Hands-On With Windows 8.1 Preview

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Hands-On With Windows 8.1 Preview

Posted by Soulskill on Wednesday June 26, 2013 @08:20AM from the solid-color-rectangles-redux dept.

adeelarshad82 writes "Microsoft launched the preview version of Windows 8.1 at the company's Build conference in San Francisco and early signs show that Microsoft heard the criticisms, and has responded with improvements. The new OS includes a number of changes starting with the return of the Start button and the ability to boot directly to the desktop. However, Microsoft hasn't given up on making the new-style tile and full-screen more usable for all users. If anything, the tile-based Start screen has gotten more flexible, with new smaller and larger tile options. Windows 8.1 also drastically improves built-in search, SkyDrive cloud syncing, mail and Microsoft Music." Microsoft also released a preview of Visual Studio 2013 and .NET 4.5.1, and there's a program that will give developers early access to the PC version of the Kinect sensor. Other tidbits: Windows 8.1 will use a standard driver model for 3-D printers, and it's getting better support for both high-res displays and using multiple displays with different resolutions.

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the return of the Start button by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-26 08:23 · Score: 5, Insightful

That's the phrase everyone has wanted to hear, including myself. Microsoft may have backpedaled, but that was the right thing to do.
1. Re:the return of the Start button by Entropy98 · 2013-06-26 08:30 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  That's the phrase everyone has wanted to hear, including myself. Microsoft may have backpedaled, but that was the right thing to do.
  What good is a start button without a start menu?
2. Re:the return of the Start button by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-26 08:36 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  What good is a start button without a start menu?
  Works great in my car.
  So by analogy, it'll work great in a computer.
3. Re:the return of the Start button by SoCalChris · 2013-06-26 08:37 · Score: 5, Informative
  
  Except that they totally missed the point of what everyone wanted.
  Yes, there is a start button there now. But all it does is bring up the start screen, the same as pressing the Windows key. The start menu, which is what most people really want back, is still missing from the OS.
4. Re:the return of the Start button by Vanderhoth · 2013-06-26 08:39 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  I was going to say, the start button isn't what people wanted, they wanted the start menu. METRO sucks on the desktop, I don't want it and I don't want to see it. Tablet or phone sure it makes sense.
  
  Now we're probably going to have to sit through hundreds of posts for "I've been using windows 8.1 for 10 years and it's just so awesome with the new start button, just what everyone wanted. MS is such a great company that listens to their customers."
5. Re:the return of the Start button by tripleevenfall · 2013-06-26 08:42 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  It'll be a real improvement (a 180) if there's something as simple as a checkbox that says "Suppress Metro interface".
  I still don't think MSFT gets it. No one wants to see Metro, ever.
6. Re:the return of the Start button by tripleevenfall · 2013-06-26 08:44 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  MS is such a great company that listens to their customers... after their market share erodes, after they miserably fail in mobile and tablet spaces, and after they face the prospect of another Vista-like iteration of an OS that business customers will skip altogether.
7. Re:the return of the Start button by tripleevenfall · 2013-06-26 08:45 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  I was actually waiting on 8.1 to see if I would stick with Windows 8 on a laptop I bought. I was hoping for the start menu and an option to suppress metro totally.
  Since it looks like MSFT isn't going to let you do those things, I'll be formatting and going back to Windows 7
8. Re:the return of the Start button by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-26 08:52 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  All it does is pull up the "start screen" The perfectly designed start menu from Win 7 is gone for good.
  Microsoft: Fuck you
9. Re:the return of the Start button by vux984 · 2013-06-26 08:57 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Yes, there is a start button there now. But all it does is bring up the start screen, the same as pressing the Windows key. The start menu, which is what most people really want back, is still missing from the OS.
  I disagree. Most people were just confused by the lack of a physical button to click on to do anything.
  A MUCH smaller subset actually wanted the old start menu back. I know I don't. There are elements of the old start menu that I liked, but most of it was a bad idea. Start -> All Programs was a complete disaster -- lets put a hierarchy of everything installed on your computer in a small non-resizable popup menu. Sorry that was just awful. For anything you need the start MENU for, the start screen is a LOT better.
  Pinned aps on the start menu? Use a toolbar if you want a popup menu for those on the taskbar.
  The only real loss is the search box that many power users use as a quick launcher - the start screen works for this, and is better if you are actually doing any sort of real search. But a desktop widget would be more appropriate for the "quick launch task of things we already know about."
  But this is a power user function / feature not something "most users" do. Personally I'm looking for good 3rd party options, that just address this small shortcoming, rather than try to recreate the disaster that the old start menu was.
10. Re:the return of the Start button by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-26 09:01 · Score: 2, Informative
  
  Too bad it wasn't in Windows 8.0
  <pedanticdickweed>
  How do you know? Are you from the future?
  "Windows 8" is just a marketing name for Windows (NT) 6.2. "Windows 8.1" is a marketing name for "Windows 8" SP1, which is likely to share the 6.2 version number. Since 4.0 came out in 1996, and 6.0 (Vista) came out in 2007, that means it can take 11 years to go two full version releases. A simple extrapolation would estimate Windows 8.0 to be released around 2018. A more thorough analysis would note that the length of time between the releases of 4.0 and 5.0 is less than that between the releases of 6.0 and 6.2, thus it will likely take much longer to reach 8.0.
  </pedanticdickweed>
11. Re:the return of the Start button by rot26 · 2013-06-26 09:01 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  This is not the start button you were looking for.
  
  --
  
  To ensure perfect aim, shoot first and call whatever you hit the target
12. Re:the return of the Start button by spire3661 · 2013-06-26 09:05 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  I dont want METRO forced into the system. The way Apple handles their equivalent feature (Launchpad) on OSX is how it should work. Its there is you want it, never if you dont.
  
  --
  Good-bye
13. Re:the return of the Start button by Luthair · 2013-06-26 09:08 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  Because we don't need an entire screen when searching for one application? I frequently will continue reading/looking at something while using the start menu to open a command prompt or similar.
14. Re:the return of the Start button by PopeRatzo · 2013-06-26 09:23 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  lets put a hierarchy of everything installed on your computer in a small non-resizable popup menu.
  That's funny. I kind of like that Start ->All Programs menu. There are a lot of programs that I don't use every day that I don't need anywhere near a first level.
  I want them in that menu.
  
  --
  You are welcome on my lawn.
15. Re:the return of the Start button by Vanderhoth · 2013-06-26 09:27 · Score: 2
  
  You shouldn't have posted AC, that's a pretty insightful comment. I think it might actually be kind of fun to use that to hashout shills.
16. Re:the return of the Start button by andrewa · 2013-06-26 09:28 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I haven't really used the start menu in Windows 7 in a long time. My typical workflow is to hit the Windows key then type the first few letters of the application I want to start, and then hit enter. As long as Windows 8 allows that easily now with booting to desktop and a start button, then it works for me at least. Admittedly I haven't really played with Windows 8 much.
  
