Windows 8.1

[king3pj]

I have been using Windows 8 and 8.1 on my gaming machine for about a year and half now. I mostly just launch Steam as soon as I boot up but Windows 8 never really bothered me. Now with Windows 8.1 booting straight to the desktop instead of the metro UI I barely notice the difference between 8.1 on my gaming PC and Windows 7 on my PC at work.

The quick search in Windows 8 is very useful too. You can move your mouse to the top right corner of the screen and click the magnifying glass and easily find any program or file anywhere on your PC. If you are in the Metro UI you don't even need to do that. You can just start typing. With my SSD the results come up as fast as I can type them.

 

[Scott Greczkowski]

We do volume licensing for our servers and exchange servers. But all of the windows licenses are purchased when we purchase a new machine. (Not through volume licensing)

 

[KE4EST]

I have never saw a need to replace the classic start button in windows 8.1. I run mostly in desktop mode and anything I want, (that I would have used classic start button for), is just as easy or easier with the way 8.1 is.
Plus 8.1 runs so much faster than 7, I see no reason to go backwards.

 

[TheForce]

Need to upgrade my Surface Pro with 8.1. Looking for the negatives from you all. I installed the 3rd party start button shell and I like it on 8.0. My IE never did work right on 8.0, always hanging. Firefox works fine. Hope 8.1 fixes the IE.

 

[oldengineer]

8.1 is definitely better than 8.0 IMO. I also had a 3rd party start button which I didn't reinstall after 8.1. I don't think you'll regret it but my experience is with a Dell desktop and Toshiba laptop so YMMV.

 

[mike123abc]

8.1 is a big improvement on 8.0. I did not see any negatives with the upgrade.

 

[Peter Parker]

I had download problems buta couple of sessions with support got me past that.

 

[Need]

I agree with others. 8.1 with classic shell installed (3 minutes process) and it is just like Win 7. I don't use any of the apps and I don't sign in to my MS account.

 

[mdavej]

I must be running a different Windows 8.1 than the rest of you guys. It's the worst, most inefficient, unintuitive, confusing, inconsistent, poorly designed, difficult to use, downright hostile Frankenstein monster of an OS I've ever seen, and I've seen it all in my 25 year career in programming. It seems to have been designed by and for monkeys. I've been running it since beta, so I've had plenty of time to get used to it.

Yes, you can make it work just like Win 7 instead of a phone with some tweaks and add-ons. But what's the point? Say you like pizza, but buy a calzone then cut it open, flatten it out and declare that it's just like the pizza you wanted in the first place. Just buy the pizza if you like pizza. I use 8.1 on about 6 of my systems simply because it was the cheapest option, not because I like it. The good does not outweigh the bad IMO. I am smart enough to know you can't stop "progress", so I hold my nose and make the best of it. I pray that in a few years Win 8 will only be a painful memory.

 

[FaT Air]

I still fix problems other have with windows, including 8 and 8.1(and all flavors before them).
I myself have 'moved on' and installed Linux Mint on most of my machines. Although one machine still will have to run windows most of the time (and it's that that crappy HDD HOG vista. 40 gig just for the OS, that's crazy) .

 

[Hall]

I used Linux way back in '95 and for ~5 years after. People were proclaiming it was "ready for the desktop" back then... I'm still waiting ! If people want a *nix-based OS, get OS X.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using Tapatalk

 

[waylew]

I'll be happy when they make it look and feel like W2KPRO,and I know I will never be happy .

 

[Lone Gunman]

I had to replace the hard drive in a Toshiba laptop with 8.0 on it for a customer a few weeks ago. She had stated that she hated 8.0 so when I did the reload I installed Classic Shell on it for her. Man, that has been one HAPPY woman since!! She's been one of my best sources of advertising yet!!

Also installed Classic Shell on a new HP for a local garage last week because the guy's secretary was bitching about 8.1. Made another happy camper there also.

I'm anxious to see what they offer in the next release as I hear that a standard Win 7 desktop option will be available native, which is what they should have done in the first place!

 

[Foxbat]

I did a fresh Enterprise edition of 8.1 install on a desktop at work and while there are some interesting improvements in the UI, it still looks like Windows 2.0, but with better backgrounds.

I think the experiment will soon be over as our corporate standard is still Win 7 and the headaches of User Education will be avoided.

In the Active Directory environment, I found it fascinating that the old Ctrl-Alt-Del to log on has been retired. I was able to log on simply by clicking the mouse or hitting the Control key.

 

[StevenD]

In the Active Directory environment, I found it fascinating that the old Ctrl-Alt-Del to log on has been retired. I was able to log on simply by clicking the mouse or hitting the Control key.

That can be changed with GPO.

 

[DustoMan]

Get 8.1 updated to the latest release. Hit the option that boots straight to desktop. Put your most used programs on the desktop or pin them to the task bar. Right clicking on the Start flag will get you any place else you need to go. I find myself right clicking on the Start button on older versions of Windows by accident I love that menu to much. Really there's no reason to complain about 8 anymore, it's fine. Except for the fact that Microsoft insists on making you go to the store to update 8 to 8.1. Just give me a file to download so I can just run it!

 

[nelson61]

I'm with Scott. I struggled through the very first version and it felt like a tooth extraction. Each upgrade got better and I like the current version. Lots of neat new features. It does take time to learn them.
Access to conto panel etc is simpler than ever. And, the new intelligent search feature pops up any program or option without digging through panels.

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[CK SatGuy]

Well, I just got my new HP laptop with Win 8.1 yesterday and started playing around with it today. So far, I don't necessarily like it or hate it yet, but it has been an interesting experience with it so far. My previous was an Acer with Win 7 so I never experienced the hard time other people had with Win 8.0. Granted I still have to play around with some settings and install some programs but so far I think I can learn to live with Win 8.1.

 

[Hall]

I'm confused - does Windows 8.1 have a "Start Menu", as in Win95-Win7-style ? I use 8.1 in Parallels, on a Mac, and they include Start8 and Modern Mix. I keep hearing talk of the Start Menu coming back though.

 

[CK SatGuy]

I'm confused - does Windows 8.1 have a "Start Menu", as in Win95-Win7-style ? I use 8.1 in Parallels, on a Mac, and they include Start8 and Modern Mix. I keep hearing talk of the Start Menu coming back though.

Win 8.1 does not have a start menu. The rumor is that Microsoft might bring it back in Windows 9, but since it's still in the developing stages, who knows.