Windows 8.1 Preview

OK. Maybe I've never seen Metro IE.

Standby, I have an installed Win 8.1 without Firefox.

Edit... The above OS does have a different IE when opened from Metro. So I have been seeing the Desktop IE in the past. Metro IE looks very "simple".

 

i'm sure it would be nice if i was using a tablet or a smartphone or such.
that's what it's made for.

 

also,

you can launch IE, select it as the default browser, then when you launch IE from Metro you will get the Metro/tablet version of IE.

the Metro IE gets disabled once you select another browser as the default.

 

IE opens as well, but the desktop version only, not the metro based one.

 

Yes, that is indeed what I meant

 

See, and I hate that it's designed that way. It would be nice to have Metro enabled no matter what, especially when someone is using the Start Screen.

 

you're the first one i see who want more Metro with his desktop!

it's not possible to do what you want apparently.

i quickly glanced at the link below but you might want to look into it further:
http://superuser.com/questions/4904...-without-making-internet-explorer-the-default

 

Oh my freakin' gosh.

Just look are all the jockeying desktop customers like us and anyone else have to go thru and what you have to go around just to access the basics.

I don't like it any better then you fellas but it's what we got to settle for until the customizers start rolling out the different hacks to suit most users and return some usefulness back again to windows.

 

oh, come on, it's not that bad!
it's just a matter of taking the path of least resistance.

 

It's not that I want more, it's that if it's there, it might as well come with practical functions.

 

Can you find Task Scheduler from the Start Screen Search? I can't in Win 8.1.

 

Another practical function that should've been implemented from the beginning, without the user adding registry modifications to get around it...

Windows Defender in explorer's Context Menu "Scan with Windows Defender"

Also...

An option in Windows Defender to enable a tray icon

In my opinion, if it's a built in version of Security Essentials, then it should behave like Security Essentials as well, but it doesn't.

Hopefully they'll add this to 8.1

 

My rant is coming soon
Mrk

 

Let it all out.

'The more things change the more they stay the same"

Doesn't Microsoft PC Development accept any customer/users recommendations at all? Are they not relevant becoz their considered non-essential personnel?

Guess we can't bellyache too much because Windows 8 is yet another reflection in keeping with their usual trend of offering a basic framework of this series of their O/S.

It's up to software vendors to make the most of them and bring out the best of whatever it's potential is.

So one might argue that MS wants us to waste our time with all these new alterations that they generously selected in rerouted controls settings.

 

stapp,

It's weird. Both Task Scheduler and Scheduled Tasks worked today when I typed them in Metro. It must have "learned".

I like the layout of the new Metro. It's very similar to how I have it in Win8. A simple screen for everyday use and one with "everything".

 

Some weird things I noticed with the preview of Win8.1:

- If you mute the volume on the desktop, you can't unmute it in "Metro" (probably a driver issue).

- In the "Metro" Video App, if you browse subfolders and click the back button, it will not remember the position of the previous folder (à la desktop mode). Something very incovenient if you have tons of subfolders.

- Didn't find an option in the "Metro" Photo App to view photos in their original size by default, there's no option like "left mouse button to zoom" and I can't scroll photos with the mousewheel in non-thumbnail view mode, etc. Non-touch users will love it.

- If I browse albums in the "Metro" Music App, the keyboard backspace doesn't work in the Collection section.

- There's no "Sign Out" option in the Win+X Menu.

- Fonts in most first and third-party applications are really ugly/blurry/fuzzy on my 11 inches 1600x900 screen unless I select "Let me choose one scaling level for all my displays" and use "Medium - 125% (default)" in the Display options.

Apart from that, in the start screen, If you click the down arrow to go to the "all apps" section, there should be, in my opinion, a "text-only" mode to render this section less "gayish".

They should also include Applocker in the Pro version...

 

i like that you can disable the Charm Bar in the upper right so as not to interfere with the Close button for example.

and with the new boot to desktop feature i never see Metro.
(both and more can be adjusted by right-click on Taskbar, then Properties/Navigation)

if you need a traditional Start menu then you can install Start8, which is compatible with 8.1

 

This preview will also be a flop. Metro is hugely unpopular and Microsoft insists its the face of the future. There is no compelling reason to upgrade from Windows 7. Microsoft is betting that people will get used to Metro just like they liked the Edsel! Good luck with it.

 

It's a mystery for sure. I do tech support for work and have setup quite a few Windows 8 computers for people. They are buying them because they feel they have no choice. I've yet to have a customer tell me that they actually like/prefer the Metro/Start screen and the other UI changes. They are all confused by the switching back and forth and don't understand why there are two modes. I always install Classic Shell which alleviates some of the confusion by restoring the Start Button and Menu, but many issues remain. The only reason they are not buying Windows 7 is because it's no longer available retail and they're not comfortable buying a Win 7 computer on the internet. Think about what a sorry situation this is. Is there a TV, camera, musical instrument, anything else in your life that you're willing to spend serious money on that you're not genuinely happy with? - typically not. It doesn't bode well when people are buying your product not because they really want it but because they feel they don't have a better choice. Sooner or later that's going to translate into failure.

 

for people wanting to avoid Metroland:

you have to install a standalone PDF viewer and a standalone image viewer.
so you don't drop out of desktop mode into Metroland just to look at an image or PDF.

once that's done, and after adding a program launcher, maybe ClassicShell or Start8, then the new boot to desktop feature of 8.1 it should be smooth sailing after that.

i use a folder with shortcuts to launch my applications, so that's another way to avoid Metro just to launch programs.

i use the Mail and Skype apps in Metro, but that's it.
i like the convenience of quickly checking my email from Metroland

 

It's more than PDF viewer and image viewer: what you need to do is go through the complete list of file associations and switch each metro file association to a desktop file association. Then the program launcher such as Classic Shell. You also have to go to the control panel and turn off the "hot corners".

 

well, for me, the only ones that gave me the Metro issue was PDF and images.

of course, YMMV.