First Looks At Windows 8.1, Complete With 'Start' Button 800
Ars Technica has taken a look at Microsoft's newly released preview of Windows 8.1. As widely rumored, the point release features a clamored-for concession to Windows users who rankled at the loss of Windows' Start button in the taskbar.
In addition to various tweaks to 8's search capabilities and icon presentation, says the article, "Some of Windows 8's obvious limitations are being lifted. In 8.1, Metro apps can be run on multiple monitors simultaneously. On any single monitor, more than two applications can be run simultaneously. Instead of Windows 8's fixed split, where one application gets 320 pixels and the other application gets the rest, the division between apps will be variable. It'll also be possible to have multiple windows from a single app so that, for example, two browser windows can be opened side-by-side."
Similar reports on these changes at Wired, Engadget, and SlashCloud.
If you don't like metro... (Score:5, Informative)
...don't use any Metro apps. You're not forced to, apart from some initial app-pinning perhaps. Apart from that you can happily live in Windows 8, enjoy the extra speed and UI enhancements and never see metro again. Happy days!
Re:Not good enough (Score:4, Informative)
There's also the 'singular they' [wikipedia.org].
Re:Not good enough (Score:5, Informative)
Agreed. My company refuses to switch to Window 8. I suspect that Windows 7 will be the new Windows XP for years to come (if you need to run Windows in your environment, it will be Windows 7). The issue with Microsoft is that they went about this wrong. They forced significant changes upon users where changes were not really warranted. This is particularly a big issue in companies where users are accustomed to working on the same style of desktop etc. These are people that complain when an icon is moved on their desktop or get confused with minor changes to applications so a full UI overhaul in the corporate space was truly a bad idea and one which will cost Microsoft dearly in the years ahead. Giving options to use their new interface components is a better approach (one which Apple has taken with their desktop OS via the Launchpad which brings up pages of icons representing applications to launch, identical to their IOS devices). I understand that Microsoft sees the writing on the wall and that mobile devices and operating systems is the future source of revenue, but dumping these changes so suddenly upon the masses was a bad decision.
I've never been a fan of seeing the significant UI changes made each time a new version of Windows is released. I have worked on Windows servers for years and really hated the changes introduced with Server 2008. I still need to figure out where certain functions are when I have to work on a Windows server (I spend much more time on Linux servers now). I've heard similar complaints from friends who work in IT as well.
Re:Really? (Score:4, Informative)
Was the interface really that broken?? This doesn't even sound like it's a usable environment.
The Metro interface is basically a mediocre clone of the iOS/Android interface. It's OK for tablets and smartphones, but an absurd joke on the desktop.
Re:Really? (Score:5, Informative)
Those are only for Metro apps. I've been using Win8 at home for a while, and frankly it feels just like 7 now. My main use for the start menu on 7 was to open it and start typing the name of the app that I wanted. The Start screen in 8 functions the same way, only I hit the Windows key on my keyboard instead, which is faster anyway. Methinks the start screen is just a highly visible rallying point for people to whine about Windows.
Re:If you don't like metro... (Score:4, Informative)
2 options: if you're a heavy start-menu user for some reason, there's plenty of OSS packages to revive the old menu. Like really, in less than 60 seconds you can have it back. Second option; pin programs to the start bar or desktop. Neither one is a big deal and against this small downside (for some) you have smaller memory footprint & a faster OS on almost all metrics. I find it incredible that self-confessed geeks have such an issue with this very small speed-bump that actually benefits many others who use it.
1 min fix (Score:2, Informative)
So they just pinned a shortcut to the metro start menu to the task bar. Wonderful. Does it break replacements like classic shell as an added bonus?
Re:Not good enough (Score:5, Informative)
BTW, is power off button still somewhere in Metro sidebar and its settings (well, since they didn't provide real start menu...)? How can that be considered ergonomic?
Re:Not good enough (Score:5, Informative)
What I really want on Windows is a Stop button.
Given how well hidden the "power" menu and logout button are in Windows 8, that might actually not be a bad idea...
(To restart your computer, open the Charms Bar, go to Settings, and then hit the Power menu to reveal the Restart and Shutdown options. To log out, something you used to do from the same menu you shutdown and rebooted from, instead you open the Start menu, and click on your user name to open a menu you'd never guess existed.)
Re:Really? (Score:4, Informative)
That's referring to the 'Metro' touch screen style apps. Desktop apps still work the same as they always did.
Basically, yes, it's broken, but more because it's harder to get to the old config screens and such that you're used to. Once you're set up, it's not that different.
Re:Not good enough (Score:5, Informative)
I'm testing Windows 8 for a company that is likely going to be wise enough to skip it. But I keep using it just to maintain familiarity with it.
Anyway, to sleep or shutdown, I've found it's easiest to just hit ctrl-alt-del and use the power button from there. It's what I've been telling people to do as well.
Of course, my old Windows key + R, "shutdown -r -t 0" habit is well entrenched and used a lot too, from rebooting machines over RDP.
