How is Windows 8.1 now?

D

darkpark

Gawd
Joined
Aug 15, 2004
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696
When Microsoft released Windows 8, I wasn't enthusiastic about it after I had seen and ready about it. Eventually MS released a cheap upgrade ($40 to download a key and ISO) which I jumped on. At the very least I wanted to take it for a spin. After 2 or 3 months, I just didn't like it. It worked very well and everything ran fine, but I didn't like the interface (even with having installed a 3rd party app to add the start menu). So I went back to Windows 7 Pro, but now that Windows 8.1 SP1 is out, I'm curious again. This time, I'd like to hear from people that have tried it, especially those that ran the earlier 8.0 version. What do you guys think?
 
Personally, I think it is fantastic and stable. I use it at work and at home. They did make some hugh improvement with how full screen apps work side by side. Also, for those that want it, there are close and minimize buttons on full screen apps and links in the taskbar.

The desktop is unchanged which means it works as it always has. Much better customization on the start screen as well built in. The best part of the start screen to me is that when it is the focus, no app or program can steal the focus away from it. That was one thing I always disliked, click on start button and well going to click on the program icon, poof, the start menu disappears because something took focus from it.

Worse is if it happens again and again.
 
love it. used to win8 fully at this point. No issues whatsoever.
 
I just wish Virtualbox would fix their Win8 support finally. It runs like crap as VM guest.

Probably have to pay for Parallels again.
 
Have you tried Vmware player? It's free and there's a way to install an OS into it eventhough it does not actually support the ability of installing OS's.

Anyway, thanks for the feedback. How do you guys think about the change(s) between the first iteration of windows 8 and how it is now (8.1 update). I have read that MS made some changes to make it more mouse and keyboard friendly. Did they also bring back the start menu?

I don't have an unquenchable desire to upgrade to windows 8, but i like to tinker about. A little change such as a change in the operating system makes it almost seem like you have a new computer. No? *grin*
 
After you get used to the learning curve , personally I like it. It needs a bit of setup tho to give you that traditional windows feel.
 
I liked Windows 8 from the start (*Pun intended* :) ) and just dealt with what I considered where it's limitations. However, Windows 8.1 and update 1 have both made a marked improvement in usability and speed. The only thing missing for me is persistent side by side full screen apps. (Basically, saved sessions that show just as you left them before shutting down.)

Oh, and how about a clock on the start screen as well. :D The start menu / start screen hybrid will not be out until the next update or maybe not until Windows 9. I did not mind pulling down from top to close an app but, I now use the close button when using a mouse.
 
I use it both at home and work. Converted last Win 7 machine at home to 8 just recently. Is it "perfect"? No, but to me nothing is. It is fast, very useable as a standard desktop like you had before and where it is "improved" things fly. Next update should bring back the Aero interface as an option, though the current iteration is ok. Mouse and keyboard are just fine. Right click start menu gets to shutdown quickly if needed.
Some mixes/crosses between the Metro and Desktop are a bit annoying but now that Metro apps show on the desktop taskbar as programs, switching around while primarily remaining desktop bound is quite easy.
When you use it day in and day out you start to notice the areas where things are improved and lightning quick that used to take some processing time. Personally I've requested another machine at work with 8.1 on it because I no longer have any need for a Win 7 machine and the improvements in 8.1 are worth having.
$.02
 
I still greatly prefer the Win7 UI, but 8.1 is configurable enough now to not be overly bothersome. You can pretty much get rid of Metro now, or at least reduce your need to interact with it.
There is always startisback anyway when it comes to it.
 
Still hate the Start Screen, but I very rarely ever have to interact with it since I installed Start8. Besides that, I really have no other complaints about Win8.
 
If you didn't like Windows 8 with a third party start menu, then you'll find a reason to hate windows 8.1.

With 8 and the third party start menu you basically had a better version of Windows 7 without aero. That's basically the only thing I could think of that is different.

Well aero isn't in 8.1 either, and unless I'm missing another Window 7 feature not in 8, then you're still not going to like it.
 
B00nie said:
I just wish Virtualbox would fix their Win8 support finally. It runs like crap as VM guest.
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I personally use VMWare Player. It's basically "VMWare Workstation Lite" now, and it's still free.

Performance is worlds better than VirtualBox, from my experience.
 
I like 7 much better still, but 8.1 update 1 is useable day to day with just minor hassles where I found 8.0 to be a real pain.
 
The issue with Windows 8 has never been about performance, compatibility, or stability. The issue is about the user experience. The user experience has gotten better but if you want a Start Menu, it's still not the OS for you.
 
I used Win8 daily from release until 8.1, which I still use daily. My workflow is regular, my experience reliable and predictable.

I still love how people treat the lack of a "Start Menu" like Microsoft made Windows completely unusable. Windows 1.0 to 3.1 were utterly unusable, nobody could ever find or run any apps, it just sat there useless.

*taps the browser button on his smartphone's screen full of icons to post a message on Facebook complaining how MS expects me to click icons on a screen full of icons.. how dare they!*
 
Unknown-One said:
I personally use VMWare Player. It's basically "VMWare Workstation Lite" now, and it's still free.

Performance is worlds better than VirtualBox, from my experience.
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It's not free for Mac unfortunately. I bought a VmWare Fusion a few years ago. It was total crap, parallels ran circles around it.
 
