Microsoft Confirms Windows 8.1 Spring Update, To Focus On Non-touch Devices

SmartAboutThings writes "At a special event at the Mobile World Congress, Microsoft has announced the 'spring' update for Windows 8.1. Joe Belfiore, who is the head of platform at Microsoft for smartphones, tablets and desktop devices, said the Windows 8.1 update will come with improvements for non-touch devices. Belfiore also said the update will focus on bringing back some of the 'old' features to Windows 8.1, such as the much-hyped start button, but this won't have a negative impact on the touch experience."

Comments

Start button?

[jones_supa]

The article talks about the "start button" making a comeback, but it obviously did in 8.1 already. Are they actually talking about Start Menu?

Re:Start button?

[gl4ss]

8.1 start button is just a link to the start screen.

if they really want to follow up on the ui designers bullshit line that they want to have the "power user"(someone who uses desktop, lol) interface as well.. then they have to get off their ass and do a proper start menu built in.

I use win8.1, I've seen the start screen maybe 2 weeks ago last time.. and then I was installing some unsigned drivers(for sanguinololu, and yeah.. you have to go through one step in metro to do that.. which makes no sense if you believe that the ui guys reddit comments weren't just total damage control grade A bullshit).

Re:Start button?

[_xeno_]

Do I really need to see my open windows and part of my desktop behind the start menu when I'm just clicking to start a program? Not really.

Actually... yes. You do. Believe it or not.

There's a concept called "doorway amnesia" where you'll tend to "forget" what it was you're doing when your surroundings change entirely. It's why everyone has experienced walking into a room and then forgetting why they went there in the first place. By entirely replacing the desktop and changing your context, it makes it harder to remember why you opened the Start Screen in the first place.

The rest of the complaints have to do with it being slower to use than the start menu thanks in part to the transition animations. My personal annoyance is that not everything you have installed shows up there, instead they're hidden behind the down arrow. Yes, yes, you can "pin them to start" but after installing a new app, it always initially confuses me when I go looking for it and it isn't on the Start Screen.

Windows renders everything to an off-screen 96dpi buffer, then just scales that up 200%.

Does Windows do the bilinear filtering thing that the Retinal MacBooks do? I saw one running in a store, and the way it handles non-DPI aware apps is bilinearly scaling it up. Made the entire thing look very blurry.

Re:Start Screen

[Anonymous Coward]

And when you have multiple versions of the same product installed (in different directories) for testing purposes, how does seach really resolve that?
The old menu system worked perfectly in cases like this. THen there are the cases where can't remember the name of the executable and the menu system removed the need to even know it in the first place.

Re:99%

[Bing Tsher E]

Not anymore. You can now get a full x86 tablet with 8.1 for about the same price as a Nexus. It's still not for sure how things will settle, but this might be the point at which Tablets become something more than a toy to the public at large.

It would be a delicious irony if the entry of affordable regular Windows onto Tablets became the hinge point for their mainstream acceptance. Maybe Apple will soon be forced by the market to sell an OSX tablet.

Re: too late, Microsoft

[Bing Tsher E]

My wife bought a new Windows 8.1 laptop yesterday. I got a new 8.1. tablet last week.

We looked at the abandoned aisle for the Apple stuff at Frys. There wasn't anybody there at all. The sales clerks were busy trying to keep up with the people buying Windows laptops.