HardOCP News
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According to this report, Windows 8.1 update 1 is all done and off to manufacturing. The update will supposedly be available to the general public in April.
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Windows 8.1 Update 1 Released To Manufacturing
- Thread starter HardOCP News
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Gorankar
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Will I be able I uninstall StartIsBack yet, or not?
Unknown-One
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Depends on why you're currently using StartIsBack.
Gorankar
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To restore the Win7 start menu.
Unknown-One
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Which part? Not really enough information to go on there...
Windows 8.1 Update 1 makes some fairly heavy concessions for mouse-use on the start screen, and moves things (like the power button) back into Start.
So, if they corrected the particular aspects of the Start Screen you disagreed with, then "yes, you can uninstall StartIsBack"
If the particular aspects of the Start Screen you don't like aren't among the list of changes, then "no, guess you'll want to keep on using that add-on).
heatlesssun
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I've not tried it but from what I read on other forums with people running leaked versions of Update 1 it still works.
heatlesssun
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What's in the leaked versions of Update 1 doesn't really concede anything I think, most of the things are optional like modern apps in the taskbar with a title bar and even then those only effect keyboard and mouse operation and they have been asked for since day one. I'd say Microsoft is most of the way there with this update regarding the bulk of the major complaints. The major things missing still are a Start Menu or analog to it and windowed modern apps. Lesser issues would be the split between the Control Panel and PC Settings and hot corners, though 8.1 presented options to configure those and with the ability to show modern apps in the taskbar, the need to switch between apps using the hot corners has been eliminated.
I'm looking forward to playing with it, but I'm not expecting miracles.
Currently, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Windows 8/8.1.
On my laptop and desktop, I run StartisBack and have Metro/Modern totally hidden, all hot corners disabled, upgrades disabled, Windows Store disabled, Ribbon Explorer disabled, etc. Basically, I've turned it back into Windows 7 -- but it is NOTICEABLY faster than Windows 7, especially with an SSD.
On a desktop, I like Windows 8 better than 8.1 -- more stuff is still in Control Panel rather than PC Settings and they hadn't totally borked the group by removable storage view in file explorer yet.
On my Asus Transformer tablet, I find myself using the Metro UI more than the desktop -- right up until I need to do something productive. Then I switch over to desktop mode with StartisBack start menu -- which works fine with touch, especially with large icons and font sizing. Actually, it takes less hand motion to tap the Start Button, All Programs, etc. item in touchscreen mode than it does to swipe to try and find something in the Start Screen -- and the old XP Style flyout menu is actually more convenient with touch than the Vista/7 style menu is.
Biggest gripes (things Microsoft still needs to address for Win9 IMHO):
1) No legal way to sideload apps unless you are in a corporate environment on the Enterprise version. I do NOT want to have to always redownload all my apps every time, especially when they may have updated the version to a newer one that may not work as well for my purposes.
2) The stupid Metro-style network pop-out for WiFi/VPN/etc. sucks badly. Not being able to change SSID priority order without using NETSH WLAN is also absurd.
3) Could someone PLEASE write a halfway decent mail app for Metro???
4) All the normal gripes about the lack of a start menu, etc in desktop mode -- all easily remedied by StartIsBack
5) Privacy concerns with the non-local accounts and the fact you can no longer run the standalone Skydrive app normally on a local account in 8.1.
6) The lack of decent codec integration for mpeg2, etc. Yes, you can work around it, but it still is a pain unless you get Pro and the Media Center add-on pack (which is ridiculous, because there is no other feature in Pro that I typically need for a Media Center type application).
7) New SMB implementation breaks scan to SMB, etc. on a LOT of devices -- many of which don't have firmware updates available.
8) Can we please make the Public/Private network settings easier to change explicitly???
9) IE11 is hardcoded into Win8.1 -- IE11 breaks a LOT of business websites unless in compatibility mode, and some even IN compatability mode. Additionally, Flash is physically baked into IE11 -- unfortunately, the version of Flash baked into IE11 is not uniformly compatible with all websites that do work with the full Adobe plugin.
Pluses..
1) The new file copy window is nice.