  --
  :(){ :|:& };:
17. Re:the return of the Start button by rahvin112 · 2013-06-26 09:29 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  I wouldn't mind metro if they'd let me put them in a fucking desktop window, then you could have separate interfaces (as god intended) and STILL leverage metro into phones/tablets.
18. Re:the return of the Start button by prelelat · 2013-06-26 09:32 · Score: 3, Informative
  
  Why not just give windows 8.1 a try. While it doesn't suppress the metro screen completely I see no reason why you would have to use it now if you didn't want to. You can boot directly to the desktop which is basically windows 7. Plus you get all the new feature that windows 8 offers. Also the new Metro screen looks quite nice actually, though the metro apps don't seem to get any love with this update so blah.
  If I were you and still rocking windows 8 I would check out 8.1 it looks pretty nice. I've been using window 8 as well for awhile and I must say outside of the metro stuff it's very nice. But that's personal preference so all the power to you.
19. Re:the return of the Start button by WaffleMonster · 2013-06-26 09:35 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  That's the phrase everyone has wanted to hear, including myself. Microsoft may have backpedaled, but that was the right thing to do.
  This is so disingenuous that it qualifies as an outright lie.
20. Re:the return of the Start button by SoCalChris · 2013-06-26 09:36 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  A MUCH smaller subset actually wanted the old start menu back. I know I don't. There are elements of the old start menu that I liked, but most of it was a bad idea. Start -> All Programs was a complete disaster -- lets put a hierarchy of everything installed on your computer in a small non-resizable popup menu.
  Most users don't use the heirarchal menu very often. They usually either type the first few characters to search, or use one of the recent programs listed. But if you're in one of the instances where you're trying to access a program that you don't use very often, and don't remember the exact name of it, the hierarchical menu is light years beyond the start screen.
  For example, take a look at what my Windows 8 start screen looks like. It's an absolute mess, and nearly unusable in my opinion. The Start8 menu that I installed is much easier, quicker, and far more intuitive to use. I suspect that many users feel the same way as I do.
21. Re:the return of the Start button by jones_supa · 2013-06-26 09:40 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  I still don't think MSFT gets it. No one wants to see Metro, ever.
  Agreed, the interest does not seem too high. I've noticed how on Slashdot a lot of the discussion focuses on the problems surrounding the Start screen, but no one even mentions the Metro apps, which for Microsoft is actual big thing with Windows 8.
22. Re:the return of the Start button by atlasdropperofworlds · 2013-06-26 09:45 · Score: 4, Interesting
  
  I'm not a fan of the metro screen, but I don't hate it enough to go back to 7. All I care about is a flat search, which I guess is back in, a less jarring transition from desktop, and booting to desktop. All those issues are addressed. For those with touchscreens, Win8 is far better than 7. I have an HP touchsmart thats a few years old now. It's touchscreen wasn't very usable with 7's interface, it's fine with 8. I do like the concept of a single OS on all devices, and hence you get all the apps and content you buy in all locations automatically. However, MS is still falling short on that vision.
23. Re:the return of the Start button by CCarrot · 2013-06-26 09:46 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Start -> All Programs was a complete disaster -- lets put a hierarchy of everything installed on your computer in a small non-resizable popup menu. Sorry that was just awful. For anything you need the start MENU for, the start screen is a LOT better.
  Certainly, instead of a tidy, hierarchical, collapsible interface that only takes up (maybe) a third of the screen, let's make it a mandatory full-screen, scrollable (and scrollable and scrollable) interface instead, with gigantic, cryptic, space-wasting, two-tone icons instead! Brilliant!
  You're one of those people who prefer to keep all their filing in a nice big pile right on their desktop, aren't you? Sure, you have to reach around the pile every time you want to use the phone, or grab your stapler, but hey, all your papers are 'at your fingertips'! No more need to open those pesky filing cabinets, or flip through individual folders!
  What I *especially* love about the start screen is how it pretty much makes my family wallpapers useless. On Windows 7, I put the shortcuts around the edges of the desktop, then I can see the wallpaper subject (and smile) every time I go back to the desktop. With Windows 8...well, I don't have many photos of my family where the important parts (faces) are pressed right against the top, bottom or either edge of the shot. Yes, I could put a photo widget in the start screen...then be constantly annoyed at the need to scroll past it to get to my shortcuts.
  No, ClassicStart and Start8 have pretty much saved Microsoft's ass on this release. If I were them, I'd be asking for a reward or something...
  
  --
  "I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
24. Re:the return of the Start button by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-26 09:51 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Start -> All Programs was a complete disaster -- lets put a hierarchy of everything installed on your computer in a small non-resizable popup menu.
  
  To be fair, though, a LOT of that problem stems from companies making installers that seem to "helpfully" assume that you FIRST want to sort your applications by company name rather than, say, "Games", "Internet", "Graphics", "System", etc, and then the application or a company name under THAT. Did you just install four games, three graphics programs, and two system tools, each by different companies? Guess what? You've now got nine brand new top-level folders, each containing one program icon, one to three readmes, and maybe an uninstaller! Because that makes sense, right? Now keep going until you've got sixty or seventy top-level programs.
  It wasn't so much that All Programs was a disaster, it was companies using it as secondary advertising space on your desktop.
25. Re:the return of the Start button by lgw · 2013-06-26 10:02 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  I just love this from TFA:
  
  The tile-based Start screen (which is actually where that new Start button leads to), has gotten more flexible, with new smaller and larger tile options. And more than two modern apps can now share the new interface's screen. No longer are you restricted to a large window and one slender side panel, but two apps can each take of half the screen, or, depending on what the app's developer has allowed, any portion you choose
  Exciting times we live in, when I can have 2 apps running at the same time, side by side on my desktop, and even resize them! C'mon, this is ground-breaking. Though I guess it's not entirely novel, since I could do this with EMACS (and presumably VI), but it's pretty cool to see in a GUI.
  
  --
  Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
26. Re:the return of the Start button by Aaden42 · 2013-06-26 10:03 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Plus you get all the new feature that windows 8 offers.
  Those being?... Serious question.
  Other than Metro, what does Win8 offer that Win7+updates doesn't, assuming you're not a movie company that wants even moar DRM locked into the operating system?
27. Re:the return of the Start button by 140Mandak262Jamuna · 2013-06-26 10:16 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  That is a good start. Now learn to type it from a shell window, and memorize some more obscure strings of letters and discover the amazing things they do. Like ls grep awk diff less more cut join find etc. Then learn about even more obscure symbols like ! & > >> | Then someday you will understand why the unix hacks are so happy and are not so easily impressed by some of the bells and whistles and eye candy of the GUI.
  
