Windows 8.1 = Fix (Windows 8) <=> Windows 7 = Fix (Windows Vista)
Just one week remaining! After one week on 26 June 2013, Microsoft will release a free Public Preview version of Windows 8.1 which will be a must have update for Windows 8 and Windows RT users.
Many people consider Windows 8 as a 2nd Windows Vista as it failed to impress many Windows users. Microsoft tried to make Windows 8 as a single OS for 2 different platforms: Desktops and Tablets. Although Windows 8 worked great on touch enabled devices but Desktop and Laptop users didn’t like it. Missing Start Menu and Start button, irritating hot corners such as Charms Bar and many other things made Windows 8 users experience difficult and unpleasant.
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Actually if you notice, Windows 8 story is really quite similar to Windows Vista. Remember the time when Windows XP was doing great on Desktops and Laptops but when Microsoft released Windows Vista, it was different from Windows XP in looks as well as in functionality. Microsoft removed classic toolbar from Windows Vista Explorer and replaced it with new Command Bar. They completely redesigned Start Menu in Windows Vista. Implementation of Aero Glass transparency and other eye candy effects made the whole OS slow and heavy on resources.
But when Microsoft released Windows 7, it worked like a fix for Windows Vista. Although it was based on the same programming code but it helped Microsoft in fixing all issues which were faced by several Windows Vista users. Windows 7 was fast and came with many new features such as new Superbar (redesigned Taskbar), Aero Peek, Aero Shake and Aero Snap functionality. Since people got used to Windows Vista in that time period, they loved the new OS Windows 7.
Now if we talk about Windows 8, we’ll find some similarity between Windows Vista and Windows 8 story. When Windows 7 was doing great on Computers, Microsoft launched Windows 8 which was too much different from Windows 7. Windows 8 didn’t contain Start Menu and Start button. Microsoft replaced Start Menu with Windows Phone style Start Screen which didn’t get good response from people. Removal of Start button made the life of Windows 8 users so much difficult. New Windows users were unable to understand where to click to access their favorite programs. Also addition of hot corners such as Charms Bar made Desktops and Laptops users life horrible. They wanted to disable Charms bar but Microsoft didn’t provide any option to disable it. Also Microsoft put Shutdown options under Charms Bar which were not easily accessible by new Windows 8 users.
And now Microsoft has listened Windows 8 users feedback and going to release Windows 8.1 which will work quite similar to Windows 7. Windows 8.1 will fix all the issues and annoyances faced by Windows 8 users. It’ll come with Start button so that new users don’t face problems in using the new OS. It’ll also provide many new options to customize Start Screen which will make Start Screen work like a full screen Start Menu as mentioned here.
Windows 8.1 will also allow users to disable hot corners such as Charms Bar. It’ll also allow you to direct boot into Desktop. Microsoft has also added new option to quickly and easily shutdown the new OS as mentioned here.
Apart from these fixes, Windows 8.1 will also contain new functionality which will definitely impress existing Windows users.
So you can see Windows 8.1 might help Microsoft in making Windows 8 a perfect OS. Windows 8.1 has the capability to prove Windows 8 as good and user-friendly as Windows XP and Windows 7 were.
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What do you say about this thing? Do you also feel the same? Are you also waiting for Windows 8.1 release? Feel free to share your feedback in your comment…
Dear VG,
With my little experience, I found that XPS reader on Win 8 is opening only one file at a time. Multiple files are not opened. Is it not one of the shortfalls of Win 8.
Love the title and your views. On the spot. I agree with you VG.
Nice to see Microsoft listened to their people. I will also upgrade to Windows 8.1 when it is fully released.
Yes I wait for windows 8.1 to be released! 🙂
Hai Vishal,
Great Investigation.The next technical James bond. 😉
I had the option to install windows 8 on my PC, when I purchased it, but I decided that I wasn’t in the mood to find a slew of bug fixes. One thing that annoys me with Windows is that it has bugs in the most simplest tasks (or what appears to be simple, I’m not a coder so forgive me). I had to reinstall my OS, because the system tray icons kept disappearing, the fix it didn’t fix a thing. And the glitch with in the notepad. They over look these things and they spread across every edition of Windows. There’s a bug in Windows 7 where the taskbar preview don’t work where you click them, and when you hold your cursor over the network icon the tool tip bubble stays there, until you mouse over again.
Great article Mr.VG ..
yeah it’s true.. it’s the vista story but in a faster pace…. MS are reacting faster than ever 😀 a very good sign for the future Windows releases 😀 Still I love and live in Windows 8 .. waiting 8.1 for all the new features.
Its heard about Windows little History, I think, all the news go through from you, Thanks Vg.
Since installing Windows 8.1 public release can not be updated when the final release comes out, I’ll pass and wait till the official update is release.
Since I’m using Classic Start, I actually don’t gain that much with the updated Modern Desktop improvements.
i look forward to 8.1, although i have gotten used to not having a start menu. i look forward to the customizations that will come along with 8.1.
I can’t wait for Windows 8.1 to come out, but I hope it does not break the system once we update to it. I would really hate do a fresh install for all my programs to work. Hopefully they also have options to keep the system as it is, well to a point. I actually like Windows 8. the only downfall I would say is the search. I hate having so specify weather or not I want to search apps, settings or files.
hey WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA…
you guy srsly would think that Windows 8.1 (i prefer calling it Blue) would be a big improvement from Win8? you guys can keep your opinions, but in my point of view, it wouldnt be a great improvement at all unless M$ brought back the Start Menu, or give us an option to choose between a desktop/tablet UI.
