Windows 8.1 Update Leak - Taskbar now available when in full screen Metro apps

[heatlesssun]

I've attached some screenshots of what I think is most significant changes for keyboard and mouse users in this update which revolves the option to pin modern apps to the taskbar. A couple of interesting things happen when that option is turned on, which weren't on by default on a clean install on a convertible Lenovo x220t Tablet PC. I don't know if the option would have been on by default without a touchscreen.

When the option is on, there now is a modern styled title bar auto hidden overlay with minimize and close buttons which will appear when the mouse reaches the top edge of the screen, it. And perhaps more significant, the taskbar will now display when the mouse is moved 'beyond' the bottom edge of the screen when a modern app is displayed, similar to how the taskbar behaves on the desktop when auto hidden. But instead of popping up when the mouse hits the bottom, the mouse needs to be moved down just a little more and then the taskbar displays, which is what I mean by 'beyond' the bottom edge. Still some quirks, and this action with the taskbar in modern apps doesn't feel quite as smooth as it could be but I sure there were tweaking done before the final update comes.

These changes won't satisfy everyone, particularly the more vocal critics of new UI, but these are steps that clearly make Windows 8.x better and more familiar for keyboard and mouse users since the 8.0 RTM came out. Of there are still the issues of the Start Menu and Metro off switch, but with these changes in 8.1 Update 1, I think it's safe to conclude that there probably won't be a Metro off switch in 9. With windowed modern apps and some type on non-full screen Start Screen with some behaviors from the Start Menu, I don't see why there would really even be a new for a Metro off switch. With those features added it's just revision of the same Windows desktop that runs everything in free floating Windows for keyboard and mouse users. It will be interesting to see how this will ultimately pan out.

Modern Title Bar: Note: This title bar will still display even when the pin modern apps to taskbar option is off, however there is no minimize button in this case, which it logical

Taskbar displaying while in a modern app:

 

[Ur_Mom]

I like the start screen power options. Easier to access with touch, less steps.

I'm finding a lot of 'fixes' for peoples complaints with Win8. It's been baby steps since the release. Win8 - win8.1 - Win8.1 Update 1. Keeps getting better and better. I like the new update. I love the new title bar for Modern apps. It makes sense.

 

[Ur_Mom]

Have you had problems with your Modern apps not showing on the taskbar? I have them on my charms menu, but not on the task bar....

 

[bigdogchris]

Damn heat, if I knew you were hardcore TNG I wouldn't of given you such a hard time for the past year about Windows 8

But I wonder, is Windows 8.1, Update 1 team and the normal Windows team separate like how they used to have a separate SP team, or are they all in one team?

 

[heatlesssun]

Have you had problems with your Modern apps not showing on the taskbar? I have them on my charms menu, but not on the task bar....

Check this setting, it wasn't enabled by default for me:

 

[heatlesssun]

Damn heat, if I knew you were hardcore TNG I wouldn't of given you such a hard time for the past year about Windows 8

LOL! Thanks. Yeah this apps is pretty cool, the developer did actually put some functionally in it that's useful but it's not like we don't have this stuff already, but wrapping in the LCARS interface, it's just something that a Trekkie can't go without.

But I wonder, is Windows 8.1, Update 1 team and the normal Windows team separate like how they used to have a separate SP team, or are they all in one team?

I think part of the point of the reorg was to cut down on stove piping and to integrate the OS teams and that updates are more so than traditional service packs in that they are addressing a broader range of changes across the desktop, phone and tablet space now.

 

[Ur_Mom]

That was it! Perfect.

Find anything else cool? It's just a small upgrade (not even going to 8.2)...

I do wonder about their naming conventions, though. Windows 8. Windows 8.1. Then, Windows 8.1 Update 1. Why not Win8.2? It seems to be in line with the changes between 8 & 8.1 and not just a service pack style of fixes....

 

[hdgamer]

If only issues were fixed in this update like auto sleep not working and other programs I use like audio programs that broke with 8.1... I got used to the interface, but when an OS is not stable, I converted back to Windows 7 and loving it again. Tired of reading endless forums with no resolution, and customer service not doing anything better....

 

[heatlesssun]

Installed a Office 2013 and a number of modern apps and everything looks stable. The taskbar popping in modern apps can be a little flaky it will from time to time stop working but I imagine that will get cleaned up. Works fine overall even on dual monitors. I guess we'll see how this gets perceived in general when released. This does look like it should address the issue with people getting confused about how to navigate between apps and the drag and closing of modern apps with a mouse is now moot.

The context menus on the Start Screen for mice is pretty nice, there's still no way to drag the mouse and select multiple tiles, so you have to press the Control key and left click to selected multiple tiles. I'm surprised that the menus are desktop and not modern, but there are sub menus here which isn't the standard for modern menus. I like the new layout of All Apps. There's an option to make it denser and it feels cleaner.

What will be key is how these options get set. They don't really seem have much effect when set on a device with a screen except there's no what to bring up the taskbar from a modern app using touch, that would actually be nice to have, not sure how I'd implement that.

