Windows 8.1
Windows 8.1 ISO became available this afternoon.
I downloaded and installed 8.1 32 bit (English) on VMWare Workstation 9.
It took about 20 minutes. Everything was smooth.
It does not change in the way that it asks for my Outlook.com account to log in.
I see big problem with this for corporate users. Do we need to create more fake Outlook.com IDs?
The usability certainly improved over Windows 8. There were less surprises for me.
But I am still puzzled by MS's decision to force users to use all touch functionality without giving users option to turn it on or off.
There should have been an option to select if we only want Desktop, or use Metro. For the old PCs which had no touch sensitive screen, Desktop should be the only option.
I am going to use it to see if I like it. So far I think I will stick with Windows 7.
Problems with Windows 8.1
Removal of Classic Theme (My biggest complaint)
I cannot show My Computer on the desktop. They removed Desktop Properties menu.
Return of Start button is a marketing gimmick and serves no significant purpose except making it easier to shut down the system. Left clicking start button just goes to Metro start screen. I see no point of doing that.
Having to remember to always use right click to use Start button is annoying.
Tried to install Chrome from Windows Store and it opened a new small Window on Metro which was too small to read a text. Then it goes to Desktop and the app installs from there. Very distracting to see the screen changes from Metro to Desktop.
What is the check box on the left top corner of Application icons? What's the purpose?
Update (July 1):
I am not using Windows 8.1 so much. It is better than 8 but not a big improvement to make me want to switch to it. We still have Win7 and considering 7's customizability I will continue to use 7. The transition from XP to 7 was difficult for me because I was so used to XP ways, 7 seemed awkward, but once I got used to 7, I can live with 7 comfortably.
I installed Classic Shell 3.6.8 and it should have been the 8.1 Start menu.upgrade. I wish it could change to Classic Theme.
Update (July 3):
"Boot to Desktop" is a great addition to 8. I can almost use it as my default OS. I rarely see Metro and that's a good thing. I only see Metro when I use Mail. (It is convenient because I don't have to type in my password.) If Windows 7 disappeared today, I can still use my PC without cursing to MS. But I will continue use Win7 just like I did with XP.
I still don't know what the check boxes on application icons do.
I downloaded and installed 8.1 32 bit (English) on VMWare Workstation 9.
It took about 20 minutes. Everything was smooth.
It does not change in the way that it asks for my Outlook.com account to log in.
I see big problem with this for corporate users. Do we need to create more fake Outlook.com IDs?
The usability certainly improved over Windows 8. There were less surprises for me.
But I am still puzzled by MS's decision to force users to use all touch functionality without giving users option to turn it on or off.
There should have been an option to select if we only want Desktop, or use Metro. For the old PCs which had no touch sensitive screen, Desktop should be the only option.
I am going to use it to see if I like it. So far I think I will stick with Windows 7.
Problems with Windows 8.1
Removal of Classic Theme (My biggest complaint)
I cannot show My Computer on the desktop. They removed Desktop Properties menu.
Return of Start button is a marketing gimmick and serves no significant purpose except making it easier to shut down the system. Left clicking start button just goes to Metro start screen. I see no point of doing that.
Having to remember to always use right click to use Start button is annoying.
Tried to install Chrome from Windows Store and it opened a new small Window on Metro which was too small to read a text. Then it goes to Desktop and the app installs from there. Very distracting to see the screen changes from Metro to Desktop.
What is the check box on the left top corner of Application icons? What's the purpose?
Update (July 1):
I am not using Windows 8.1 so much. It is better than 8 but not a big improvement to make me want to switch to it. We still have Win7 and considering 7's customizability I will continue to use 7. The transition from XP to 7 was difficult for me because I was so used to XP ways, 7 seemed awkward, but once I got used to 7, I can live with 7 comfortably.
I installed Classic Shell 3.6.8 and it should have been the 8.1 Start menu.upgrade. I wish it could change to Classic Theme.
Update (July 3):
"Boot to Desktop" is a great addition to 8. I can almost use it as my default OS. I rarely see Metro and that's a good thing. I only see Metro when I use Mail. (It is convenient because I don't have to type in my password.) If Windows 7 disappeared today, I can still use my PC without cursing to MS. But I will continue use Win7 just like I did with XP.
I still don't know what the check boxes on application icons do.
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