  --
  sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
28. Re:the return of the Start button by Maxx169 · 2013-06-26 10:22 · Score: 2
  
  Exciting times we live in, when I can have 2 apps running at the same time, side by side on my desktop, and even resize them! C'mon, this is ground-breaking. Though I guess it's not entirely novel, since I could do this with EMACS (and presumably VI), but it's pretty cool to see in a GUI.
  True, that said - EMACS is still pretty much the most advanced OS on the planet.
29. Re:the return of the Start button by CohibaVancouver · 2013-06-26 10:47 · Score: 2
  
  No one wants to see Metro, ever.
  I sure as heck want to see it on my Samsung x86 tablet. If I just want to check my email, open CNN headlines, play a game or watch a video Modern UI (formerly Metro) is perfect.
  
  The desktop is perfect when I dock it and use a keyboard and mouse.
30. Re:the return of the Start button by Hal_Porter · 2013-06-26 10:54 · Score: 5, Funny
  
  He's jiggling it back and forth, muttering 'work you fucking stupid bastard' under his breath.
  
  --
  echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
31. Re:the return of the Start button by MTEK · 2013-06-26 11:13 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  Now we're probably going to have to sit through hundreds of posts for "I've been using windows 8.1 for 10 years and it's just so awesome with the new start button, just what everyone wanted. MS is such a great company that listens to their customers."
  You know that spam where some idiot says his friend's mom makes $$$$ every month working from home? It's probably true. Judging from the comment sections under most Windows 8 articles, it seems Microsoft (or some social media ad agency) is paying stay at home moms to promote the product and counter any criticism.
32. Re:the return of the Start button by Hal_Porter · 2013-06-26 11:19 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  Here's a novel idea. How about have tablets default to Start Screen and Metro mode and desktops and notebooks defaulting to looking just like Windows 7 - i.e. Start Menu and desktop mode? And having a user option to override that default.
  Then the 0.001% of users who exclusively use Metro apps on their tablet would be happy and the rest of us could just ignore it completely. The only reason they're pushing Metro down everyone's throat is so that people write and use Metro apps and the Microsoft store has something to do.
  As it is they've got the boat anchor that is Metro dragging down Windows 8 because people who like Windows 7 hate it. It's dragging down Windows RT too because no compelling Metro apps means that Windows RT is screwed. It's dragging down the Windows Store because no one actually wants Metro.
  They've got one very unpopular product - Metro and a number of very popular ones - most notably Windows itself. They've tried to force the people that like and use Windows to use Metro. And probably the reason for that is because if Metro apps take off then so will Windows Phone. Which right now is tanking too.
  However instead of this strategy making Metro and Windows Phone more popular they've actually managed to make desktop Windows less popular. PC sales are down and they've made Windows run much less well on non touchscreen machines but the tablets people are buying instead are running Android and iOS, not Windows.
  
  --
  echo -e 'global _start\n _start:\n mov eax, 2\n int 80h\n jmp _start' > a.asm; nasm a.asm -f elf; ld a.o -o a;
33. Re:the return of the Start button by garyoa1 · 2013-06-26 12:11 · Score: 2
  
  What am I missing here? Always could have multiple apps since at least win2k. I usually have 3 or 4 at least.
  As far as the start button... not really. Just a button that says start. Doesn't do anything the old start button did. But the free add-ons you can D/L do a decent job.
  
  --
  Wuddooeyeno? IITYWYBMAD? Like nuts? eclecticallyincorrect.com
34. Re:the return of the Start button by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-26 12:57 · Score: 5, Interesting
  
  The file copying is much better now
  I'm intrigued - how can anyone screw up something as fundamental as copying a file so badly that some 28 years later it can still be made "much better?"
35. Re:the return of the Start button by Missing.Matter · 2013-06-26 13:37 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Features_new_to_Windows_8
  
  The entirety of metro is just one item in that list. The rest is for everyone.
36. Re:the return of the Start button by Darinbob · 2013-06-26 13:39 · Score: 2
  
  But they did not actually return the start button, though it does pop up something that looks like one if your mouse is in the right place. They absolutely do not return the start menu, which was what customers were really asking for.
  This is essentially an insult in many ways. They're saying "we heard loud and clear that you wanted a .1 added to the product version, so here you go".
37. Re:the return of the Start button by Darinbob · 2013-06-26 13:41 · Score: 2
  
  Either that or he's had one too many user experiences.
38. Re:the return of the Start button by Darinbob · 2013-06-26 13:42 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  What is wrong with you people? Microsoft has said that Metro is great, so you're being treasonous to suggest otherwise. Please report for reeducation and recertification.
39. Re:the return of the Start button by Darinbob · 2013-06-26 13:43 · Score: 2
  
  "For those with touchscreens", which I suspect is the smallest fraction of their customer base.
40. Re:the return of the Start button by terrab0t · 2013-06-26 14:01 · Score: 2
  
  Done. Emacs is now supreme.
41. Re:the return of the Start button by soundguy · 2013-06-26 14:15 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  How the fuck is it "much better"? Try copying 100,000 files over a LAN from an XP box to a Win8 drive. The OS will shit itself and lock up entirely. Not even a blue screen, completely unresponsive DOA requiring pulling the plug. How about the "full line select" bullshit in file manager windows that makes it a huge pain in the ass to select files with a mouse?
  All the review talks about is a bunch of stupid top-layer eye-candy bullshit that NO ONE CARES ABOUT. The goddamned OS should not be an "experience". That's what programs are for. The OS should shut the fuck up, do exactly what I tell it to do WHEN I tell it to do it, and generally stay the hell out of my way and out of my sight. Vista, 7, and 8 are abject failures that can't even correctly perform the minimal basic I/O tasks that are the exact reason we even HAVE operating systems rather than writing directly to the hardware.
  Microsoft, you absolutely DON'T GET IT! You keep trying to pander to the idiot teenager mobile device crowd and people too stupid to even OWN a powerful computing device and you are pissing in the faces of everyone who actually uses your shitty OS to do REAL WORK and put food on their tables (mainly because the applications they use won't run on a REAL OS). Quit fucking around and DO YOUR GODDAMN JOBS OVER THERE. Fire the stupid assholes responsible for the abomination that is Win8 and put out an OS that at least does the bare minimum. Window dressing and eye candy is for children. Try aiming at the grownup market for a change!
  
  --
  Nothing worthwhile ever happens before noon
42. Re:the return of the Start button by symbolset · 2013-06-26 14:38 · Score: 3, Funny
  
  So you didn't try Vista?
  
