "tablet" mode, so long as my applications allow me to do the things I need to do.
Indeed, those dullards are all developers that use Visual Studio to build Win8 and WP apps. Without that, you would not have anything running on Windows or Phone. The day Visual Studio moves out of the desktop, is the day the desktop can disappear, more or less.
See the minimizes button and search?
Surface 2 with keyboard? Will it work
Just hoping for the desktop to be updated to match the look of modern apps then it will really mesh the two environments together well.
Yes, that would be quite nice. It's not far away, but there are still too many Aero touches. I'd love to see a full new metro icon set.
Only if, its an optional theme. I liked the aero look of Win7 and I don't really like how they scaled it down in Win8.
The look and feel of the Desktop (ie themes) should always be up to the users to change and customize how they want, it would be a mistake for MS to enforce a certain look on everyone.
Been using Windows 8 since it came out on both desktop and tablets and you know, on the desktop I don't even think about what I do anymore. I am just as efficient using mouse & keyboard on 8 as I was on 7. The laziness of people and the complaining just to complain is nauseating.
Don't get me wrong, a couple items here are nice to haves, like right-click on Tiles, but damn it, MS better give the user choice at first start up which environment they want to start with upon reboot after update. Personally, I'm staying with the Metro as my first layer.
So true. New OS, spend a couple of hours figuring out the new to do things. But the masses complain that's too hard.
A few hours? I'd argue you can learn everything the average person needs to know in 5 minutes. Yet they still complain. "Rabble rabble rabble I can't find my applications..." "Ok, well, you can swipe in from the right and use the search charm. You can use Windows Key + S to search. Or yu can click the Windows Key, which will take you to the Start Screen and just start typing the name of the app." Which of those three options are too difficult for the average idiot to learn? Hell, most of the people I work with have no idea you can pin apps to the Task Bar in Windows 7.
Is is any surprise that the readers of a technology website go on about how people are lazy and its easy to learn. You need to remember the masses that use a pc, not everyone is as computer literate as you are.
All these feature may not please you but they will help mass acceptance by the general public so should be seen as a positive addition.
Ok, fine, I can buy that arguement, except I had my 70 old mother using W8 in aboout 20 minutes. This from the woman that uses the computer for mail and website viewing. She took the time to figure things out, with me showing her how to get to her programs. In fact, W8 made it even easier for her, since I could pin only the progrms she needed and wanted on her start menu. She no longer had to sort through the start menu with all her programs that she hardly used, or look for a tiny icon on the desktop. Win Win for me since I didn't have to clean up her computer as often.
Well my fairly tech aware girlfriend (27 year old) switches between my Windows 8 laptop and her Windows 7 one and can't stand using mine. She hasn't spent a lot of time to try and learn to use it but she (like most people) expects to be able to just turn on a PC and browse the internet without any issues. Ideally people shouldn't need tuition to learn the new O/S, it should be self explanatory and easy.
The point is whilst spending the time to get to know it and learn the differences does make it quite a useable system (thats why i updated my laptop from Win7 to Win8), you can't get over the fact there is a significant learning curve and it will put a lot of people off. The updates in Win8.1 and what look to be coming in 8.1 update 1 will go a long way to make the lives easier of those who start using the system for the first time. This can only be a good thing.
There are significant learning curves to every OS, so that isn't really an excuse. Windows 8.1 gives you prompts when you first install the OS and there's a Help+Tips app on the Start Screen.
Well ... If we can move on that easily on the first iteration of Windows 8. I think we can also move on to this update easily, don't you think? Just get over with and realize that there are a lots ... and I mean very lots of people, who unlike us, very computer illiterate. And for them, rather than wasting time learning al those gestures, they prefer to use their precious time to do any useful think for them, like their core business or something. So ... Get over with it :)
The exact case with me.
to each their own....Sure a lot of things are fine on W8 but, some things pull away from what people expect for Windows... With a Keyboard and Mouse about that only things I like is right click on a tile (faster to change something) and the X to close a app, a little easier with a keyboard and Mouse...
It's not about being lasy, it's less steps...and will make a lot of people happy, MS needs that for Windows 8 as it's not being accepted as much as Microsoft wants...
Hope this new mouse keyboard stuff is optional and doesn't show up at all on my Surface tablet automatically.
It's context sensitive; if you're using a mouse then you get the mouse-friendly controls, otherwise you get the touch-friendly controls. you can already see touches of this on W8, for example right click on a taskbar icon vs long-press on it, you can see that the spacing is tweaked for touch input.