Re:How to save your company (Score:5, Informative)
You are incorrect, Please look at Server Core, Power Shell and other tech in Server that lets you run it GUIless and more UNIX like...Your insuts are based on Windows 2000/2003 products, times changed.
Re:If you don't like metro... (Score:5, Informative)
That's not the point. I shouldn't have to resort to third-party hacks to get core functionality that should be in the main OS, and was in the OS before Steve Ballmer started wishing he was Steve Jobs.
Re:Not good enough (Score:4, Informative)
ALT-F4 from the desktop gives you the power off/log off menu as well.
Re:If you don't like metro... (Score:3, Informative)
WinKey+D and you're back to Windows 7. Or a single-click from the start-menu. Or in 8.1 you won't even have to do that.
Don't like the start-menu? Don't use it then - in seconds you've got your old menu back. Also Win8 noticeably uses less memory than 7; the shell upgrades are nice and frankly if you're stuck at "this isn't working as I want it to" then you should hand your geek-badge in because really....this isn't difficult. There's some nice things in Windows 8, but yes, some things have moved around too.
Windows 8 has much more flaws than Start Menu (Score:5, Informative)
We've just been handed out workstations with Windows 8 in them. My productivity has plummeted. Lots of really small things.
Start menu isn't one of them, not really. Classic Shell is available and works most of the time. However, there are lots of small snags, that individually wouldn't matter, but since they are *all* present I'm really avoiding the use of the new WS at all costs.
1) The desktop interface doesn't allow for proper, colored themes. I've been able to patch things somewhat with UXPatcher from http://www.syssel.net/hoefs/software_uxtheme.php?lang=en [syssel.net] and an appropriate theme from Deviantart, but I still think it's ugly. I cannot customize colors anymore, the title bar text is ALWAYS black.
2) Title bar text is centered. I know that it's centered on e.g. Mac OSX, but it's not been centered in Windows since Win 3.1. I have lost lots of working hours simply because I've alt-tabbed, and my typical quick glance at the top left of window doesn't give me confirmation that I'm at the correct window causes problems. At least, it takes time for me to move my face to center of each title bar. At worst, it leads to lost work - I've already once started to configure wrong server.
3) Application associations are to Metro apps by default.When clicking a file on the desktop, why the hell does Windows think I want to launch a Metro app?
4) At some point I somehow managed to launch the Finances application. Suddendly my screen is full of stock tickers. I don't know how to close it. Alt+f4 doesn't work. Esc doesn't work. Finally, Win+D seemed to work. I still don't know why that app started.
5) Most of the desktop effects that seemed to work fine in Win7 doesn't work with my RDP client from Linux machine (krdc). Sometimes I can't even see the pointer (taking cursor shadows off seem to help)
6) It's slow. Reboot seems to take like 5 minutes.
I'm not particularly worried though. On the desktop, Windows 7 will stay prevalent for ages.
However, on the server side, Windows Server 2012 has similar problems in it's UI (well, no Metro, but...)
Re:If you don't like metro... (Score:3, Informative)
Windows 8 doesn't bring any new things you can do, but it removes a lot of things could do in the past (like use 2 windows side by side).
This statement contradicts reality in a way I find both amusing and disturbing. Have you /used/ the Win8 desktop?
Re:Not good enough (Score:5, Informative)
Try Win+I. That brings up a power option on the right.
Re:Not good enough (Score:5, Informative)
Spoken like a true moron -- I'm the freakin' admin, and I spent 15+ years as a developer. If I have it open, it's because I use it constantly.
This is the stuff I use to do my job, and rebooting because someone has no idea of what's going on but thinks a reboot will make the problem go away has always been a stupid idea.
Usually it's some idiot doing tech support who knows far less than I do who is suggesting it. Just because some half-wit at the service desk has that as the first item on his checklist doesn't make it the right choice.
You are speaking as a developer, not someone who has come through the support ranks.
As someone who *has* up from support, your opinion is, quite frankly, ludicrous: Support often doesn't get the documentation to sort out what could be causing stupid problem [x], because "that doesn't happen in our test environment...", which often doesn't reflect the reality of a machine that someone actually *uses*.
Computers do stupid things, often caused by poor decisions from someone that uses them. Software does stupid things, often caused by poor decisions from someone that wrote it. Dumping on tier 1 support because they don't have sufficient tools or information to understand the entire scope of what they've been asked to support is not helping solve the overall problem of "all software has bugs" or "software companies don't do sufficient [x] for their support reps", where [x] is any combination of the following: documentation, training, testing, tool provisioning.
If all of the steps were done right for everything (support who knows what they're doing, with sufficient tools to support software that is properly tested and well documented), I'd agree: Rebooting is the hail mary of a tech that doesn't want to fix the problem. In my experience, very few, if any of those are true. This goes doubly for the desktop OS stuff I've had to support.
Re:If you don't like metro... (Score:5, Informative)
What's a "WinKey"? I don't think my model M has one of those.