Windows 8 upgrades back towards Windows 7...

[Neil]

In another big u-turn (think DRM on the XBox One), Windows 8.1 returns some of the UI a step back towards Windows 7... http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology...eview-hands-on Windows 8.1 is a significant improvement. After just a short spell with the preview, I do not want to go back. The experience for desktop users (which is most users most of the time) is smoother, and there are many small enhancements which combine make a big difference, of which I have mentioned only a few.

[Publius]

Sounds like some real improvements. I use a third-party Start menu replacement on my Win8 machine, and probably still will after upgrading to 8.1. The computer I use the most, though (this one), runs Linux.

[LouCipherr]

This is good news. The Metro interface for Win8 was not a good idea and clearly not implemented well. That being said, this looks like a good start on improving the Win8 user interface. Not sure when/if I'll ever upgrade to 8, though. I dual-boot with XP and Win7, and to be honest, I don't ever foresee Win8 as a 'necessary' upgrade. Still, good on MS for listening to the complaints and doing something about it. That's twice now within the same month - is there something in the water at MS' main office?!

[LouCipherr]

Well, I thought MS would've wised up and done this properly, but it seems that's not the case... http://www.extremetech.com/computing...oot-to-desktop Snippet of text from above link: "As you may already know, right clicking Windows 8′s bottom left corner pops up a quick-access menu for Control Panel, Run, and other power user features. In Windows 8.1, shut down and restart will be added to this menu, so that you no longer have to go through the multi-click rigmarole of using the Charms menu. Left clicking the Windows 8.1 Start button still takes you to the Metro interface, though; if you want an actual Start menu, you’ll need to install a third-party app." So it's not the typical "start button" at all, and if you want that, you have to get a third-party app. 1

[MinionZombie]

heh, yeah I read about this a week ago or whenever, and in the description I saw that it just sent you back there, and I immediately thought "well what's the point in that? It solves nothing!" ... thankfully, I don't use Windows 8, and have no compunction whatsoever to do so. Windows 7 I like, despite a handful of annoying 'ooh, I don't like your old software' setbacks ... and XP was, and is, kick arse. Windows 8 can jog on.

[shootemindehead]

Except gaming companies are starting to turn their backs on XP now. Windows 7 is ok. Probably the worst thing about it is the search feature in Explorer. It's rubbish.

[Neil]

Except gaming companies are starting to turn their backs on XP now. Windows 7 is ok. Probably the worst thing about it is the search feature in Explorer. It's rubbish. I have XP and Vista at home... and have used Windows 7... and for 99% of the stuff I do they are the same. Boot up... Double click on $hit to run it... Done... The ONLY reason I stopped using XP on my main machine is because M$ forced people to spend more money by a compulsory upgrade (stopping support and DirectX development) etc... My server is happily running XP and will do as long as it lives...

[LouCipherr]

Except gaming companies are starting to turn their backs on XP now. I think (and I may be wrong, it's happened before ) they aren't really turning their backs on XP as much as they are embracing DirectX 10, which XP doesn't support. I still install many games under XP - as many as I can - but the more advanced, current games (which are using DX10) all have to go on my Win7 drive. Frustrating when I don't even like 7 (yes, I'm one of the ones who feel XP was perfectly fine and stable for my own personal needs.. )

[Neil]

I think (and I may be wrong, it's happened before ) they aren't really turning their backs on XP as much as they are embracing DirectX 10, which XP doesn't support. I still install many games under XP - as many as I can - but the more advanced, current games (which are using DX10) all have to go on my Win7 drive. Frustrating when I don't even like 7 (yes, I'm one of the ones who feel XP was perfectly fine and stable for my own personal needs.. ) One of the reasons I moved to Vista was because M$ said they couldn't put it on XP... ...and then $ome hacker managed to enable it on XP $howing M$ were talking bollard$! It was all for $$$$$$$ - http://www.techradar.com/news/softwa...p-users-140965

[shootemindehead]

I wanted to get Company of Heroes 2 the other day, but it doesn't have XP support. Neither did the last Hitman game. So, I see a trend. Guess I'll have to get 7 one day soon and stick on a drive. Gonna keep XP on the drive it's on though.

[MinionZombie]

The reason I went to console gaming was partly to do with the lack of proper XP support with games - most specifically the issue of DX10 (now DX11), neither of which are possible on XP (so MS said anyway). I was able to hack Crysis to run it in DX10 mode (it was a really simple hack, too!), so clearly it was all a ploy by MS to force gamers to upgrade to a new OS to play games ... all that sort of rubbish just annoyed me, and I was fed up of making sure I met system requirements and so on, so I just went to console gaming. I'd still like to play some games on PC, but I can't as I use XP on the only machine capable of running current PC games - the machine itself is primarily used for editing, and my editing software doesn't work under Windows 7 ... I can't be doing with being forced to make changes that don't really need to be forced in the first place.

[Andy]

My mac dualboots ios and windows 7 but i rarely use the windows 7 side of it.. Anyway i dont understand why any of you are suprised by this? Microsoft have a proven track record of releasing a good OS followed by a shitey one. 98 (good) - ME (crap) - XP (good) - Vista (crap) - 7 (good) - 8 (crap) And they were all released during the years on top.. People forget that microsoft are not the powerhouse that they once were, their empire is crumbling.

[babomb]

MS is all about their "surface" technology and the new predictive crime systems they developed with DHS. Their empire isn't crumbling, it's morphing into a state sanctioned bureaucracy...