2) Network file transfers and actual network behavior are much improved -- and definitely faster
3) SSD performance is much improved
4) Everything in the UI just FEELS faster
Also, Windows 8/8.1 are not exactly making hardware manufacturers happy -- because it is NOT going to drive sales of new PC's. Specifically, the entire Win8 family works amazingly well on systems with rather paltry hardware. Basically, almost any PC since Vista was released will run Windows 8 quite well -- and do so much better than they do with Vista or Windows 7 (especially Vista, which is just SLOW). And Update 1 and beyond are supposed to allow running on even lower end tablets with only 1Gb of RAM and lower end processors -- so the ability to support older, lower end machines is only improving (for the first time in Microsoft's history). I've installed Windows 8 onto a couple of older Windows XP boxes that were recently donated to a charity I support and they run much BETTER with Windows 8 on them than they did with XP. An old Athlon X2 3800+ with 2Gb ran Windows 8 quite nicely and was quite responsive and didn't feel much slower than any other more recent machine when doing basic tasks. In this respect, Microsoft has a rare performance winner -- it actually makes some older hardware useful again (which is unheard of).
So, I'm looking forward to the incremental changes in Windows 8.1 Update 1 -- and I'm really curious to see what improvements Update 2 and Windows 9 (hopefully) bring.
Currently, I have a bit of a love/hate relationship with Windows 8/8.1.
On my laptop and desktop, I run StartisBack and have Metro/Modern totally hidden, all hot corners disabled, upgrades disabled, Windows Store disabled, Ribbon Explorer disabled, etc. Basically, I've turned it back into Windows 7 -- but it is NOTICEABLY faster than Windows 7, especially with an SSD.
On a desktop, I like Windows 8 better than 8.1 -- more stuff is still in Control Panel rather than PC Settings and they hadn't totally borked the group by removable storage view in file explorer yet.
On my Asus Transformer tablet, I find myself using the Metro UI more than the desktop -- right up until I need to do something productive. Then I switch over to desktop mode with StartisBack start menu -- which works fine with touch, especially with large icons and font sizing. Actually, it takes less hand motion to tap the Start Button, All Programs, etc. item in touchscreen mode than it does to swipe to try and find something in the Start Screen -- and the old XP Style flyout menu is actually more convenient with touch than the Vista/7 style menu is.
Biggest gripes (things Microsoft still needs to address for Win9 IMHO):
1) No legal way to sideload apps unless you are in a corporate environment on the Enterprise version. I do NOT want to have to always redownload all my apps every time, especially when they may have updated the version to a newer one that may not work as well for my purposes.
2) The stupid Metro-style network pop-out for WiFi/VPN/etc. sucks badly. Not being able to change SSID priority order without using NETSH WLAN is also absurd.
3) Could someone PLEASE write a halfway decent mail app for Metro???
4) All the normal gripes about the lack of a start menu, etc in desktop mode -- all easily remedied by StartIsBack
5) Privacy concerns with the non-local accounts and the fact you can no longer run the standalone Skydrive app normally on a local account in 8.1.
6) The lack of decent codec integration for mpeg2, etc. Yes, you can work around it, but it still is a pain unless you get Pro and the Media Center add-on pack (which is ridiculous, because there is no other feature in Pro that I typically need for a Media Center type application).
7) New SMB implementation breaks scan to SMB, etc. on a LOT of devices -- many of which don't have firmware updates available.
8) Can we please make the Public/Private network settings easier to change explicitly???
9) IE11 is hardcoded into Win8.1 -- IE11 breaks a LOT of business websites unless in compatibility mode, and some even IN compatability mode. Additionally, Flash is physically baked into IE11 -- unfortunately, the version of Flash baked into IE11 is not uniformly compatible with all websites that do work with the full Adobe plugin.
Pluses..
1) The new file copy window is nice.
2) Network file transfers and actual network behavior are much improved -- and definitely faster
3) SSD performance is much improved
4) Everything in the UI just FEELS faster
Also, Windows 8/8.1 are not exactly making hardware manufacturers happy -- because it is NOT going to drive sales of new PC's. Specifically, the entire Win8 family works amazingly well on systems with rather paltry hardware. Basically, almost any PC since Vista was released will run Windows 8 quite well -- and do so much better than they do with Vista or Windows 7 (especially Vista, which is just SLOW). And Update 1 and beyond are supposed to allow running on even lower end tablets with only 1Gb of RAM and lower end processors -- so the ability to support older, lower end machines is only improving (for the first time in Microsoft's history). I've installed Windows 8 onto a couple of older Windows XP boxes that were recently donated to a charity I support and they run much BETTER with Windows 8 on them than they did with XP. An old Athlon X2 3800+ with 2Gb ran Windows 8 quite nicely and was quite responsive and didn't feel much slower than any other more recent machine when doing basic tasks. In this respect, Microsoft has a rare performance winner -- it actually makes some older hardware useful again (which is unheard of).