  --
  Help stamp out iliturcy.
43. Re:the return of the Start button by gman003 · 2013-06-26 14:51 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  That's not how car analogies work, and you know it.
44. Re:the return of the Start button by real-modo · 2013-06-26 15:13 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  1) Now try typing a few letters of what you are searching for. Much better.
  Hmmm...lessee. I want to reduce the size of this here video, to play it on my phone. What the heck was that app called, again? Maybe something like "transcoder"? (types) ... Hmmm..... Nope. Doesn't look right.
  Types: <backspace><backspace> (&c) .... Ok, how about "video"? (types) ... Hmmm, nope, that's not it. I don't think so, anyway.
  (Types: <backspace><backspace>...<backspace>) Okay, um, "resize"? (types) ...nope.
  *clicks around in menu* .... Oh, yeah. Handbrake. Typing transcode did work, but I couldn't tell.
  The search interface works really well.
45. Re:the return of the Start button by real-modo · 2013-06-26 15:46 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  And when XP arrived almost every customer I had wanted the "Classic Start Menu" from windows 2000. People don't like to learn new things regardless of whether they are better or worse than what they had before.
  This is broken on at least two levels.
  I was there, and I don't recall any such push-back against the XP menu. There were a few comments about it looking a bit colorful, and feeling slower, but nothing like the reaction to 8's UI. (Of course compared to 98SE or ME, XP was like dawn after a dark night in terms of stability. People loved that.)
  Secondly, and more importantly, the first rule of UIs is: don't change it unless it's badly broken.
  It's true that most people don't like to learn new things, especially to do with computers. Guess what? Your stupid computer program isn't the most important thing in their lives—or even the fiftieth most important thing. They're not waiting with bated breath for the next "wonderful surprise" you're about to inflict on them. And: you can't change anyone besides yourself. People won't like change, no matter how hard you try to "fix" them. If you want to change the UI, you'd better provide strong, compelling, immediate reasons for that.
  There's no evidence that (for anyone outside the executive suites in Microsoft Towers) Windows 8's way of locating and starting applications led to greater productivity and/or better employee morale. There's considerable evidence that the change has caused exactly the opposite.
  (The UI mess is sad. Under the covers, 8 is a great improvement over 7. A tight OS.)
46. Re:the return of the Start button by djdanlib · 2013-06-26 16:29 · Score: 2
  
  You know... you actually have a point, now that I think about it that way... But it's always been like that.
  Back in Win 3 Program Manager days, I'd make groups for each type of application, and move the icons appropriately. Sometimes I'd do folders on the desktop in Win95, but I gave up on that entirely in Win98 days and you're totally right - it got crapped up really bad by WinXP days. Then they ruined All Programs even more in Vista onwards by fixing the size and not letting it breathe horizontally at all, so the exercise of finding a program was even more painful. You might have several products by Super Longname Company Software Products, and you'd never know which one was Foobar 1.2 without hunting through all of them...
  It's interesting that what's old is sorta new again. Remember, Program Manager was based on providing a tiled grid of icons with one level of folders. Android and iOS are doing EXACTLY THAT, and it's only a matter of time in my opinion before the Start Screen lets you do folders.
47. Re:the return of the Start button by smash · 2013-06-26 16:30 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  Well said. However Windows 8 isn't about giving us what we want. It's about making Windows on mobile devices relevant. The mobile market is the big one moving forward and microsoft was doing whatever they can to get a foot in the door. If that means pissing off their desktop users, then so be it. It's a joke.
  
  --
  I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
48. Re:the return of the Start button by smash · 2013-06-26 16:33 · Score: 2
  
  The touch interface isn't usable in 8 either, unless all you do with your computer is play with the metro applets. For doing real work with real programs (which are all NOT metro) you're fucked as the widgets are too small, and you CAN'T ZOOM.
  
  --
  I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
49. Re:the return of the Start button by smash · 2013-06-26 16:39 · Score: 2
  
  Because then Windows developers will just target desktop mode and Metro will remain irrelevant - killing Microsoft's mobile aspirations.
  
  --
  I run: Windows, OS X, Linux, FreeBSD. Just because you have a hammer, doesn't mean everything is a nail.
50. Re:the return of the Start button by batkiwi · 2013-06-26 17:22 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Things that have improved:
  -the dialog has an expanded mode which shows a real time copy speed graph
  -the time estimates are based on total transfer history as opposed to instantanious speed
  -conflicts have more/better/safer options (replace all, replace if newer, etc)
  -copies to the same destination are grouped together even if you drag and drop a few different times
  That's all from the top of my head.
51. Re:the return of the Start button by DrXym · 2013-06-26 20:15 · Score: 2
  
  I think it's more complex than that. Windows 7 is actually a very good desktop OS and most enterprises are happy to stick with it. So they used Windows 8 a bit like they did Vista, to introduce radical changes knowing they'd enjoy another OS revision to lock it down into an enterprise friendly condition.
  So Microsoft used Windows 8 to make a beeline for tablet land. Can't blame them for that. What I can blame them for is that even for desktop users, i.e. those who don't need enterprise solutions for backup/patching/admin have suffered an inferior desktop experience which could have been better than what was delivered. Metro has lots of stupid usability problems with a keyboard / mouse which have easy remedies and Windows 8 shouldn't have shipped without fixing them.
  What I've read of 8.1 suggests it's little more than a band aid. Stuff like 1/2 size tiles is useful for cutting metro bloat, but why aren't there expanding folders? Why can't I ctrl+wheel to zoom in and out to show more stuff? Why isn't there a mini-metro attached to the start button? And so on.
  All that said, most of the problems in Windows 8 are cosmetic and centred around franken-metro-desktop. In use the OS is extremely responsive and stable. It's just the front end which is the problem.
52. Re:the return of the Start button by Luckyo · 2013-06-26 20:18 · Score: 2
  
  Any attempt to "bridge the gap between metro and desktop" on desktop mean downgrading desktop environment towards shitty tablet environment.
  So yeah, it's an upgrade from win8, in the same sense that working cleaning the toilets in a nightclub with your tungue is an upgrade from cleaning the sewers with your tongue. Of course, windows 7 in that analogy is a nice clean office job.
53. Re:the return of the Start button by DrXym · 2013-06-26 20:22 · Score: 3, Interesting
  
  That surprised me too. Metro apps are really slow to fire up and so gimped in terms of functionality that unless I was walking around in tablet mode I wouldn't see any point in most of them at all. The most frustrating thing is that if you flip away from an app then more often than not it doesn't restore to the state where it was left. I might understand this behaviour in a 512MB RAM phone, but not in an 4GB+swap laptop. It's stupid behaviour.
  Also, the left edge of the screen only shows running apps+desktop, not programs running on the desktop. So I can quickly switch to some retarded metro weather app but Microsoft in their infinite wisdom won't let me switch to Firefox or Eclipse running on the desktop. I must switch to the desktop and activate the app. It's just bad design.
  About the only metro app I like is the Netflix app whose simplicity suits the service and which is vastly more attractive that the Android client. Most of the other apps are barely worth the time of day.
54. Re:the return of the Start button by L4t3r4lu5 · 2013-06-26 22:26 · Score: 2
  
  That's a problem with the application name, not with search. How about Firefox? Do you type "Internet" or "Google"?
  