 

[MrCrispy]

Problem with Apple - deny deny deny, you wills take your pleas and likes them.
Problem with MS - they actually fix them in free updates.

It's funny how Apple gets a pass for pretty much everything.

I also have to wonder just how far MS has to go to appease people. I appreciate this change, but it's also destroying the purity of Metro as it was meant to be.

 

[heatlesssun]

I appreciate this change, but it's also destroying the purity of Metro as it was meant to be.

I guess I've always figured that Microsoft would better integrate the modern and desktop UIs in practical ways based on feedback. There really isn't anything pure about the desktop Windows UI, it kind of is a hodgepodge of things that's just ben around for a while. The addition of a overlaid title bar and the taskbar aren't antithetical to the new UI as it already makes extensive use of overlays. When windowed modern apps come along, while the notion of full screen and immersive doesn't apply there, there are plenty of modern apps that still can be useful in a window, and I would imagine full screen will still be available even on the desktop.

The pattern of bad release, good release cycle of Windows I believe is one where Microsoft will make a lot of changes that are generally headed in the right direction, but there's rough spots and mistakes coupled with overreaction to these issues that Microsoft then cleans up and then the good release is called Bad Release Server Pack X.

 

[Tsumi]

Problem with Apple - deny deny deny, you wills take your pleas and likes them.
Problem with MS - they actually fix them in free updates.

It's funny how Apple gets a pass for pretty much everything.

I also have to wonder just how far MS has to go to appease people. I appreciate this change, but it's also destroying the purity of Metro as it was meant to be.

The key thing has always been providing options for people to configure it to their liking. Although Microsoft can't be expected to provide every possible combination of configurations out there, adding choice for the significant configurations is a must.

 

[heatlesssun]

The key thing has always been providing options for people to configure it to their liking. Although Microsoft can't be expected to provide every possible combination of configurations out there, adding choice for the significant configurations is a must.

Ultimately that's what is comes down to, configuration options.

 

[wonderfield]

They had an opportunity to make a clean break from the illogical grouping of contextually-unrelated title bar buttons and they didn't take it.

For fuck's sake, Microsoft.

 

[heatlesssun]

They had an opportunity to make a clean break from the illogical grouping of contextually-unrelated title bar buttons and they didn't take it.

Not sure what you mean here. A close button for modern apps has been a top complaint. The minimize button makes sense since modern apps now are on the taskbar. With the pinning of modern apps option, modern apps now open, close, minimize and snap to the edges of a screen pretty like desktop apps with a mouse, which would seem to be progress from the standpoint of integrating the new UI with the desktop.

 

[heatlesssun]

Played with this leak a bit more, one subtle change is that modern apps now have z-ordering. In 8, closing a modern app always bought up the Start Screen and 8.1 when the boot to desktop option is enabled, closing a modern app returns you to the desktop. In Update 1 closing or minimizing a modern app will return you to the last app you were on, with the desktop counting as app. I think that's just the behavior now, the new options don't seem to effect it.

It also seems to be a bit zippier, though this was a fresh install, modern apps seem to load a bit faster, and a fresh install of x86 seems to take only about 12 to 13 GB, which I think is a few GB lower than even 8.1. This push for tablets does seem to be bringing some nice efficiency improvements.

 

[Tsumi]

Someone posted that Aero Glass can be enabled in Update 1, can anyone confirm and post screenshots?

 

[Ur_Mom]

Someone posted that Aero Glass can be enabled in Update 1, can anyone confirm and post screenshots?

You know, I'm not seeing it available via the normal ways. I'll have to look into if it's a registry hack or something.

Edit - Apparently it is a hack: http://www.winbeta.org/news/aero-glass-can-be-enabled-recently-leaked-build-windows-81-update-1

Very buggy so far. Lots of window trails and not updating the window...

Edit - Can't take a screen shot of the problem. Even screenshot with the Host (running in VM) doesn't show it. Could be a VM issue, not an actual Windows issue. But, it is there.

 

[heatlesssun]

Beat me to it. Appreantly this setting was in all of the Windows betas according to Tom Warren of the Verge that posted in the thread you referenced. I tried it and yes it's completely broken. The main reason that Microsoft took out most of Aero transparency (it's still there in the taskbar) was for performance and battery life concerns, and say what you will of 8.x, it looks like Microsoft has gotten some pretty decent results in optimizing it.

I could see Aero transparency returning in 9, along with possibly some more transparency in the modern UI if efficiencies in performance and battery life can be obtained. I'm kind of mixed on the issue. I kind of like Aero transparency but I think it is a bit distracting, seeing through stuff is kind of cool but it's of limited value, I'd prefer the battery life and performance.

And it looks like Microsoft is done with the feature development, Update 1 is now in RTM escrow according to Wzor: http://www.winbeta.org/news/windows-81-update-1-rtm-escrow-screenshots-leak-final-build-near

 

[DPI]

Problem with Apple - deny deny deny, you wills take your pleas and likes them.
Problem with MS - they actually fix them in free updates.

It's funny how Apple gets a pass for pretty much everything.

