Windows 8.1 Update 1 Discussion

Post your impressions, thoughts, problems, and questions about the leaked Windows 8.1 Update 1. :hi2:

This leaked version is supposedly the same as the official version that will be released the first week of April, but I am interested to see what people's thoughts are so far.

I'll start this off with one thing I have noticed. Modern Apps no longer close out properly. After you exit the app entirely, I find that the app still shows up in the Processes section of Task Manager. The app isn't necessarily running because it isn't using up the CPU but it is still consuming memory according the Task Manager.



Has anybody else noticed this bug?

 

When you say exit the app entirely, do you mean just drag it down to the bottom or drag it down, hold it there until it really closes?

 

Drag it down so that it closes. Doing this would always close the app entirely without showing signs of it running in the Task Manager, but with Update 1 that does not seem to be the case anymore. If you hover the mouse in the top left you will notice those apps do not show up in the running programs.
Conveniently, I love how they added the [minimize] and [close] commands to the top right of Modern Apps now to make it simpler for new Win8 users. Too bad Task Manager still shows it as a running process.

 

That isn't the behavior I have observed on Windows 8.1. On windows 8, yes, dragging it down would completely close it, but even on 8.1 without update one I've always had to hold it there for a few secs until the tile flips over and then it would close completely. That said, Windows will automatically close it if the RAM is needed and you aren't "running" the app. It's basically just like desktop programs get put in standby memory.

 

I haven't tried 8.1.1, still running 8.1 but for me it shows the programs consuming RAM even after closing them down.

 

Huh. That's weird. Waiting for the tile to flip over always performed the same for me as just dragging it down and closing it. Since Update 1 though, it only closes out correctly if I do as you do.

And since ellalan confirms that happened in 8.1, I find it more interesting that I didn't have that until now. Meh, whatever I guess lol.

 

tijo's right, you need to wait for the app to flip. it began in W8.1, and we've had this discussion here before.

 

This is the first time I've heard anything about an update to 8.1. I have to say, I'm a big fan of Microsoft's new, more regular update schedule!

 

So how is the rollout planned? Will it be a downloadable service pack to 8.1 or will we see another full release of 8.1 with the service pack included?

 

It's apparently going to be delivered on Windows Update.

 

There are a number of UI tweaks meant to make it more accessible to keyboard and mouse users, including (optional) taskbars in metro apps, open metro apps visible on taskbar, metro apps pinnable to the taskbar, and restart/shutdown commands and a visible search bar on the start screen.

 

When is the supposed release day?

 

Should be here April 8th.

 

The rub here being that, at least early on, the consensus is it will not make desktop KB&M users all of a sudden love the 8.x UI. I will still play the wait and see game but I tend to believe generally what is being said. That is from early on screen shots there seems to be no real addressing of the primary concerns of the users that are staying away from the NEW Windows.

Edit a side note concerning the update; This could be strike three for the UI. Strike one was at release when the community, headed by beta users, said this would be a disaster and needed a readdress before forcing the RTM on users. Strike two on the Windows 8.1 release not fixing the UI for desktop concerns when supposedly they were now listening. Now possibly strike three with the ooops being performed so quickly after the last update to now supposedly fix the UI. Here is to hoping the new update is just a foul ball and Windows is still at bat. I mean they did have a chance at first bat to hit the proverbial home run but blew it.

 

Given the fact that Windows 9 will be out a year from now, I see no reason to play the wait part as far as anything Windows 8.x is concerned. At least for me it is obvious that I will never bother with Windows 8, nor tackle the substantial task of making it borderline useable for my work. Now, of course, the question is what Windows 9 will bring to the table. Supposedly we'll learn more at Microsoft's BUILD conference, and betas should be out this fall. That's going to be the wait and see for me.

 

From my perspective, with all these updates 8.1 > 7.

Why?

- Faster and more responsive
- Less time to boot/shutdown/wake/sleep
- Much improved Windows Explorer
- Better task manager
- Ability to Reset and Refresh Windows

Those 5 things alone make 8.1 superior to 7 in my humble opinion.

I boot straight to desktop. No need to mess with that Metro nonsense.

 

There's no real difference; beyond the smoke and mirrors, what remains is pretty much exactly the same as Windows 7.

May be true on older hardware, and mechanical HDs. My 2-year-old Windows 7 Samsung Series 9 Ultrabook cold-boots in under 10 seconds, and wakes from sleep by the time I have the lid open. By how much does Windows 8 improve on this?

The improvements are minor in my opinion. Plus, I don't care, since I use DOpus anyway.

Seriously? Who cares? How often do you need task manager?

Sure, could be nice when it works. There seem to be too many cases when it doesn't to be comfortable with this. I'd rather rely on good old-fashioned system images. At least I know what's going to happen, and I'll have a defined state of my system when I'm done.

