4 ms·

For me, personally, none of these changes interest me, perhaps with the exception of IE11. I've had Windows 8 installed on my desktop PC since it came out as I

For me, personally, none of these changes interest me, perhaps with the exception of IE11. I've had Windows 8 installed on my desktop PC since it came out as I took advantage of their cheap upgrade offer from Windows 7 (I'd not of paid full price for it). So here are my thoughts on the improvements in Windows 8.1 as someone who uses it on a desktop, with a keyboard and mouse. Personalization: The only time I ever see the new start menu is when I quickly press Start and begin typing the name of some application I want to launch. I've never rearranged any of the tiles and my screen is always off when I'm at the lock screen so a slideshow on the lock screen is totally useless for me. Search: "It is the modern version of the command line" What? How is a integrated desktop and web search a modern version of the command line. That makes no sense. I'd never use this new functionality anyway since I don't use Bing and I can easily access google from my always open web browser. Apps and Windows Store: Never used any metro apps or installed anything from the Windows Store. I don't really feel that any of the metro apps have taken any thought for those who are not using a touch interface. Cloud Connectivity: "In Windows 8.1 your files can be saved directly to SkyDrive, so you can always have your files with you." Wait, you could not do this before Windows 8.1? I've never used SkyDrive but it seems silly to me that you can now only just save your files directly to SkyDrive. PC Settings: I can use the control panel just fine. Internet Explorer: More frequent versions of IE seems like a good thing, although I'd be more interested in the details of what is new generally rather than just the new features for what seems to be the metro version. Better Mouse and Keyboard Options: I see two minor tweaks, there is now a windows logo and I can now configure what happens when I place my cursor in different corners. How are these better options for keyboards and mouses? I don't get it, they seem to be ignoring their whole previous customer base; those who used Windows on their non-touch desktops and laptops. Sure, I understand that these improvements will most likely be useful for those who use Windows on their touch based device but these people are surely in the minority so why focus the content of your "new features" announcement for the minority?

jonas_maj 13y ago
They have made it very clear that they are doubling down on a touch-first vision they started with Windows 8. Just out of curiosity, have you tried Windows 8 on a touch-based device(Laptop or Tablet)?
MatthewPhillips 13y ago
You're definitely able to save to SkyDrive already.
potatolicious 13y ago
> "I don't get it, they seem to be ignoring their whole previous customer base; those who used Windows on their non-touch desktops and laptops." This is what frustrates me also. I've had Windows 8 installed since (almost) day one on my desktop. I also have a Surface (that hasn't been touched in months, oops). MS was accused for years of advertising Windows' touch capabilities without actually putting any real thought into them. Windows 7 had some vaunted touch-compatibility changes which really just amounted to increasing the spacing between some buttons. This made them very hard to touch accurately, instead of impossible to touch accurately. Needless to say, people who were hoping for a touch-capable Windows were sorely disappointed. And now it looks like the pendulum has swung fully the other way. We have an OS that works great on a touch device, and basically doesn't work on a traditional mouse + keyboard device. No, seriously. I've met people who used Win8 regularly who didn't know that each app had a bottom bar - and how could they, there's zero discoverability around it, even though critical app functionality is often contained in that bar. (It's Windows+Z btw, that or a magical incantation of mouse movements). On a touch device it's a simple swipe up from the bottom. Beautiful. It still befuddles me every day that MS was willing to ship something that was so fundamentally unfriendly to mouse and keyboard users. How anyone at MS could look at the mouse gestures to trigger critical UI elements and call them acceptable... I just don't know. It seems to me that MS has bought fully into the doom and gloom re: the future of computing. The zeitgeist is that in the long run laptops and desktops will stop existing entirely and almost everyone will be using tablets instead. The sales numbers for both iOS and Android tablets support this, but it's hard to say where the equilibrium point will fall. It makes sense that, strategically, MS wants to transition Windows from a mouse-first to a touch-first UX, but this transition is awful.
- BruceIV 13y ago
  I believe that "magical incantation of mouse movements" is a right click. (Not claiming it's discoverable, just that it's not complicated.)
- kvb 13y ago
  Well, it seems like Microsoft is betting that touch is an inevitable feature of most computing devices in the near future (which seems like a good bet to me, even if it might be a year or so early). The desktop market is disappearing in favor of laptops and tablets, and touch really is a nice option on laptops even if it's not going to be the primary modality. But regardless, as someone who uses the keyboard a lot Windows 8 is slightly better than Windows 7 for me (e.g. Win+X for quick access to administrator tools).
gjulianm 13y ago
What would've you added to improve Windows on non-touch? Windows on touch is the new thing, and it'd be bad if they didn't improve it. Also, take into account that this isn't "All Windows 8.1 changes". They probably have more to show for non-touch users, but this is what users were complaning about (Start button, Metro multitask...), and as Paul Thurrott unveiled most of these features [1] yesterday I imagine they decided to confirm them and get a bit of good press. [1] http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/blue-start-experience-changes http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/blue-start-experience-chan...
- acqq 13y ago
  I would have kept Metro only for small screen touch devices.