I also have to wonder just how far MS has to go to appease people. I appreciate this change, but it's also destroying the purity of Metro as it was meant to be.

Functionality > high and mighty notion about "purity" when a UI is designed for tablets and most people running it on desktops dont have touch hardware

 

[Ur_Mom]

I could see Aero transparency returning in 9, along with possibly some more transparency in the modern UI if efficiencies in performance and battery life can be obtained. I'm kind of mixed on the issue. I kind of like Aero transparency but I think it is a bit distracting, seeing through stuff is kind of cool but it's of limited value, I'd prefer the battery life and performance.

Turn it off. Add it to a power profile so that it turns off when using battery power.

I like Aero Glass. It's not distracting to me, and I notice it not being there with Win8. Limited value, sure. Maybe as an only aesthetic value at that (99% of the time). I like it, though. I'd love to see it return, even if it's just an added theme that you can switch to and not on by default.

 

[heatlesssun]

Turn it off. Add it to a power profile so that it turns off when using battery power.

I don't have an issue with Aero being there, but I don't think its worth any performance or battery life hit unless that hit can be completely mitigated with power management.

Just installed the leaked RTM Escrowed MSUs. You have to install them from an existing 8.1 install, there was no ISO. Just did a clean install of 8.1, then full update and then installed these updates and it went perfectly on my Lenovo x220t convertible. Just from a quick look, nothing functionally has changed that I saw thus far but the glitches looked to be cleaned up, the title bar on modern apps is a bit bigger, the title font looks a kind of weird. Also the taskbar is now transparent over modern apps.

 

[B00nie]

Problem with Apple - deny deny deny, you wills take your pleas and likes them.
Problem with MS - they actually fix them in free updates.

It's funny how Apple gets a pass for pretty much everything.

I also have to wonder just how far MS has to go to appease people. I appreciate this change, but it's also destroying the purity of Metro as it was meant to be.

Uh I don't recall Apple royally fucking up the user interface. Quite the opposite in fact.

 

[octoberasian]

Heat, noticed any performance improvements with the leak?

One of the very first things I've noticed going from 7 to 8 was memory usage improvements, as well as how programs utilize the memory. I'm curious if Microsoft improved performance even more with 8.1 Update 1.

(I think I'll just call this Windows 8.1.1 or Windows 8.11 just for the hell of it now. Haha.)

 

[Ur_Mom]

Heat, noticed any performance improvements with the leak?

One of the very first things I've noticed going from 7 to 8 was memory usage improvements, as well as how programs utilize the memory. I'm curious if Microsoft improved performance even more with 8.1 Update 1.

(I think I'll just call this Windows 8.1.1 or Windows 8.11 just for the hell of it now. Haha.)

For me, I'd attribute any noticeable performance increases to a fresh install vs. actual improvements. I haven't done a clean install of 8.1 in a while, so I can't make a direct comparison.

 

[heatlesssun]

Heat, noticed any performance improvements with the leak?

One of the very first things I've noticed going from 7 to 8 was memory usage improvements, as well as how programs utilize the memory. I'm curious if Microsoft improved performance even more with 8.1 Update 1.

(I think I'll just call this Windows 8.1.1 or Windows 8.11 just for the hell of it now. Haha.)

Things might be a little zipper but as Ur_Mom pointed out, could be because a fresh install. They did squeeze some disc space, apparently a base install of 8.1 Update 1 core is only about 10 GB.

 

[DPI]

I also have to wonder just how far MS has to go to appease people. I appreciate this change, but it's also destroying the purity of Metro as it was meant to be.

"Purity of Metro" lol. Its a AppStore UI. Here's the basic truth youre apparently missing: most people running windows are not on 10" tablets. That is why Metro has been a failure in its current form. And the people that "meant it to be" a certain form over function way are all out on their asses and replaced. Sinofsky? Larson-Green? Ballmer? Gone, and they've set perception back years if not destroyed the greatest software franchise of all time. I'm not exaggerating.

All these features can be customized. I realize choice and options are a hardthink concept for a few stubborn zealots but MS is finally waking up that function is king. People like customizability, its been a hallmark of Windows up until 8.

 

[Tsumi]

Microsoft has historically left major customizing options up to 3rd party software. They also historically do not do anything to intentionally break 3rd party customizing software.

Metro isn't a failure on the desktop because of lack of customizability and functionality. It's a failure because implementation was poor. It's a failure because it didn't integrate well with the desktop. And let's not forget the role media hype plays in influencing people's opinions.

 

[ManofGod]

I was going to try the leak. However, when I went to install it, it said I had to turn off secure boot. Did you end up with the same error?

 

[heatlesssun]

I was going to try the leak. However, when I went to install it, it said I had to turn off secure boot. Did you end up with the same error?

Are you using the MSU installers?

 

[ManofGod]

Are you using the MSU installers?

I had downloaded the iso and gave that a whirl after burning it to a dvd.

 

[MrCrispy]

I'd really like windowed Metro apps and tiles on the desktop, as was rumored. And improvements in WinRT performance.