  Purposely facetious.
  
  --
  Finally had enough. Come see us over at https://soylentnews.org/
55. Re:the return of the Start button by AmiMoJo · 2013-06-27 00:12 · Score: 2
  
  Having watched a few people using older versions of Windows and Windows 8 I think it does actually make sense, it was just badly implemented. Allow me to explain.
  Many people don't really use the start menu much it seems. They have all their apps on their desktop, a huge wall of icons. They know where everything is via spacial memory rather than looking at lists of text on a menu. Seems counter-intuitive to us geeks but actually this kind of emergent "it's a mess but I know where everything is" organization appears to be popular and surprisingly usable.
  Metro tried to extend that by allowing the icons to do more than just start the app. It also tried to give people an easy way to access the icons without minimizing all their windows. It's modelled on the way people actually use their computers.
  There is a lot of quite justified hate for Metro, but it's primarily down to two things. Firstly they got rid of the Start Menu completely and didn't offer any alternative. At least on 8.1 you can boot directly to the desktop, but people still miss it. Secondly they broke the search system which a lot of people liked, and again it seems that 8.1 fixes it.
  Naturally being Microsoft they were unable to communicate all of this in a coherent way. People complained about it being hard to get to the shutdown option, when MS intended for people to use the physical off button on their computer. They didn't bother telling anyone that though.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
56. Re:the return of the Start button by AmiMoJo · 2013-06-27 00:19 · Score: 2
  
  Certainly, instead of a tidy, hierarchical, collapsible interface that only takes up (maybe) a third of the screen, let's make it a mandatory full-screen, scrollable (and scrollable and scrollable) interface instead, with gigantic, cryptic, space-wasting, two-tone icons instead! Brilliant!
  Can you outline a situation when it would be better not to use the entire screen for finding and starting an app? I understand fully why having multiple apps on the screen is a good thing, but when you want to start one why not immediately use the entire screen so you don't have to navigate through submenus?
  Ever noticed how most users click the icons on their desktop to start applications? They know where they are by spacial memory or looking for icons, not by reading the labels. I know it annoys people who obsessively keep their desktop clear of icons and arrange their start menu meticulously like I do, but it seems to work quite well for a lot of people. The start screen is just an advanced version of that.
  
  --
  const int one = 65536; (Silvermoon, Texture.cs)
  SJW, n: "Someone I don't like, and by the way I'm a fuckwit" - AC
57. Re:the return of the Start button by Alioth · 2013-06-27 01:19 · Score: 2
  
  It's not really that.
  1. The Start menu might not be used a lot but that's not the point. The point is that it's discoverable. It's easy to find something new, like a new desktop program that's been installed. The user can then make a shortcut if they want. It leaves the user feeling in control.
  2. Metro and desktop are jarringly different. The primary golden rule of Shneiderman's 8 Golden Rules of user interface design is "strive for consistency". In the past Microsoft have done this, but now they've done the diametric opposite and made an inconsistent interface where half of it works one way, and the other half works another way, and you often suddenly get launched into a completely different user interface.
  
  --
  Oolite: Elite-like game. For Mac, Linux and Windows
58. Re:the return of the Start button by CCarrot · 2013-06-27 03:40 · Score: 2
  
  Can you outline a situation when it would be better not to use the entire screen for finding and starting an app? I understand fully why having multiple apps on the screen is a good thing, but when you want to start one why not immediately use the entire screen so you don't have to navigate through submenus?
  Ever noticed how most users click the icons on their desktop to start applications? They know where they are by spacial memory or looking for icons, not by reading the labels. I know it annoys people who obsessively keep their desktop clear of icons and arrange their start menu meticulously like I do, but it seems to work quite well for a lot of people. The start screen is just an advanced version of that.
  I *like* submenus. It lets me group my programs however I want, and any single group is accessible right from the top level (unlike the Win8 philosophy). I don't have to choose whether my computer will primarily be used for image/video, socializing, office work, gaming, development, etc. etc. and then try to arrange my program groups so that the top 30 or so programs fit onto the first page (really fun on a netbook). With the start menu, I have access to any and all of these capabilities in a maximum of four clicks (actually, 'hover' opens subfolders, so basically two clicks - start button -> application)
  In my opinion, it simply breaks the flow of work to have the frigging application launch tool, an important but ultimately minor component of any useful graphical operating system, suddenly *BAM!* take up the entire screen every time you want to launch a new program. Not to mention the mandatory full screen philosophy, (and therefore the loss of the quick switchability of the taskbar, and the standard close/minimize/maximize options) for core 'apps'...I know, I know, you still have the taskbar on the 'desktop app', but that's the thing: they're trying to force their users away from all of the most useful and productive features of their core system! I pretty much yanked all of the native apps as soon as I tried them, since none of them offer any better functionality than their desktop versions, and they are just too dumbed down to be useful.
  By making it so damn difficult to stay within the desktop environment , by flashing this damnably annoying no way to get rid of it natively full screen nonsense (that's not dismissable, by the way, unless you choose something on it), they are basically rickrolling their users every time (they accidentally or not) hit the Start button. Should YouTube videos default to open in full screen mode all the time, with no user choice in the matter? If you are opening a document in Word or Excel, should the file selection dialog default to full screen, thumbnail view only (oh, and with a sidescrolling grid instead of a vertical one, so that, while it will still 'work', the scroll wheel on the mouse is much less intuitive for navigation)? And you couldn't change that behavior?? How crazy would that make you? Yet that's the same thinking: if I'm selecting or viewing *something*, I might as well use the whole screen to do it...no. Just no.
  