What about boot to desktop by default. On Surface the desktop is useless anyway, it's only there to run Office until the Modern UI version is out and to run IE in desktop mode.
I agree
Awesome! Hopefully the close button will ACTUALLY close the app, instead of leaving it in the background in a semi-tombstoned state (as currently happens on 8.1). I only discovered this yesterday that when I swipe an app down to close it, it's actually still running in my app list. I found out that I have to swipe down but hold it at the bottom for 3 seconds until the tile flips over, then release, and only then is it actually closed! I can understand their reasoning behind it (faster app reload), but there should be a setting to disable this behaviour if you don't want it... when I close an app I want it gone!
Unless you have like 2gb of memory on your device, closing an app now days is silly. Granted if you use an app only very infrequently, I can see closing it when done, but for the most part, they take up no memory and the availability of just swiping in or keying on the left to instantly bring it back is a great feature.
See, some people don't want the NSA monitoring your location when you leave Bing maps open...
Wow, really? The NSA? This is the stupidity of people online now days. If you are worried about the NSA, then why are you posting here?
Not stupid and not joking. If you are really worried about NSA do you readlly think shutting down an app is going to change anything? If that is the case, then you really need to go offline because an app running or not isn't going to change anything.
The comment about NSA monitoring when you leave Bing maps open was just absurd.
Yep, especially considereng they are suspended in the background and their state is saved on the disk drive rather than in RAM.
The reason I even noticed the issue is because there are a few casual games that I have been playing on and off, "Star Wars: Tiny Death Star" and "2020: My Country". Both of these, especially Tiny Death Star, complete building things and accrue coins by selling your products while you're away. So I would play them for a few minutes, close the app by swiping it off the screen, then go about my day (leaving my computer on, or sometimes hibernating, never shutting down). I would come back many hours later, launch the game again and was surprised that it was there immediately (no splash screen)... but I was annoyed that the game hadn't progressed (things not built, items not restocked) and I'd accrued no coins (items not sold) at all while I was away, which is very odd as it used to. Sometimes the game would crash soon after and I would only get the coins once it reloaded, but sometimes I wouldn't get them at all. It was only when I was looking in Task Manager that I noticed the app, and many others, were still in there. After I close the apps fully or kill them in the app list, they now load properly, give me the accrued coins and complete building things as expected.
I realise this is a minor issue and only affects these type of games, but it's a little "gotcha" between 8 and 8.1 where swiping it down used to close it but now it just keeps it suspended in the background. I now know how to get around the issue, but I'm hoping that the new close button will actually close and not do a suspended-state close.
I`ve found that on many occasions ,this "tombstoning" actually interferes with the live tile update mechanism so that the live tiles of those recently used applications simply refuse to update.Actually never knew of this until i found out i had to launch that app again and close it this way or press ALT+F4,then the live tiles would update again.
That's interesting... I'll have to keep an eye out for it! Although at the moment I'm fully closing all of my apps ;)
I guess this is one of those things some people hate, some like, and most don't even know Microsoft changed.
The bottom line is if users disagree on the usefulness of this feature it should be a damn option and not a mandatory behaviour.
Agreed.
Actually, I do. I won't explain it to someone as idiotic as you.
I think you do need to explain, because we may be able to alay your concerns with technical details about how backgroud app suspension works.
I've answered above. Herbertsnow is just a rude prick.
Well... He is not the only person who is going to read your comment. There are many not so tech savvy users, like me, who would also like to know the reasoning behind your comment.
So why don't you explain it to someone(like one from thousands who visit the WPCentral comment section)?
See my comment above...
If you are worried about the NSA, you shouldn't be running Windows, or Windows Phone. I don't know how NSA resistant is Blackberry 10, and I think the Jolla phone is quite immune to NSA (unless you use navigation or Android apps). Android, iPhone and Windows Phone are backdoored to death, AFAIK, and so is Windows.
A hardened Linux distro with no proprietary drivers is your only choice if you really want to escape. If you don't want to go there, then ignore the spying and enjoy your Windows
Way to spread the FUD ... /s
By going your way of thinking, if we care about NSA spying, we should not use any product/services from Microsoft, Google, Apple, BlackBerry(we are not sure and thus better safe than sorry right?), any closed source software or application, applications that are written in a programming language that you know(how can you trust others? They might get incentive for being silent about NSA right?).
That pretty much make me scared of using even a calculator buddy.
That's right.
We don't need to be wishy-washy about it; or we put our tinfoil hat, or we don't. If we use our tinfoil hat, then that's the standard: every closed source app is suspicious. If we don't (and that's why we are here on WPCentral), then being spied upon is a fact of life.
