Posted on 06/26/2013 12:27:51 PM PDT by SeekAndFind
Microsoft has been talking about its next version of Windows 8 for months, and has already shown off bits and pieces of it.
The new version, Windows 8.1, debuts today. It's not the final version, although anyone with a Windows 8 device can download it from Windows Update or the Windows app store to try it out.
The release comes on the opening day of Microsoft's big developers conference in San Francisco called Build.
We got to take the preview version of Windows 8.1 for a spin. Here's what you can expect to change when you make the free upgrade later this year.
It fixes some of the things that people hated in the original version of Windows 8 and it added a bunch of new features.
1) You can boot your PC directly into the classic desktop mode.
After a lot of customer feedback asking for this, Microsoft included a setting that will let you boot your computer into a classic desktop mode instead of the Windows 8 touchscreen menu.
It's a bit tricky to find. Go to the Desktop, right click or press on the task bar. You'll find a bunch of hidden Power User options there including one in the Navigation pane that says "Go to the desktop instead of Start when I sign in."
2) Apps will automatically update.
Apps you download from Microsoft's app store will now update themselves whenever the developer releases a new version.
The app store icon no longer shows a little number to indicate the number of updates you have waiting. However, there's some confusion what will happen if an app update requires more permissions like access to your location or list of contacts. A Microsoft spokesperson said that these will auto update too, granting the app more permission,
(Excerpt) Read more at businessinsider.com ...
Yeah, still not going to use W8.
Give it up. Go with OS-X / Apple.
Win-8? Not. At. Gunpoint.
It’s still crapware.
If you don’t have any special software that can only run on Windows, forget Windows and use Linux.
If you have special video, image or audio editing software, or custom-built applications that only run on Windows, then run Windows as a NAT connected virtual guest on a Linux system, behind a solid Linux firewall.
Only connect the Windows guest to the internet once a month, just long enough to get the latest updates.
Which one?
Darn, I thought I would get in before the Apple/Year of Linux people started doing their ritual rifle in the mouth head explosions because Microsoft was mentioned.
It sounds like all the work arounds I put into my grumpy developer mode installation of Windows 8, as well as the quirks that I did not like, were picked up by Microsoft.
“Win-8? Not. At. Gunpoint.”
Precise and to the point.
Microsoft - the Yugo of operating systems.
> Give it up. Go with OS-X / Apple.
Yes, if you don’t mind your Apple appliance snooping on you and reporting to the Apple mothership, which gives it away free to Fedzilla.
Run Linux.
If you need Windows, run it as a virtual guest on a Linux host. You can isolate it from the net that way and still use it to run the programs you need.
Stay away from Apple
Stay away from Google (Android).
Actually, an isolated system does not need updates at all, unless one of KBs fixes a crash or something that you specifically are experiencing. Microsoft warns against applying hotfixes "just in case." But a service pack is just a collection of those hotfixes and patches. A lot of stability in Linux comes from the fact that the original system is lean, and the updates do not come with performance penalty. You can't say that about Windows.
Still trying to survive with the best Windows ever — XP.
Simple fluorescent one-color blocks with no border and no gradients were found....back in 1982 with Atari 2600 consoles and the ‘Breakout’ game.
It boggles the mind that in the age of 1920x1080, high-def, high-res displays with megapowered graphics processors that Microsoft would implement the Metro interface. I don’t care if it looks the same across platforms, especially when pigs will fly before I own a Windows phone or tablet.
What happened to MS’ desire to keep its business market share, where the licensing cash still is? Metro is especially unusable in a business setting where we don’t care if the user has photos of her niece waiting in the e-mail inbox.
> Actually, an isolated system does not need updates at all,
> unless one of KBs fixes a crash or something that you
> specifically are experiencing.
Ah, yes, very good point.
Don’t need no stinkin’ anti-virus, neither.
You can download the service pack image onto your Linux host, then transfer it to the Windows guest through a shared folder, and install it on the Windows guest from there.
it maybe crapware but if you have to support family it’s what it is, me i run win8 in a VM so it does not touch the bare metal...
"Go away...batin'..."
Yuck! I want to give explicit permission before any updates. Usually I'll let a few days pass at least to see if others have problems. I had a great blackjack program on an android tablet, but the company which wrote it was bought out and the buying company replaced the good program with their own ad-heavy piece of crapware. Its reviews dropped from 5 stars to 1 star within the day.
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