jonas_maj 13y ago

They have made it very clear that they are doubling down on a touch-first vision they started with Windows 8. Just out of curiosity, have you tried Windows 8 on a touch-based device(Laptop or Tablet)?

MatthewPhillips 13y ago

You're definitely able to save to SkyDrive already.

potatolicious 13y ago

> "I don't get it, they seem to be ignoring their whole previous customer base; those who used Windows on their non-touch desktops and laptops." This is what frustrates me also. I've had Windows 8 installed since (almost) day one on my desktop. I also have a Surface (that hasn't been touched in months, oops). MS was accused for years of advertising Windows' touch capabilities without actually putting any real thought into them. Windows 7 had some vaunted touch-compatibility changes which really just amounted to increasing the spacing between some buttons. This made them very hard to touch accurately, instead of impossible to touch accurately. Needless to say, people who were hoping for a touch-capable Windows were sorely disappointed. And now it looks like the pendulum has swung fully the other way. We have an OS that works great on a touch device, and basically doesn't work on a traditional mouse + keyboard device. No, seriously. I've met people who used Win8 regularly who didn't know that each app had a bottom bar - and how could they, there's zero discoverability around it, even though critical app functionality is often contained in that bar. (It's Windows+Z btw, that or a magical incantation of mouse movements). On a touch device it's a simple swipe up from the bottom. Beautiful. It still befuddles me every day that MS was willing to ship something that was so fundamentally unfriendly to mouse and keyboard users. How anyone at MS could look at the mouse gestures to trigger critical UI elements and call them acceptable... I just don't know. It seems to me that MS has bought fully into the doom and gloom re: the future of computing. The zeitgeist is that in the long run laptops and desktops will stop existing entirely and almost everyone will be using tablets instead. The sales numbers for both iOS and Android tablets support this, but it's hard to say where the equilibrium point will fall. It makes sense that, strategically, MS wants to transition Windows from a mouse-first to a touch-first UX, but this transition is awful.

BruceIV 13y ago
I believe that "magical incantation of mouse movements" is a right click. (Not claiming it's discoverable, just that it's not complicated.)
kvb 13y ago
Well, it seems like Microsoft is betting that touch is an inevitable feature of most computing devices in the near future (which seems like a good bet to me, even if it might be a year or so early). The desktop market is disappearing in favor of laptops and tablets, and touch really is a nice option on laptops even if it's not going to be the primary modality. But regardless, as someone who uses the keyboard a lot Windows 8 is slightly better than Windows 7 for me (e.g. Win+X for quick access to administrator tools).

gjulianm 13y ago

What would've you added to improve Windows on non-touch? Windows on touch is the new thing, and it'd be bad if they didn't improve it. Also, take into account that this isn't "All Windows 8.1 changes". They probably have more to show for non-touch users, but this is what users were complaning about (Start button, Metro multitask...), and as Paul Thurrott unveiled most of these features [1] yesterday I imagine they decided to confirm them and get a bit of good press. [1] http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/blue-start-experience-changes http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/blue-start-experience-chan...

acqq 13y ago
I would have kept Metro only for small screen touch devices.