B00nie said:
It's not free for Mac unfortunately. I bought a VmWare Fusion a few years ago. It was total crap, parallels ran circles around it.
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Yeah, can't speak for the Mac version. You're probably better off with bootcamp there.

The Windows version is amazingly good, though. Good enough that I was actually able to run Crysis in a VM, and it was only about 10% slower than native (Windows 7 host, Windows 7 guest).
 
I've found that some people just don't like it, no matter how long they use it or how they set it up. Some have good reasons, others have trivial reasons. It's all on the user.

Personally, I love it. I've liked it since the dev. preview of Win 8. I like the Start Screen and prefer it over any start menu replacement. The few issues I do have with Windows 8 are so minor that going back to Windows 7 would still be a downgrade and unwanted.

Best thing you can do it give it a try. If you tried it and you found that the issues you had with the OS were minor, then you might have success this time. If you hated it last time and just couldn't stand it - you might have the same opinion until the next release.
 
More positives than negatives, once you strip all the crap off of it. Basically a better windows 7 but all the system tools are hidden in weird spots....until you fix it all.

Using windows 8 on a touchscreen tablet isnt so bad. But on a gaming mouse and keyboard rig its just dumb until you remove all crap.

Skydrive? Weather stocks and other internet things forcefed onto my desktop? Nooooooo thank you.
 
Forget Windows 8.1 Update 1 if you run a modern workstation machine with LSI SAS controllers. It is a disaster. Microsoft has issued a 'hotfix' here: https://support.microsoft.com/kb/2966870 (months after the fiasco). Who knows if it works because I'm not going near it. I was forced to revert to my backup system drive running Windows 7. I heard through the grapevine that Microsoft got some real flak from the top workstation manufacturers as 8.1u1 essentially bricked all their current machines. What a disgrace.
 
No issues at all on my desktop, though I use start 8 and its just like win 7. Though my media center has major issues with the 8.1 update 1.

My media center has protected recordings that only can be played back on it (the pc that recorded them), its on 8.1, if I do update 1 it thinks its a new pc and I can't play back my recordings. I have confirmed its the update as I had a system image right before the update and restoring the system image fixes the issue, doing the update again breaks play back. So right now my media center is forever stuck on 8.1 preupdate 1.
 
I enjoy 8.1. I'm beginning to be able to maneuver around it much more quickly than I could on 7, I'm actually using the Win key for the first time ever. Once the system boots to tile mode I click the desktop button and I never see tiles again until I restart.
 
Using it on my cheap HP laptop. Longer turn on times and has occasionally failed to come out of sleep. Only used 8.1 for a few days. Otherwise it is the same as far as I can tell. I am using Classic Shell.
 
HeavensCloud said:
Once the system boots to tile mode I click the desktop button and I never see tiles again until I restart.
Click to expand...

You know you don't even need to do that?

1. Right-click any open area in the taskbar, then click Properties.

2. Click the Navigation tab, then check the box next to Go to the desktop instead of Start when I sign in.

3. Click OK

Done :)
 
I actually like 8.1 for the most part. Windows 8, as a whole, still needs a lot of work IMO, but MS did make a lot of nice changes from 7. If you don't like the start screen, which is one of the biggest complaints, you can use any number of stat menu replacements and it functions exactly like 7 did (at least with startisback).
 
hajalie24 said:
If you didn't like Windows 8 with a third party start menu, then you'll find a reason to hate windows 8.1.

With 8 and the third party start menu you basically had a better version of Windows 7 without aero. That's basically the only thing I could think of that is different.

Well aero isn't in 8.1 either, and unless I'm missing another Window 7 feature not in 8, then you're still not going to like it.
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I do miss aeroglass, but it doesn't bother me too much since getting used to the new UI. The one major issue I have with Windows 8's desktop UI is that I like to set the border color/taskbar/etc to dark grey to reduce eye strain but the problem is that the text stays black for the title bar for each window. AFAIK, there is no way to change it to a lighter color.
 
I had Windows 8 on my desktop, but I think I'll install it onto my laptop instead. License-wise, I should be alright. No? I'm still only using one copy of it. Technically, I'm transferring my purchased copy of Win8 to another device.
I'm going to give it a go on my laptop. If Win 8.1 update seems nice enough now than I'll purchase a 2nd license for my desktop.

I'm not a fan of "upgrades" as in installing a copy of Windows over an older version (I prefer clean installs), but has anyone tried it? Won't Windows 8 migrate my data over? I'm just curious, eventhough I'll probably do a clean install.
 
I like win8.1. Now I am waiting on 8.2. Metro must die or it is macos 10.10 for me, or Ubuntu.
 
Yes, it's sensibly faster than 7. That alone may be worth it.

Metro is fine. After lots of playing, I find out I like the start menu better, but it's not a big deal, really.

All in all, 8.1 Update 1 is solid enough to replace 7.
 
Said it before, I will say it again. This alone makes running Win 8.1/Server2012 R2 worth it.

 
Classic Shell makes Win 8 usable for me, though in the process it has (finally) given me enough of a push to start using Linux a lot more.
 
elleana said:
So if I'm happily using 7, is there any compelling reason to get 8.1??
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I would not bother with an upgrade, unless it has some must have feature for you.
Though if you are building or buying new, might as well go with 8.1. Unless you have a spare Win 7 license laying around and feel like being cheap. Been there and done that myself.
 
Some people should simply wait until the Start menu makes its official comeback, and it could be a while still.
 
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