Microsoft
has made significant changes to Windows 8, making life for desktop users more
like it used to be on Windows 7 - while aiming to keep tablet users happy
Microsoft
8.1 shutdown
Right-click
the 'Start' button in Windows 8.1 to get this familiar menu - including
shutdown.
Last year
Microsoft reimagined Windows. Windows 8 was released in October 2012, complete
with a new touch-friendly personality intended to make the operating system
work well on tablets as well as with keyboard and mouse.
Most
Windows users still live in the traditional desktop environment, which is why
many Windows 8 tablets are "hybrids", with keyboards and trackpads as
well as touch screens.
On
Wednesday at its Build developer conference in San Francisco, Microsoft
unveiled the preview of Windows 8.1, an update which refines the operating
system without changing its character. I've been running the preview on the
Surface Pro tablet given to all Build attendees.
No retreat
Microsoft
is not backtracking on concepts such as the Start screen or the "immersive
UI" which presents Modern apps without the clutter of visible menus and toolbars.
Yes, there is a Start button on the desktop - but it takes you to the Start
screen rather than restoring the menu in Windows 7. The Start button will be a
point of familiarity for new users, but its main benefit is the enhanced
administrative menu (known as Win-X because of its keyboard shortcut) which
pops up if you right-click, including an option to shut down.
Users who
want to avoid Modern apps have other new options, offered if you right-click
the taskbar and choose properties. Here you will find "boot to
desktop", the ability to list desktop apps first in the Start screen when
sorted by category, and an option to default to the "All apps" view
in Start. Unlike the mainly cosmetic Start button, these are significant changes.
Engage them all, and when you tap Start you get a list of desktop apps grouped
almost like the old menu, though it is not hierarchical. You can also show the
desktop background in Start, making the transition to the Modern UI less
jarring.
Microsoft
8.1 all apps desktop
You can
make this desktop-friendly app view the default in the 'start' screen.
The Start
screen no longer shows all apps in the default tiled view, but only apps you
select. It is also easier to customise Start groups. A swipe down takes you to
the All apps view, unless you chose this as the default.
Snapped to
it
Most of the
changes in Windows 8.1 relate to Modern apps. In Windows 8.0, you can have up
to two apps on view, with one snapped to the side. This snapped view has gone
(a Microsoft engineer admitted to me that few people used it). If two apps are
on view, you can now size them as you like by dragging a vertical bar, and if
you have a large screen you can have up to four apps on view, though my Surface
only accommodates two. Apps can also be written for two displays, with
different data on each, so for example you could have a controller view and a
presentation view. All good stuff.
New search
Microsoft
8.1 Bing app
A search
for Adele in the Bing app brings back results that look more like a media
player. The app morphs according to the type of search.
The way
Search works has changed. Previously, if you invoked search by pressing Win-S
or selecting it from the right-hand Charms menu, you would be taken
automatically to the Start screen. Now, search opens in a panel, and by default
searches "Everywhere" rather than just Apps as before. One effect is
that you can now easily open a new desktop app without ever leaving the desktop
environment, using search as an app launcher. On the other hand, if you are
searching more generally, you get results in a new Bing app that combines local
and web search in a rich view. A search for "guardian", for example,
shows Word documents with that word in the title as well as matching websites.
Search for a celebrity and you get photos, biography, and for a musician,
options to play songs in Xbox Music, the native music app on Windows 8.
Each search
creates a kind of custom app, Microsoft explained, and this feature is fun to
use. The prize for Microsoft is greater Bing adoption if the approach proves
popular.
SkyDrive:
now landing
Microsoft
8.1 taskbar options
New
navigation options, including boot to desktop, make Windows 8.1 more
accommodating for desktop users.
SkyDrive,
Microsoft's cloud storage, is deeply embedded in Windows 8.1. It has its own
section in PC Settings, and you can opt to save all documents to SkyDrive by
default. Open Notepad, for example, type something, hit save, and it goes to
SkyDrive if you do not change the location. Another SkyDrive change is that the
Modern SkyDrive app now works offline, sharing local storage with the Desktop
version. This makes sense if you travel or regularly work on more than one
machine.