That doesn't exclude political action to avoid being spied upon, that's an entirely different matter.
If you have nothing to hide then who cares, do you really think the NSA would be interested in the apps you've installed or your holiday photos!!
"when I close an app I want it gone"
Thank you, I was hoping someone else found this agravating too; this is the single most annoying thing about Win8.1
I like to manage what runs in the background closely, and it is just plain stupid that swiping down no longer fully closes apps.
I didn't realise this. Explains why my T100 is glitchy when I've opened (and then 'closed') a dozen or so apps.
Stupid decision by MS in my opinion.
I still love the OS though...
Huh? Swiping down closes the application and swiping down and holding restarts it.
Are you on 8.1? Holding it down will make the tile flip over and the app will fully close
You do realize that when you pull the ap down and hold it to close, the thumbnail will flip over telling you the ap is actually closed right? Not that it matters on a desktop or lap top since the sleep mode of an ap takes up pratically no resources anyway.
That's exactly what I said... swipe down, hold for 3 seconds until it flips over. There's reasons to want to close an app permantly as I've said previously, and others have indicated there are issues with the live-tile updating
Or you can just use Windows Key + Down Arrow to close it.
That just suspends it and doesn't close it properly. Even if you hold the down arrow it doesn't do the same thing as holding it with your mouse / finger.
Hmmm, reducing the entire OS's footprint sounds interesting... Especially on a 32GB Surface 2!
This year gonna be great. Can't wait for this one.
We're reaching the threshold!
Pun intended. :-)
Whats new after all,i don`t really see anything much except the power button i`d prefer being there.Other than that,on the whole,it seems to be just an attempt to solve the bifurcated UX problem.I`d rather be excited for WP 8.1
Does anyone know if this 8.1 update apply to RT as well? I'm curious if you can actually see the battery from the metro UI instead of accessing the desktop.
you can see the battery from Metro today, just bring up the Charms bar
Yes it will be for RT as well, but as Nathan said you can already see it by swiping in from the right and bringing up the Charms bar.
Using mouse and virtual keyboard, then you open search from charm bar. The virtual keyboard gone, genius. Hope it will improve.
Confused
How are you using mouse+touch? You have the tablet laying flat while looking at it or ? I sure hope you don't mean you use the mouse to click on the virtual keyboard?
Correct, using mouse on virtual keyboard.
^ U went full retard.
I believe you know terms bug. This one will render search box on charm bar useles when a person try to use it if he/she only has pointing device on non-touch device and/or render disability feature on Windows 8.1 useless.
On this article, Microsoft may know this bug and maybe attempting to resolve this issue because "update are said to include improvements for consumers using a mouse and keyboard".
Or if you just wanted to use generic flaming words, you are very helpful to community.
I'm sorry, you need to explain yourself more if you want us to understand, because we can't figure out what you're meaning. How does putting a search icon on the Start menu reduce usability for mouse/keyboard users?
No, search icon is fine. When you open virtual keyboard then you click search on charm bar, the virtual keyboard will be closed.
Not really, if i'm away from my keyboard and just need to quickly type a single word, like in Bing for example, then the onscreen keyboard is brilliant. Obviously noone would type long sentences or paragraphs with it!
But yeah if you wanted to do a quick search from the charms menu then you can't use the onscreen keyboard as it disappears when you click search
The search and power button change are stupid. It's so unnecessary. People need to get over it.
That sounds like a good slogan for the marketplace Microsoft is competing in. "Don't like it? Get over it." Microsoft is just doing what the majority of its consumers want, and that's pretty much the smartest thing do for a company like Microsoft. Microsoft wouldn't be the company it is now if it just ignored its customers.
Get over it? Why? I don't have any trouble finding the power off button, but the point of any software improvements is generally to improve the user experience (whether through accessibility, under the hood stuff, or UI improvements). They're working on accessibility here, and it's certainly more sensible to just hit a universally known power button on the start screen than it is to swipe using a charms bar.
We get it. We're all dumb and stupid and you're smart. If you've got nothing else to say than gloat on how your pretentious ideas are better than everyone, then I suggest you grab a chair and sit down. No one cares about your opinion.
Power options are nice when in metro using a mouse, but the search is unnecessary when you can just type.
The point is that there's nothing saying 'just type to search', so a lot of people don't know you can type or use the Windows + S shortcut. So a little icon there gives them a chance to learn.
UX experts call it Discoverability. Me too...