  --
  "I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
Windows Sucks! by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-26 08:25 · Score: 5, Funny

I bought a Windows Vista 5 years ago. The first one exploded to blew my hand off. The next one killed my dog. It wouldn't support my joystick from 1986. The wifi screwed up and sterilized my nuts.
Overall I was left with a really bad feeling about all Microsoft products, which obviously must all have similar defects. Anecdotes by unverifiable semi-anonymous internet posters prove that to be true.
Good Changes All Around by Secret+Agent+Man · 2013-06-26 08:28 · Score: 4, Insightful

The biggest thing is the fact that you can search all sections (Apps, Settings, Files) with a single search bar now. No more having to type, mouse-move, click, and then find the option I want! Plus, you can disable the "also search Bing" nonsense, thankfully.
I already run using 0 Metro apps, and live mostly in the Desktop space (truth be told, due to my Windows Key + type letters + hit 'enter' style of start menu usage, the start screen doesn't bother me). I'm glad I'll be able to boot straight to desktop, which will further distance myself from the Metro experience.
1. Re:Good Changes All Around by g0bshiTe · 2013-06-26 08:30 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  I have all that too it's called Windows 7.
  
  --
  I am Bennett Haselton! I am Bennett Haselton!
2. Re:Good Changes All Around by JDG1980 · 2013-06-26 08:37 · Score: 4, Insightful
  
  Plus, you can disable the "also search Bing" nonsense, thankfully.
  Good, I was concerned this would be a gaping privacy hole. On the original Windows 8.1 post on the Windows Blog, I asked the Microsoft rep several times whether this would be optional and he said he didn't know yet and that an answer would be forthcoming. (Not usually an encouraging sign.) Having *local* searches automatically send a http request to Bing (and, presumably, the NSA) isn't something that I think most Windows users want.
3. Re:Good Changes All Around by JDG1980 · 2013-06-26 08:52 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  Interestingly, apparently Canonical thinks it's something that most Ubuntu users want.
  And most of us on Slashdot thought it was a bad idea there, as well.
4. Re:Good Changes All Around by DrGamez · 2013-06-26 09:43 · Score: 2
  
  The Task Manager and File Transfer dialogues are much, much nicer, but they feel like things that can be hammered out in a week, not really even a bullet point to put on the back of your box. These kind of improvements are usually the stuff you see the blogs pick up on: "5 Cool Things You Might Have Missed!".
  Car analogy: it's like getting really nice stick shift and "check engine" lights, when the engine itself hasn't changed from the same crud you were using.
5. Re:Good Changes All Around by Parker+Lewis · 2013-06-26 09:49 · Score: 2
  
  I miss the old search UI, last present on XP only in the advanced mode. Press F3, type some letters, hit enter. And, you can search by name, date, file size, etc. All without use a index service consuming resources.
6. Re:Good Changes All Around by Secret+Agent+Man · 2013-06-26 09:54 · Score: 2
  
  I dunno if I agree, necessarily. After all, we are talking about an operating system here. Dealing with files and what processes are running are supposed to be the bread-and-butter of an OS, to make our lives easier. They're not whiz-bang eye-catching features that marketing teams like to advertise, but boy do the improve the user experience.
No Aero then? by Twinbee · 2013-06-26 08:28 · Score: 3, Insightful

I was hoping for Aero, or at least the option of Aero. I dislike the 'flatland' look for clarity reasons (distinguishing elements from one another).

--
Why OpalCalc is the best Windows calc
1. Re:No Aero then? by jones_supa · 2013-06-26 09:11 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  It's odd that they removed Aero as it worked fine and looked good for the most part. Just the right amount of eye candy and good performance. I guess they had to create something to match the ugly look of Start screen and Modern UI. :P
Don't be fooled by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-26 08:28 · Score: 5, Funny

This release is actually just a re-branding of Windows 98 SE. If you previously purchased Windows 98 SE I strongly suggest you use that.
Grid layouts by Reapy · 2013-06-26 08:29 · Score: 4, Insightful

I really hate them. It is some modern UI koolaid everyone has been drinking apparently. The multsized grids are really hard for me to locate information. The only thing they seem to be good at is forcing me to scan over advertisements before I find what I want to get to, which might be the point, and the reason I hate them.
Speaking as someone... by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-26 08:29 · Score: 5, Interesting

...who views Microsoft as a corporation with disgust due to all the immoral, illegal and downright reprehensible acts they have committed over the years to maintain their monopoly position, I'd just like to thank them for Windows 8.x, which will probably do more to damage them than the toothless DoJ ever could.
Re:However by jfdavis668 · 2013-06-26 08:29 · Score: 4, Interesting

No, I am going to test it out again. Spent nearly a year with the 8 preview, and dropped it. To many tasks took too many steps. Will try this again to see if it is ready for prime time.
Why would anyone want Windows 8.1? by kawabago · 2013-06-26 08:30 · Score: 2, Insightful

Why do people 'want' to be abused by a monopoly that does everything to make your computer cost you more? Where is the value proposition for windows 8.1? There is so much software available for so many different platforms, that Microsoft having 'the' platform no longer matters. Developers no longer need Microsoft. Better open source tools are available. Anyone buying into Windows 8.1 is buying into a niche product. Why would anyone do that?
1. Re:Why would anyone want Windows 8.1? by atlasdropperofworlds · 2013-06-26 08:33 · Score: 5, Insightful
  
  They want it because they can use things like office or the creative suite. They want it because it allows for far cheaper systems than their one main competitor (the other greedy, immoral company), they want it because games are written for it and it runs without issue on their gaming rigs.
2. Re:Why would anyone want Windows 8.1? by EvanED · 2013-06-26 08:47 · Score: 3, Insightful
  
  As someone who uses Windows at home, there are two main reasons:
  1.) Games
  2.) I use Linux at work, and it's nice to have my OS piss me off in different ways depending on where I am
3. Re:Why would anyone want Windows 8.1? by stanlyb · 2013-06-26 09:02 · Score: 2
  
  Windows still has the largest collection of software. Oh, you mean "apps" (whatever that means)? Man, naming one feature as a "app" does not count as a program, you know it, right?
Standard Driver for 3D printers by Guano_Jim · 2013-06-26 08:40 · Score: 4, Interesting

That's pretty cool. One of the things that needs to happen for 3D printing to become commonplace is to take it out of the realm of specialized software and just make it a mundane action one does with a computer.
Click, print. Heads up Apple, Microsoft is preparing to drink your milkshake on this one.

--
3D Printing Tips and Tricks at Zheng3.com
Still no Start Menu - Pass! by Chas · 2013-06-26 08:42 · Score: 5, Insightful

Sorry, but until I'm able to completely deactivate the context-destroying, time and scren real-estate wasting Start Screen altogether, Windows 8 (sans 3rd party Start Menu add-ons), is nothing more than a toy.
Yes, I understand that menus are an creeping problem when adding functionality.
Yes, I understand that they're limited when implementing touch interfaces.
I DON'T GIVE A SHIT!
I don't use touch interfaces on anything larger than my phone, and even then, my current phone has a fallback to a physical keyboard. I have no use for them on a desktop or even a laptop. NONE.
I'm concerned about productivity FULL STOP. A menu system enables me to do more, faster. Especially with keyboard shortcuts (many of which were completely annihilated when they removed menus altogether in 8).
Managing systems remotely with the Win8/Server2012 interface is a complete pain in the balls, as the "hot corner" functionality for pulling up the various charms bars and other crap have a strong tendency to just not work, or work extremely sporadically in remote management situations. Yes yes. I could learn all the goofy new keyboard shortcuts. A menu system would still be more straightforward and functional.
Microsoft is acting like a kid who's been told to clean his room.
They've basically put it off as long as they can.
Now they're just going to kick some stuff under the bed and other general half-assery and hope it's sufficient.
It isn't. Period.