Talking of
PC Settings, Window 8.1 has more settings in the Modern settings app, reducing
the need to run the old Control Panel. It is still not comprehensive. Mouse
settings, for example, has just three options in PC settings, with many more in
Control Panel. This is an improvement though.
PC Settings
is also the place for new features like Workplace, which when combined with the
forthcoming update to Windows Server will let users access a business network
under the control of IT administrators, but without the full "domain
join" that corporate machines normally require. This is in keeping with
the Bring Your Own Device trend, where a machine is used both for home and
business. Combined with another feature called work folders, this lets users
synchronize with documents on their business network, while allowing the IT
administrator to switch off access if the machine is lost or the employee
leaves.
Turning IE
up to 11
Windows 8.1
comes with version 11 of Internet Explorer (IE), which will also be available
for Windows 7. The big new feature is WebGL (Web Graphics Library) support, a
standard for showing 3D accelerated graphics in the browser without a plug-in,
and ideal for browser-based games. Previously Microsoft had resisted WebGL
because of security concerns, which it says are now resolved thanks to
improvements both in the standard and in IE itself. There is also better touch
support and faster performance, though I have not noticed much difference in
day to day browsing so far.
The
presence of two versions of IE in Windows 8 - one on the Start screen, one on
the desktop - remains confusing.
Fun in
Store?
Windows 8.1
Store homepage
The Windows
Store has a more appealing home page and easier navigation.
The Windows
Store has been revamped. The home page is more appealing and magazine-like,
categories are selected from the top menu rather than by endless scrolling, and
apps now update automatically if you allow it.
What about
the built-in apps? A new recipe app has what looks like a brilliant feature,
called Hands-Free mode. If your machine has a front-facing camera, you wave
your hand to navigate pages, avoiding touching the screen with sticky fingers.
Unfortunately this hardly works on my Surface, suggesting that Microsoft has
more work to do here, or that it is fussy about the exact hardware you use.
I had
better luck with Reading List, essentially an app which lists shortcuts for
future reference. Run Modern IE, for example, and you can add links to the
Reading List using Share on the Charms menu. This also works with maps and
other apps.
Mailed it
Windows 8.1
The Mail
app can now show a web link side by side.
The Mail
app is slightly improved. When I tried to add my Exchange Server account, it
actually told me why it was not working (a digital certificate issue), whereas
the old Mail app used to fail with infuriating silence. You can also view web
links with an automatic side-by-side view, making a better experience.
Windows 8.1
photo app
The new
photo app, with an edit option for fine-tuning the image
The Photo
app now has an Edit feature with a range of options for adjusting the colour,
tint, light and various effects. It is easy to use and effective.
Conclusion
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.
But is it
enough to fix the poor reputation of Windows 8, to persuade users sticking with
Windows 7 to upgrade, or even to win sales that would otherwise go to iPad or
Android tablets? Redmonk analyst James Governor is optimistic. "It's a
long game," he told me. "You remember Vista, which needed a
significant refactoring, and what came out of it was a decent platform. The
Bing integration is significant. The split personality is a problem, but Metro
is beautiful and a step forward, and will increasingly be the kind of model
people use to access apps."
All this
chimes with me as a reviewer and early adopter; yet Microsoft is coming from
behind in the tablet market, has many users reluctant to relearn how they work
with Windows, and its hardware partners are creating largely hybrid devices
that are expensive and compromised - though also more powerful - compared to
their tablet rivals.
Windows 8.1
is a refinement, but doesn't remove these obstacles.
I am
writing this at Microsoft's developer conference, and the effort to win over
developers to the new Modern platform is key. Just a few compelling apps will
drive adoption; and it may even be that the new Bing app is one such in the way
it combines local and web search in a single and appealing package.
Overall, it
is too early to call Windows 8.1 a success, but also too soon to call the
Windows 8 project a failure. Microsoft had done good work, and those who
disliked the first release may want to take another look.
Preview:
where to get it
You can get
the preview at http://windows.microsoft.com/el-gr/windows-8/preview?ocid=blprev_pr_wom, but be warned that there is no
uninstall and it may not be possible to upgrade to the final version without a
complete reinstall. In other words, it is not yet ready for general use.
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