For the last week i have been getting this annoying popup message from Microsoft asking me to upgrade to windows 8.1. My question is, what is the difference between the two? Is windows 8.1 worth me wasting 4 hour of my life waiting for it to download, and install? Or is it the same thing as windows 8.
I like Windows 8 but 8.1 is certainly an improvement. A start button included on the taskbar but doesn't open the menu. It'll take users to the start screen when clicked. There are more settings available to the start screen/modern UI side of the interface. Depending on your screen size, it's possible to split the screen between 3 or more apps instead of just two. Users have more control in how much screen space an app takes. For example, if you have 2 apps on screen then each can be adjusted to split the screen evenly, unlike Windows 8 where one had to take up the majority of the screen. New navigation options are available from the taskbar. There's a check mark option to boot directly to the desktop upon sign in. An option to show the all apps (all programs) view instead of the start screen. And an option to disable the top right hot corner so the charms don't pop up when trying to click the X (close) button on a maximized desktop window. Oh, and you can choose to have your desktop background reflected on the start screen from here as well. They made some annoying changes though. The Libraries are hidden by default. In 8.1 they really want users to sign in with a Microsoft Account and store all their user files online via SkyDrive. They're easy enough to restore. Open File Explorer. Click the View tab at the top of the window. Click Options in the ribbon. In the Navigation pane, select Show Libraries. The Search charm has changed a bit. It now searches the "Everywhere" category by default which also includes Bing, Microsoft's search engine. Though that can be turned off. Instead of full screen, the search pane pops open from the right of the screen. Really handy if one is trying to follow on screen instruction displayed in a web browser or something. Unfortunately, one can no longer search apps. Users will have to open the app first then use the app's built in search function instead. Apps update automatically now. Tiles get two new sizes, Large and Small. Oh, and there's a new Help + Tips tile for new users. It's something that should have been included in Windows 8 but for some crazy reason, wasn't. Finally, it's free to users who are already running Windows 8. Just run Windows Update, then go the Store app and the update will appear.
The major difference between 8.1 and 8, which should hopefully persuade you to upgrade, is that windows focused on making the 8.1 more user friendly for those who are used to the usual windows interface with the start button on the left-bottom corner. They've made sure that 8.1 is more approachable, in addition to other technical updates. You should definitely upgrade; after all, it's free
Not much, apparently. But the few changes are very noticeable though. There's an improvement on the overall performance, 8.1 boots a little bit faster than 8. 8.1 brings back the Start Button, but not like in Windows 7. Also, 8.1 is a lot user friendly than 8, I would say you upgrade to 8.1 if you want that extra change on your computing experience. Also, the tiles are more customisable, but I don't use Windows 8 tiles. My suggestion is you go download Start8, install it and use Windows 8 like a regular Windows 7 OS.
This post got it all right. You know how people have been complaining about Windows 8 not being great, then this will make it even better that is why are recommending it for you to buy it.
In brief the one thing that i noticed as the best change between the two, was the addition of the good old start button. I think that really made the machine come back to life, though either way you pretty much get used to the new way of doing things and you find that it was actually a great improvement to the user interface.