It does seem like they could save us all the drama and sort this stuff out with focus groups, etc. before launching. It seems like they are putting half-baked ideas out, and although some of us can get used to it, there are a lot of people for whom it is a bridge too far. If they're going to dial back the changes anyway, seems like they should just introduce them more slowly to begin with...
+1, could not agree more; it is really sad to see even college graduates not know how to use a PC besides opening IE and Word. I don't get how these PC illiterates can even get a job, unless the guy hiring them is just as dumb.
+2
But of course... A company does not need to care about what customers want. /S
Power button hidden under the chams bar was most stupid thing. The process which used to take only 2 clicks of mouse button was taking 4 clicks. I don't have any problem as I started using Alt+F4 but imagine the frustration of those who totally rely on mouse. MS has done good thing by listening to the consumers as they are the ones from whom MS is making money.
You can currently right-click on the start button and access the options via the menu that pops up there... I don't bother with the charms bar for anything anymore
Yeah but for me fingers on keyboard are quick than mouse. But average pc user don't know these things. They only want to have nice smooth user experience.
Not only did they hide them in the charm bar, but they hid the power options under Settings!
You're wrong. You can right click start, same number of clicks. Or, a simple search would allow you to create direct power off shortcuts right on your desktop...since I'm sure you also dislike the new start menu.
I don't really dislike Start Screen, I'm actually quite happy with W8 in general, especialy after 8.1 (which brought the shutdown -option to the power user menu, which AFAIK isn't visible to non-admin accounts). For the casual user, hiding shutdown -options was a pretty stupid move.
I agree.
I disagree, from the charm bar it takes exactly 2 clicks. Move pointer to the right edge, just hover there - no click. Click on power button (click 1), select shut down (click 2). On the w7 start menu you are looking at 3 clicks ( which the W8.1 re-introduced). I always felt the criticism MS got on W8 was blown way out of proportion. After 5 minutes of use, I figured out how to shut down my system, search for files, close an AP, place a shortcut on my start screen. I suspect that people just hate change even when it helps them.
I stand corrected, you have to hit settings on the charm bar, so that makes 3 clicks same as W7
choice of shutting down (turn off, sleep, restart) should be part of the settings button. The "turn off" button should have a sole purpose of shutting down without a contextual menu. Then its a two step proces, mouse over the right edge over the screen, charm menu pops up, press the shutdown key, hey presto,, done. In my experience this would be the prefered layout and handling.
I cannot agree more.
I always wondered why they couldn't add the sleep, shutdown and restart options to the menu you get when clicking the user tile on the start screen.
Ugh, I was so excited for a second when I got the notifcation... Thought it was about WP8.1...
I hate to say it, but I really don't care about Windows 8.1 Update 1. Currently, WP8.1 is what I'm drooling over...
You and 90% of the ppl on this site brotha.but nice that wpcentral still reports the news
This happened to me as well. While I appreciate the coverage, I've been craving for some screenshots or something from WP8.1
+1000
Winbeta made a video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dvxh4t9jGyE
Thanks! Good vid.
+1
good video. Again great indeed for mouse and keyboard users, but I sit watching crying as I envision my overall touch experience diminishing again with every update on my surface pro. See my comment further below.
Thanks
Cant wait
Sounds interesting
Does that update work on key management kms activated cracked system????
We can't comment on questions like these. Best to check out the source above - all I can say.
I just hope he's being a troll
seems like another windows 8.1 type jpdate where there is just too many changes and youll be unable to do an inplace update again...
I guess paying 30$ (or similar, was 30€ in Europe) to officially update was too much for you when they launched W8? I'm not judging, only asking :-)
Haha, I know right? It was $40 here in NZ (about $30-35 US) which is less than a good meal at your local restaurant. If you didn't own a legal copy of Windows 7 to upgrade from, it was $80 (around $70 USD) to buy a standalone copy, which is less than a tank of gas. And even with how difficult W8 is to 'activate' compared to previous versions, people still pirate it instead of buying a cheap legal copy.
AU$15 to upgrade my windows 7 laptop to windows 8
Yeah $15 for me too, to updrade my 2-year old *cough*cough* I mean 2 month old computer ;) Their 'upgrade checker' was laughable (perhaps intentionally), and meant everyone could get it for $15 :) I just installed it on another PC and still have Windows 7 on my main rig
Dude, we've seen people here bitterly lamenting the fact that the WPC app costs less than a dollar...
Can't wait for this update...
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But, what I really want to see is some leaked WP8.1 screenshots.. Even some new details would be nice.. Something!
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And, either HTC is getting really good at hiding future devices, or they aren't planning any new WP devices, because I've heard Zero news about WP's "premier device manufacturer"...