--

Chas - The one, the only.
THANK GOD!!!
1. Re:Still no Start Menu - Pass! by CCarrot · 2013-06-26 10:27 · Score: 4, Informative
  
  If you're concerned about productivity "FULL STOP", why the fuck are you opening programs using a mouse anyhow? Win key -> type a few letters of a program name -> Enter, and you can launch anything on the system faster than you can find the item you want even in the Most Commonly Used section of the Start menu. If you have menu animations turned on (which I'm guessing you don't, but most people do) you can be launching a program before the menu finishes drawing itself.
  This has existed since Vista. It took a step back in Win8, when "Apps" and "Settings" Start search results were segregated, but it was still usable there. On 8.1 they're integrated again. If you're still launching programs with the mouse and yet claiming you're only concerned about productivity and that's it, you're frankly a liar. You're just whining They Changed It And I Don't Like It like so many other people.
  Alternatively, set keyboard shortcuts (possible since at least Windows 2000, still possible on Win8) for the programs you use most (for example, Ctrl+Alt+I to launch your favorite web browser, Alt+Shift+C to launch your development environment, etc. and whatever). That's faster still, once you memorize them, although it won't work on other peoples' computers.
  Yes, let's discuss working with other people's computers, shall we?
  You know what's installed on your computer. My parents (and some other family members), on the other hand, don't. Trying to provide the obligatory phone support for them with a Windows 8 interface was, shall we say, a wee bit frustrating on both sides of the conversation.
  "No, Dad, just drag your finger onto the touchpad from the corner. Nothing? Maybe you were too fast, try again a bit slower...oh, you think you opened something by accident? *sigh* Okay, what does the screen in front of you look like now? Hmm, what color is the background? Okay, lets try that Alt-F4 thing again, but remember, hold down the alt key and only press the F4 key once this time...you did it? You're back at the screen with the boxes now? Yes, you can let the alt key go..." etc., etc., etc... Until I installed ClassicShell on their computer, that is, now they (and I) love it :o)
  
  --
  "I love animals! Some are cute, others are tasty, what's not to like?" - Betsy Schroeder, Jeopardy contestant
Good, bad, and ugly by JDG1980 · 2013-06-26 08:50 · Score: 5, Interesting
The good:
- The Start button is available again.
- Hot corners can be turned off.
- You can now boot straight to the desktop.
- The context menu for the Start button now has shutdown options.
- High-DPI support is supposed to be better now (though third-party developers will still figure out ways to break this).
The bad:
- The real start menu still isn't back, and the Metro start screen is nowhere near as good – it's more obtrusive and less functional.
- The window titlebar text is still centered, with no supported way to put it back to left-justified. For those of us who have been using Windows for years, this is a very annoying change since it breaks the muscle memory of our eyes. When I've tried Windows 8, I always find myself looking at the wrong place to see a window title.
- There's still no supported way to get back the Aero theme. I understand why people with tablets or low-powered laptops might want an interface that doesn't stress the GPU as much, but why should desktop users have to suffer through something that looks like it's straight out of 1995? The Windows 8 theme is the UI equivalent of brutalism – those ugly bare concrete buildings that architects were putting up in the 1970s.
The ugly:
- Metro. Or, as I call it, the Knots Landing user interface. Seriously, you shouldn't be looking to the theme songs of 1980s soap operas as your inspiration for UI design...
Still don't want... by Bearhouse · 2013-06-26 08:53 · Score: 4, Interesting

Well, in my usual attempt to stay current despite my greying neckbeard, I was prepared to tryout this regardless of the hatestorm regarding the new UI. Hell, maybe I could work around that in exchange for the alleged increased performance?
Downloaded the "upgrade assistant" which helpfully informed me that my nicely-tuned Windows 7 PCs (both 32 and 64 bit) would require shitloads of work, (some hardware 'might not work' and several screenfuls of software would 'not function' or 'require an upgrade').
Oh yes, and all of this for the modest sum of Euros 250-plus...
Per PC.
So, no thanks...
(I keeping trying to "like" the latest versions of Linux too - Mint is OK- but am sticking with BSD for my severs...maybe I'm not hip enough, or maybe I've finally realised there's more to life than fucking around with stuff when what you have works fine.)
who needs Windows 8.1? by amoeba1911 · 2013-06-26 08:56 · Score: 3, Informative
You don't need Windows 8.1 to fix the problems in Windows 8.
What you need is three programs:
- Start8: Gets rid of the metro start screen, mouse sticking corners, restores a fully functional Windows 7 start menu. http://www.stardock.com/products/start8/
- WindowBlinds: Customize the look of the OS to get rid of the metro styles and brings back rounded corners on windows. http://www.stardock.com/products/windowblinds/
- ModernMix: Allows you to run the "full screen" parts of Windows 8 in windows. http://www.stardock.com/products/modernmix/
I had to get Windows 8 for work and there wasn't much choice. I struggled with it until I found those. I don't need Windows 8.1, Microsoft can go to hell.
Re:Games are Cross platform by EvanED · 2013-06-26 09:00 · Score: 3, Informative

"Increasingly", true, and I do try to support cross-platform games and will do so even more in the future, even if I primarily or only play on Windows. But it's still a looong way off from being the norm unless you're willing to restrict your game choices a lot.
Wine would open up a lot of options, but I don't really feel like messing around with it when I can just run Windows and be done with things, especially considering that some of the games I play aren't even rated all that highly on the appdb.
Mail and music? by Deep+Esophagus · 2013-06-26 09:02 · Score: 2

Seriously? Why on earth would anybody consider those an intrinsic part of the operating system? If I want to access mail from my computer, I either pull up an application that handles mail (for POP3) or a web browser. If I want to play or edit or do whatever with music, I install an application designed to do those things.
How about if my operating system just sticks to the job of system operations?
I'll wait for 8.11 by WillgasM · 2013-06-26 09:09 · Score: 5, Funny

I need my workgroups.
Microsoft considers desktop applications obsolete by Myria · 2013-06-26 09:14 · Score: 3, Informative

It's pretty clear that Microsoft considers desktop applications - and the accompanying Win32 API - to be obsolete. Windows 8 effectively is telling developers "my way or the highway", but seriously, people generally dislike Metro applications. Could you imagine PhotoShop having to be a Metro application?
Microsoft Windows 8 and 8.1 should have been renamed Microsoft Window.
The Start screen, even in 8.1, is effectively keyboard-based for me. I run programs in 8 by hitting control-escape to bring up the Start screen, then start typing the name of the program I want. To search through the icons is just about impossible.

