Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - Full Version | Best Product 2014

Microsoft Windows 8.1 Pro - Full Version

CUSTOMER REVIEW



A lot of noise was made about Windows 8 removing the start menu, and that's problematic, but it misses the real point of why Windows 8 gets such bad reviews from so many users: nothing was added back to replace or improve the lost functionality and MANY things were added that don't seem to do anything but annoy and impede.



I'm a network administrator using Windows 8.1 because I have to in order to take advantage of the new management tools for Hyper-V 3.0. I've had a number of problems so far:



1. The Server Manager that is added by the RSAT download is nice, but everything it can do you can do with remote PowerShell commands and some things it can't do that you HAVE to do with remote PowerShell commands (or enable remote desktop and actually log into the server remotely).



2. Windows 8.1, like 8.0, still gets in your way by default even though the option is finally there to get it out of your way in some cases. For example, you still have to use local group policy to get rid of the lock screen which serves no purpose but to be an extra keystroke before you can log in. You can finally log in straight to the desktop, which is nice, but even on the "Pro" version you still have to actually set it. That's annoying enough on the consumer desktop, but for a "Professional" operating system where functionality and efficiency should presumably trump aesthetics, it's inexcusable.



3. Some things are just completely beyond understanding in their design. Press Windows Key + F to bring up "find". It brings up a nice little sidebar you can use to search for items. Do the search, though, and it starts to return results as you type, but if you hit enter (as most of us are conditioned to do when filling out form items) it brings up the results in an app that takes up the whole screen. This means you can't drag and drop a found file, for example, from it's current location to the desktop. If you right-click you get no menu like the old days, just an open to go to the file's location or copy it. But copy doesn't seems to work. If you open the file location, THEN you can copy/cut/drag and drop/etc. There seems to be no value in this change for the end user, it just adds extra steps and reduces functionality with no corresponding payoff.



4. The app "windowing" system still isn't really a windowing system by any modern understanding. You can now have more than two apps open, but it's still a far cry from the highly customizable way that older Windows programs work, which is a concern for some people. For example, it's not uncommon for me to have multiple log files open, or to have documentation open alongside other windows I'm working in.



There are a few brights spots, though. The multi-monitor support is vastly improved and it's still quicker than Windows 7 to boot and shut down. For tech professionals, the improvements to PowerShell are considerable as well.



Still, all in all, unless you must use it for some reason, it's really not worth it if you're on Windows 7. Support for 7 will last through 8's lifecycle and 8 does not offer anything worth the money. Unless you have to have it for some specific reason (like the new management tools for Server 2012, for example), just skip it and wait for the next major release of Windows.