Last week, Microsoft released a new version of its operating system, Windows 8.1. At first glance, it looks exactly the same as the “old” Windows 8. However, if we take a closer look under the hood, we will find some very welcome changes to the OS.
For this review, I am running Windows 8.1 on a 15″ Retina MacBook Pro. And the review is short, because there isn’t much new stuff to see.
Visual changes
After booting the new Windows 8.1, you will notice that nothing has changed on the Start screen. Almost nothing, actually: if you look closer, you will notice that Windows 8.1 has new tile sizes, just like on Windows Phone 8. Also, the Windows Store icon is now animated, showing up app recommendations, and desktop apps can now use tiles instead of the traditional desktop icons.
Windows 8-style apps are now much better thanks to the new side-by-side snap views, which can be a boon to productivity. Depending on the monitor size, you may have up to 4 apps side-by-side. Also, any app may show multiple windows and extend across multiple monitors. A big win for Microsoft here.
When switching to desktop view, the main change is obvious: the Start button is back. However, it doesn’t bring up the Start menu, like on Windows 7. Instead, it switches back to the Start screen. So if you had any hopes that Microsoft would restore previous Windows 7 experience, you may stop wishing — it ain’t gonna happen. Just to make you guys less miserable, you may now boot directly to the desktop, though.
Windows 8.1 under the hood: Bing and SkyDrive integration
One of the most stupid features in Windows 8 was its search. It was very localized, and therefore, limited. In Windows 8.1, it is fixed. Not only you may search for apps and documents, but the search engine will reach Bing for extra results online.
SkyDrive is now baked deeply into the OS. All of your settings, files and apps are now stored in SkyDrive, which makes easier the life of people who own multiple PCs. You may also configure what files you want available offline; everything else is downloaded on-demand. Another app that is using SkyDrive is Internet Explorer 11 for its tab synchronization feature. Unlike Apple Safari and Google Chrome, it works only between PCs and tablets. Maybe a future update will make it work with Windows Phone as well.
Wrap-up
Windows 8.1 is an incremental update to Windows 8. It doesn’t bring many new features, but fixes a lot of problems Windows 8 had. The best thing is that the update is free for Windows 8 users, which is an improvement when it comes to Microsoft upgrading policies. Here is my verdict:
- Good stuff: free update, SkyDrive integration, side-by-side apps, better search.
- Bad stuff: dealing with the UI using a keyboard and mouse is still terrible.