Windows 8.1, A Breath Of Fresh Air

Thursday 17th October 2013 is the date that i had penned in my phone. The day when Windows 8 was finally receiving an update! For the past year I had to suffer enduring the abysmal usage of Windows 8 and its tedious attempt at being an Operating System. However today was the day that it could all change.

I went to the Windows Store with a giant notification telling me Windows 8.1 had arrived (Y).

Straight away i proceeded to click 'DOWNLOAD'. 

After having to wait almost an hour the wait was finally over. Windows 8 had arrived... And it was good!

Hey, what's that Icon you say?! 

START MENU WAS BACK! Although it wasn't the same. When clicked it doesn't give you the list of programs like many of you are used to but now just redirects you back to the tile interface.

50:50 APP FUNCTIONALITY. This is a big coup as I used to hate having to have an 80:20 ratio between to apps and often found myself having to close one app altogether.

IMPROVED IE11. IE11 metro was pretty crap in Windows 8. However an update from the team means that IE11 is blisteringly quick with websites opening quicker than ever.

BOOT TO DESKTOP. Remember when you would login and be directed to your desktop just like in Windows 7? WELL ITS BACK! If like me your sick of logging into a tiled interface you don't even use then here's how to boot to desktop mode.

2. Right-click any open area in the taskbar, then click Properties.

3. Click the Navigation tab, then check the box next to Go to the desktop instead of Start when I sign in.

4. Click OK, then reboot. Windows should plunk you right into Desktop.

WINDOWS STORE REFRESHED! Remember my last rant about how the store sucked and had no apps which were useful to the common PC user, well that's changed... sort of. Now people can find access to over 50,000 apps to choose from and Facebook aswell as Twitter have released their own apps! OH JOY!

Overall, Windows hasn't dissapointed with this fresh update which was long overdue and has delivered some crucial updates to an OS which was barely standing on its own two feet. Only time will tell if Microsoft can turn it around with its sales in the ever growing tablet market.

3 Reasons why the Windows 8 App Store sucks

3 Reasons why the Windows 8 App Store sucks

 

 

 

After upgrading and using Windows 8 for the past 2 months I've come to the decision that the Windows 8 App Store is probably the worst App Store that is on offer. I know you may think that this is harsh of me to say but I reckon there are many other users who are out there that agree with me. Here are my top 3 reasons why Windows 8 App Store sucks:

 

 

Lack of Apps

 

So the Windows 8 App Store has been out for more than 2 months, yet it only has up to 13,000 apps right now. Now some people think that is quite good considering the fact that it's only been up for 2 months but the lack of mainstream apps is a problem. Popular apps like Temple Run and Doodle Jump are lacking from the app store (personal favourites) and this takes away the wow factor of the app store. However upon release I was glad to see everyone's favourite Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja, so this was a kind of make up for the fact that the app store lacked so much.

 

 

Too expensive

 

Being a student I like to scrimp and save. So I try to buy as less apps as possible, only buying the apps that appeal to me personally. When I first encountered the app store I was surprised to see the stunningly expensive prices of simple apps like Angry Birds and Fruit Ninja. They both cost around £3.49, which for me was ludicrous! I know I'm going on a rant here but why should I pay £3.49 for an app when I can play the same app on my phone for free!

 

 

Junk store

 

For me the Windows 8 App Store has simply become a 'Junk Store'. Browsing the store the other day I was looking round the app store only to see many 'junk apps' that were simply just apps that weren't apps! For one Kaspersky Internet Security was advertised on the App Store so I decided to download it thinking it would be an app that would go well with my KIS. However when it came to downloading the app, I was simply redirected to the website of the company! Why Windows why!

 

 

Overall the App store does have some good Apps but if your upgrading to Windows 8 because of the 'app factor' then I would wait about another year, as clearly the Windows 8 App Store is not up to scratch and not even comparable to the Play Store or the IOS store.