--
"Screw Sun, cross-platform will never work. Let's move on and steal the Java language." - Visual J++ Product Manager
Lipstick on a Pig by Luthair · 2013-06-26 09:21 · Score: 3, Interesting

Unfortunately these are largely cosmetic changes and won't fix what many users (particularly those of us found on slashdot) actually have an issue with. There are a few concessions to regular users who need visual hints like a start button, however for the power user virtually everything wrong with Windows 8 is wrong with Windows 8.1. An OS designed for touch devices shoehorned onto everything in a vain attempt to make users familiar with it so they'll choose Microsoft for the phone and tablet purchases.
Not to mention they're introducing a search behaviour which sends terms out to the Internet, just like Canonical has done with Ubuntu. I'm surprised about the lack of outcry about the privacy implications.
Now that I've angered the Windows-8 fanbase I'll irritate everyone else - unfortunately in my estimation the only desktop alternative is KDE while still clunky it is superior to OSX (design predicated on a stupid user), Unity (OSX clone), Gnome (also predicated on a dumb user) while the remainder are missing modern features.
1. Re:Lipstick on a Pig by wonkey_monkey · 2013-06-26 10:18 · Score: 4, Funny
  
  Now that I've angered the Windows-8 fanbase
  I wouldn't worry about him.
  
  --
  systemd is Roko's Basilisk.
Re:However by cbhacking · 2013-06-26 09:31 · Score: 3, Informative

Ironically, launching Control Panel on Win8 is actually faster than on Win7 (by default). Right-click the Start button (yes it exists; it was just hidden by default) or hit Win+X, and select "Control Panel" from the menu that appears. Easy and straightforward.
My biggest gripe with Win8 is the Start search segregation. I don't want to need to use different keystrokes when searching for a "Setting" instead of an "App". Aside from the BS about which is which ("Disk Management" or "Create and format hard disk partitions" is under Settings, but if you type "diskmgmt.msc" it shows under Apps even though it's exactly the same thing), I just don't want to have to deal with switching result pools. This is fixed in 8.1, which is a big enough improvement to make me happy, personally.

--
There's no place I could be, since I've found Serenity...
Icon jungle by jones_supa · 2013-06-26 09:31 · Score: 3, Interesting

I hate this trend with Windows 8 and Unity where instead of having your apps and files nicely organized in their respective folders, you have this chaotic jumble of icons which you have to be searching through all the time.
Re:Requirements by DrGamez · 2013-06-26 09:32 · Score: 2, Informative

If you have a network connection, you MUST connect your log-in with a Microsoft account. There is no option to avoid doing this short of unplugging your landline or refusing to connect to a wifi point during setup.
I can imagine the "net required" aspect is coming in Windows Red.
Why announce it by andrewa · 2013-06-26 09:40 · Score: 2

if it's not yet available to the general public? I got a message stating that the ISOs are not yet available when just going to the MSDN site. I have an MSDN subscription for OS & Dev tools, and was able to download it. Seems like a strange thing to make a public announcement and then be told it's not *actually* ready for public download yet.

--
:(){ :|:& };:
Windows 8.1 is a nice attempt.. by GrBear · 2013-06-26 09:41 · Score: 2, Funny

Windows 8.1 is a nice attempt to polish a turd, but it's going to take more than hanging an air freshener off this corpse to make it live once again.
Re:But still by crutchy · 2013-06-26 09:48 · Score: 2

the start menu wouldn't have saved Windows 8... it was always still infected out-of-the-box by the W64/Microsoft virus
Re:However by jones_supa · 2013-06-26 09:51 · Score: 3, Interesting

Ironically, launching Control Panel on Win8 is actually faster than on Win7 (by default). Right-click the Start button (yes it exists; it was just hidden by default) or hit Win+X, and select "Control Panel" from the menu that appears. Easy and straightforward.
Straightforward?! The Win+X menu is a horrible hack and not discoverable at all.
What I see is happening here is that Win8 has just learned people to use various keyboard shortcuts more effectively because in the new GUI many things have been placed in awkward positions.
Re:Requirements by Anonymous Coward · 2013-06-26 09:55 · Score: 2, Informative

If you have a network connection, you MUST connect your log-in with a Microsoft account. There is no option to avoid doing this short of unplugging your landline or refusing to connect to a wifi point during setup.
I can imagine the "net required" aspect is coming in Windows Red.
Quote from MS website for anyone who cares:
"In order to use Windows 8.1 Preview you must sign in to your PC with a Microsoft account. The option to create a local account will be made available at the final release of Windows 8.1. "
Gimp Has Single Window Interface by tuppe666 · 2013-06-26 12:53 · Score: 2

LibreOffice is just as good as Office for 90% of tasks. GIMP, on the other hand, is still a dystopian nightmare compared to Photoshop, for one main reason: separate windows for everything.
Except Gimp has had a single window mode since 2.8 introduces an optional single-window mode these are the release notes http://www.gimp.org/release-notes/gimp-2.8.html here is ars reviewing it http://arstechnica.com/business/2012/05/hands-on-testing-the-gimp-28-and-its-new-single-window-interface/ the latest version of Gimp was released on Just a week ago and is 2.8.6 http://www.gimp.org/.
Although Multiple windows not that big a deal...was never a problem for me on the Mac version of photoshop.
MS shills are pretty much a known fact by Camael · 2013-06-26 16:16 · Score: 2

Its pretty much a known fact that MS employs shills to hawk their products online. Only, they don't call it shilling, they call it Technology Evangelism.
Fascinating read.
1. Re:MS shills are pretty much a known fact by rtb61 · 2013-06-26 21:16 · Score: 2
  
  However M$ should have realised the 'desktop' and notebook market is becoming pretty much what is 10 to 15 years ago. The 'majority' of computer users, just are not using a desktop at anywhere near it's design power or flexability, they will be content on big screen TV shininess, mobile phone flashiness and of course tablet media and game consumption.
  Those desktop users, now a technical minority in the computer market, still represent the same number of users that defined the bulk of the market 10 to 15 years ago, that set the pace for software and hardware choices. Ignore them to chase the cheetos crowd at your peril, the cheetos crowd was never ever really destined to use desktops, except in that interim stage over the last decade, as consumer level computer 'appliances' took the lead.
  
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  Chaos - everything, everywhere, everywhen