Or no one cares... Lol. And as for WP8.1... MS needs to be more protective than with W8.1 since there's alot of competition. Mostly opinionated but anyone with basic education and common sense can figure it out. I own a business and know a thing or two.
HTC is fighting hard to try and maintain profits on Android. They aren't wasting resources on WP unless MS pays them for that. And Microsoft probably hasn't paid them yet. Right now folks at HTC are probably focusing on the M8. Once that's done and after seeing how things will be after Nokia leaves the mobile business, maybe they'll put out another WP. Maybe not.
Well, they don't know what's best for them...
Putting money into a windows phone device for HTC when they can barely manage to keep their almost universally well received HTC One selling well is certainly not in their best interests, as much as I'd like to see one. The 8X was a good device, but could hardly compare well to the Lumia anything.
They are trying to win back a slice of the pie that is dominated by one OEM. Seems even WP recognized taking down Android is tougher than whittling away at the soft underbelly of the number 2 OS.
It would be far easier to ride the 104% update in Windows Phone than the .3-4% take of Android. Even with the volume, the numbers don't add up. Instead, they have ceded the ground on 2 platforms.
Funny, how some of this comes from those who think Nokia should put out Android devices. (Maybe should, maybe shouldn't. Might be mute point now)
It's moot, not mute :)
haha, not if we want him to be quiet
Well, HTC problems into Android world have been
While those 3 points are definitely an issue in the android market, they wouldn't be much of an hassle on WP world: Microsoft isn't pushing out as many OS upgrades as Google were, security lockdown is an OS feature rather than an Android misadvantage and finaly, with little effort, they could be "THE alternative to Nokia" instead of "please PEASE throw us a glance even if we're not Samsung".
Waiting for Android market to completely repel them and their lockdown-the-open-OS attitude or WP market to be more profitable (and crowded) are not good options imho.
You know nothing about HTC lately. The HTC One came in a Dev Edition that had an unlocked bootloader. If you had a carrier variant than all you had to do was request a .bin file from the HTCDev.com website and unlock it yourself. I have 2 HTC One's and they are the easiest phone to install custom ROM's and scripts on, and go back to stock. Try that on a LG G2, or many others and let me know how it works out. As far as referring to the One X, it may be still relevant to you, but that phone is old, I had that almost 2 years ago, and bought it used then.
There should really be an "OPINION" tag on any post like this. My 8X is still a solid device while my 925 is the household media toy, only for the storage. Recently upgraded to a 925 and my fiance upgrades to my 8X and she says its the best upgrade she ever did, and that's a heavy usage 8X (day one purchase) with wear and tear! My only regret is letting her have because now I wish I can junk this 925 and get it back from her.....
I dropped my 8X onto its corner from ear-height onto a rough parking lot with gravel, where it slid screen-down for a few metres. Other than a little dent into the magic HTC soft plastic of its corner, it's completely unscathed.
My wife dropped her 8X from waist height onto an ice rink, a small pile of ice shavings, and it destroyed the screen. She had to have it replaced for the phone to be usable.
I dropped my Nokia 928 half way down an escalator, watched it bounce down 12 or so metal steps before it came to rest on a tile floor. The screen popped out slightly. I popped it back in and it has worked flawlessly since. Just a few dings on the corners.
I think that your post should go into the "crazy opinions" slots... To say that an 8x is better than a 925 is insane. The 925 is better in every way except arguably design. Better screen, much better camera. Much much better exclusive apps, better support, more memory, etc.
Why not? HTC has the exclusive right to call their Windows Phone devices "Windows Phone". If they go for a little bit more high end then the 8X or 8S this time, they could easly make a nice phone that a lot of people want.
I totally agree with you. WP would not be a wasted investment on HTC's part.. They just are to oblivious to take advantage of the opportunity..
Yeah the m8 they shall still launch it with sealed battery(smallest in capacity amongst comparable models) and 16 gb fixed memory. And then wonder why it did not sell as the Samsung
It's probably more like HTC has not paid MS yet for their Android phone's use of MS patents. Ok, so let them continue to "waste" their resources on Android and maybe we won't have HTC anymore to talk of by next year. As for the Android M8, it will go the same way as the Android One - more bleeding from HTC.
This update is amazing. I'm glad that Microsoft is going into the right path with this one. They are doing great with unifying the system. I can't wait for W9!
screenshots for ya:
http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/2/5372672/windows-8-1-update-1-screenshots
Same here, can't wait for this update. As I find using Windows 8.1 with a keyboard and mouse sucks...