Windows 8 apps are useless and break the user experience. I don’t need the whole of my 20″ screen to view a pdf. But with the app, I can’t run it side by side with any program, it’ll occupy the full screen.
Plus the control panel, oh please, tell me you don’t seriously believe that using that control panel could ever be as easy as widows XP’s.
so, maybe the Windows 9 have new design , and if microsoft mistake occur again, it will be the 3rd windows vista
i don’t like the metro theme, microsoft should enable the aero theme.
I usually find your insights very useful and to the the point, Vishal, but this time I cannot agree. The Win8-Win8.1 correction is not comparable to the Vista-Win7 correction.
Vista and Win7 were both designed from the same fundamental design (both were optimized for desktop PCs). So the correction did not need to involve any core changes.
Win8 however introduced a fatal fundamental design flaw: trying to combine this previous design with an design optimized for touch screens and tablets. The result was a horrible, unusable mix: a kind of Frankenstein monster 😉
Win8.1 makes a few cosmetic amends, but in fact it does nothing to correct this basically wrong design philosophy. So it will not work as a correction of the actual _basic_ Win8 flaws.
My hopes are for Win9, which should come in two _different_ variants, thus solving all the basic design mixup errors. We need a Win9A for productive use on non-touch mouse-and-keyboard desktop PCs, and a Win9B for consumptive use on touch-centered tablets.
Until Microsoft understands this, and in due time they will be forced to understand, the essential Win8 problems will not be solved.
i am still using windows vista on my pc ,never used xp have no problems with it at all ,my wife has windows 7 on her netbook dont have a problem with using that she did not like using vista as she had been using xp at work but now has no problems ,both of us have tried and used windows windows 8 and we both agree windows 8 is great on mobiles and tablets but no good on a pc if you work on one all day you do not want touch screen just a keyboard and mouse.
I really don’t understand why folks are not happy with windows 8. Microsoft has put lot of efforts and energy to make something impressive. It’s really hard to be creative when you are going through a competitive phase. Windows 8 is a new platform and will take some time to get used to it. But It doesn’t mean that we should stop trying new things. Nothing is permanent except Change and change is everything.
Windows 8 is a flawed OS from the desktop point of view. I don’t need “apps” on the desktop, and it seems to focus on these tiles and apps rather than just giving you a desktop experience. The start button is so automatic, that getting rid of it seems brain dead (for a desktop/notebook). There may be no need on a tablet, but that’s a different type of computing experience.
Windows Vista was slow, was intensive, and maybe it was the build I got (Toshiba notebook) but it was a relative dog. I still use XP on a few desktops and it works great. Windows 7, too. Windows 8? It was MS effort to be ‘cute’ and these sidebar features, the tiles, the booting to the tiles–all of it is annoying if not disorienting. It is actually forcing me to the macworld if it doesn’t get fixed.
I think that windows 8.1 will be a failure again for microsoft, I don’t think the start menu is going to be what people expect. Windows 7 will serve my needs till they quit updating it then I’m off to Ubuntu
Question. Is Windows 8.1 available as a standalone installation? In other words, do you need Windows 8 installed to install Windows 8.1? Is that known yet or do I have to wait for the preview to be released first?
Patience rewards us at the correct time. So wait for windows 9
Hey VG , I also have another doubt . After we Install this update when it comes on the 26th , will it remove all the metro apps which were present before updating , or will it remove the desktop apps as well??
^^ If you upgrade Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 Preview, it’ll not remove any app or software.
@rcmero
Both. Windows 8.1 Preview will be available in both forms: Upgrade and Fresh installation. You’ll be able to upgrade Windows 8 to Windows 8.1 Preview or you’ll be able to download ISO file to install it separately.
If you are a gamer, I will not recommend installing 8.1.
After upgrading to 8.1, I could not ALT+TAB to the desktop without the app crashing – every time.
I disagree with Windows 8 being the new Vista. Nerds can look through all the hyped and obsolete stuff, and it sure smells like hyped visualization. Experienced users like the simplified navigation of the classic desktop, and as I see it the MetroUI is like a that new annoying supermarket concept where the store moves stuff around to make you confused and stay a little longer, buying more in the end.
But Windows 8 have proved very stable and smooth-running to me. So I adapted into the best of both worlds:
I have re-installed my entire OS back to plain Windows 8 again.
Using MetroUI only as a Start button, my massive amount of ugly shortcuts are now hidden away from my desktop.
The result are a clean desktop with less stressfull visuals – the only way MetroUI should be used IMHO.
What’s the problem with Multiple touch for desktop or notebook ?
Why multiple touch for desktop and notebook does not success and not popular ?
The answer is simple : Multiple touch screen will cause hands being tired with prolonged uses.
For smartphone, it success because 1) Smartphone are mobile device, you probably not bring a mouse with your smartphone and 2) It allow a mobile phone to view a desktop website easily.
For tablets, it is designed not have a mouse or touch pad together so it also success.
But it is not necessary for multiple touch implement in a desktop or notebook edition.
User never wants to get pain and tired for their hands when use for a long time.
Windows 8 is based on multiple touch screen design. As multiple touch will never success on desktop, Windows 8 will eventually a failure product even it fix it’s bugs, unless it changed the design back to a normal desktop based version.
Microsoft removed many supportable files for Windows Media Player and also DVD playback……which will be the major drawback for Windows 8.1 & 8….
Why Microsoft is not realizing these things ??
Microsoft Never gives importance to its Applications such as Internet Explorer & Windows Media Player….. Even they are making them all worst..
70570 error and then restoring older ver… how to fix it ???