So, I'm looking forward to the incremental changes in Windows 8.1 Update 1 -- and I'm really curious to see what improvements Update 2 and Windows 9 (hopefully) bring.
If Win9 doesn't take a step back for the enterprise environment Windows on the desktop will roll into obscurity.
Win7 will be taken to EoL.
6 more years for MS to pull its head out.
Touch screens will Not be used for process intensive bushiness tasks.
Its just not practical.
The anchor is MS Office, that alone is keeping Windows alive in offices everywhere.
Once that is dead, Microsoft's rule is over.
Win7 will be taken to EoL.
6 more years for MS to pull its head out.
Touch screens will Not be used for process intensive bushiness tasks.
Its just not practical.
The anchor is MS Office, that alone is keeping Windows alive in offices everywhere.
Once that is dead, Microsoft's rule is over.
GoldenTiger
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What is a shy-t? Is that some kids' way of saying "shit"?
weuntouchable
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Um, no. What keeps Windows alive (and thriving) is that 99% of business software is Windows only. Microsoft needs to continue to develop a Windows Professional version that is mouse/ keyboard only and another version that is Touch driven. If home users want the keyboard/ mouse version they can buy and use it. If businesses want the touch version they can buy and use it.
Do you not know what MSDN is?
heatlesssun
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I don't think this is necessary because of hybrid hardware which is simultaneously keyboard, mouse and touch capable and those kinds of devices have to work with all the input types anyway. Configuration options to make things more comfortable for keyboard and mouse only users or touch only users or hybrid users is a much better approach and not as difficult or impossible as some believe I think.
I've checked Lenovo's site, they don't seem to have 8.1 drivers yet. Other than that 8.1 is great on my laptop. Disabled all hot corners and charms bar(thanks to add on) and put shutdown, restart and PC settings buttons on the start screen.
heatlesssun
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Take a look here if you haven't already: http://support.lenovo.com/en_US/research/hints-or-tips/detail.page?&LegacyDocID=MIGR-67971
Currently my biggest gripes revolve around a 2 monitor setup. Currently I have a landscape (main) and portrait (secondary) monitor setup. 8.1 has limitations to this setup I was hoping would be resolved in the first update.
1. the inability to run split window with a horizontal separation (Top/Bottom) on a portrait monitor
2. the inability to put the clock and taskbar notifications on the 2nd monitor.
3. the inability to have two different, AND STATIC, wallpapers on each monitor. I can get separate wallpapers, but I can't turn off the cycle. Every day they will swap and I have to reset the configuration, as one pic works for landscape, while the other works for portrait.
4. the inability to easily launch all games on the 2nd monitor by default without having to manually switch the game each time I open it.
5. the lack of any good clock app that has a consistent and accurate metro live tile update. This ties back to the inability to have the clock on the 2nd monitor. I've literally hug a wall clock in my office behind my monitors because I never know the time when gaming.
I'm not a windows hacking/tweaking guru, so if anyone knows a way around these issues please let me know.
1. the inability to run split window with a horizontal separation (Top/Bottom) on a portrait monitor
2. the inability to put the clock and taskbar notifications on the 2nd monitor.
3. the inability to have two different, AND STATIC, wallpapers on each monitor. I can get separate wallpapers, but I can't turn off the cycle. Every day they will swap and I have to reset the configuration, as one pic works for landscape, while the other works for portrait.
4. the inability to easily launch all games on the 2nd monitor by default without having to manually switch the game each time I open it.
5. the lack of any good clock app that has a consistent and accurate metro live tile update. This ties back to the inability to have the clock on the 2nd monitor. I've literally hug a wall clock in my office behind my monitors because I never know the time when gaming.
I'm not a windows hacking/tweaking guru, so if anyone knows a way around these issues please let me know.
Unknown-One
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Uh.. you've been able to do that since XP (possibly even before that)...
- Right click the taskbar
- Un-check "Lock the taskbar"
- Click-and-drag the taskbar to the monitor you want it on.
- Right click the taskbar
- Re-check "Lock the taskbar"
Works fine on Windows 8 (even with multiple taskbars enabled) for moving the primary taskbar to a secondary monitor.
Just go into Display properties and set the monitor you want everything to launch on as the primary monitor (it's one check-box).
Tada! all your games will launch on the desired display.
Not sure how a tile would help, since calling up the start screen would cause any running game to minimize... in which case, the taskbar clock is clearly visible.
If you're looking for an in-game clock, MSI Afterburner and EVGA Precision include an On-Screen-Display overlay that can be configured to display the current system time.