Now, at this point we haven't even started talking about all the stuff that's missing in Windows 8 versus 7. I won't rehash this old stuff again, but the bottom line for me then works out as: There's next to nothing in Windows 8 that I find worthwhile having, but there's tons of stuff that's missing, so using this OS is completely out of the question, for me.

 

Windows 8 can natively mount ISO's. That is a plus for me. You can also get to work right away after boot. Win7 on the same machine take take like wow additional load time after boot to load the desktop icons, etc.

But, here's an interesting fact. If you download Unreal Tournament '99 demo, activate FPS info, you'll find it runs at 30-50% more fps in Windows 7... I'm perplexed.

On a fast machine, I usually prefer 8 over 7. On an average machine, Windows XP trumps them on (provided the machine has XP drivers that is).

That aside, there is something very wrong in computing today. I have an MSDOS app that searches thru 4,000 text files. I have a .NET Windows app that searches thru those same files. The MSDOS app puts the Windows app to shame in search speed on the same hardware. Why can't we have a modern Windows OS that doesn't have to strive for DOS-type computing speed, but at least has to perform as good as XP?

 

Wait...one of the vocal opponents of the "if you don't like the start screen, use a third-party start screen replacement" approach to Win8.1 uses a third-party Windows Explorer replacement in Win7? Now I'm confused. Replacing Windows Explorer with third-party software seems more invasive to me, not less invasive, than replacing Start with third-party software.

Some people use it a lot, some people don't. You certainly have vehemently disagreed when people made the exact same comments about jumplists in the start menu...

 

Apples and oranges, my friend: I'm not using DOpus because of shortcomings of Explorer in Windows 7 compared to Windows 8, and I do not recommend using third-party Explorer replacements for such reasons. In addition, I do not see any substantial improvements of Explorer in Win8. Finally, there's all sorts of applications and shell extensions I use. Are you trying to say this surprises you? Really?

Care to provide a quote? You will find that what I really did say was that the Start Screen misses some functionality that the Start Menu had, and what I disagreed with, rightly so, was the claim that the Start Screen does everything that the Start Menu does. Not the same position at all that you are trying to pin on me now.

 

Why use a $80 third-party Windows Explorer replacement if not for the fact that you think it's better than the stock option, i.e., the stock option has shortcomings compared to it? So with Win7, you're using a third-party UI because you think it's better than what Microsoft offered as stock. Sounds a lot like every happy user of a third-party launcher with Win8.1 to me...

I presumed that you've made frequent comments pointing out that jumplists in the start menu have been removed because you think they're useful and use them. Why keep pointing out their removal in negative posts about Win8.x if you don't use them or rely on them?

 

I am sorry, but this is getting more than just a little bit silly, to avoid stronger words. So, by your line of argument, I certainly should not ever install any applications at all on my computers, do I get this right? Heck, why else would I install, say, Photoshop, if not for the perceived shortcomings of Paint, right? I'll stop here, charitably, without further comment.

Yes...

I have said everything there is to say on the subject, and I will leave it at that.

I will say, however, that I recommend you focus on the substance of the arguments at hand, rather than going on those wild-goose chases trying to ferret out some imagined inconsistencies in the position of certain posters, such as Yours Truly.

 

Me questioning your position on 8.1 wasn't any more off-topic than you doing the same to Cakefish...which I was responding to.

Anyway, anyone who expected an x.x.1 update to be some sort of back-to-the-drawing-board redesign is obviously going to be disappointed, but I think 8.1.1 (I'll call it that since 8.1 Update 1 is cumbersome) is going to be a good improvement on my Vaio F23 (non-touch 16.4" DTR).

(1) There are a couple apps I use even when primarily using the desktop, so having metro apps on the taskbar is an improvement. Two examples: the Music app is a much better setup for an Xbox Music pass-holder than the web interface, and the Facebook app is completely ad-free (whereas the desktop web interface for FB is increasingly saturated with ads).

(2) Having "minimize" and "close" in the top-right of metro apps also facilitates this sort of integration of one or two metro apps into a primarily-desktop-based workflow. And should be more natural with a keyboard and mouse than alt-F4 or dragging top-to-bottom.

(3) Having power-down options in the start screen in addition to charms will be nice with a mouse. The charms power-down options are quick to reach on touch devices, but not as intuitive with a mouse.

On the other hand, with my Duo 11, nothing about 8.1.1 interests me. I'll probably keep the new UI changes disabled on the convertible.

 

i can't wait to see how snubbed you are by W9, pirx. your windows glory days are over, my friend. get a handle on it. how can somebody who admittedly doesn't use W8 discuss W8 in good faith and think their opinion is legitimately qualified whatsoever? as far as i'm concerned your knowledge of anything windows stops with W7. and, as an extension of that, i know how hard it must be to admit that you are officially behind the eightball when it comes to this discussion.