Ars Technica Reviews Leaked Windows 8.1 Update

SternisheFan writes to note that ArsTechnica's Peter Bright has reviewed the leaked Windows 8.1 update that was temporarily available from Microsoft's own servers. Here's how the article starts: "Leaks of upcoming versions of Microsoft's software are nothing new, but it's a little surprising when the source is Microsoft itself. The Spring update to Windows 8.1, known as Update 1, was briefly available from Windows Update earlier this week. The update wasn't a free-for-all. To get Windows Update to install it, you had to create a special (undocumented, secret) registry key to indicate that you were in a particular testing group; only then were the updates displayed and downloadable. After news of this spread, Microsoft removed the hefty—700MB—update from its servers, but not before it had spread across all manner of file-sharing sites... Just because it was distributed by Windows Update doesn't mean that this is, necessarily, the final build, but it does present a good opportunity to see what Microsoft is actually planning to deliver."

Comments

Re:Nobody cares

[Calydor]

Seems to me it's more hate for Windows 8 than it's hate for Microsoft.

Re:Nobody cares

[Billly Gates]

I have extended family members. One daughter got a new Windows 8 tablet/ultrabook Lenovo hybrids for Christmas and loves it. She brings it out in the island in the kitchen to browse facebook, do homework with MS Word, etc. Her mom grabbed it for recipes, they used it for skype more relatives, her brother kept fighting to use it for things.

I mentioned how HORRIBLE ITS UI was and offered to put Windows 7 on. They looked at me like EWW that GUI is for old people that doesn't run applets.

Like the EEE it is super portable.

The issue us geeks need to use muscle memory to relearn something and we used to laugh at those who could not adopt to change. Now the joke is on us.

The millennials like their apps, tiny sizes, portability, long battery life, etc.

Windows 9 will be a refined balanced UI. Tile applets on a Windows 7 desktop if you plug in the keyboard and mouse (mouse-first UI) if rumors are true. MS nees an answer to iOS and Android with battery life, smooth graphics acceleration, and applets. It is NOT GOING AWAY.