There will be no Windows 8.1 Update 2, replaced by monthly updates

[Scorpus]

Despite a few rumors floating around that Microsoft would soon be releasing a second update to Windows 8.1, Microsoft has come out and announced that they're changing the way they release operating system updates, announcing a set of August updates for Windows 8.1 in the process.

In April, Microsoft released Windows 8.1 Update 1, which was a small collection of updates mainly designed to improve the experience for those with a keyboard and mouse. It was a relatively large collection of tweaks and improvements, more than what you'd usually see in one of the company's 'Patch Tuesday' releases, which are typically reserved for security updates.

Microsoft has realized that instead of waiting for operating system improvements to accumulate, creating something along the lines of an Update 2 to Windows 8.1, the company could simply push upgrades on a monthly basis. Going forward, any usability or feature updates to Windows 8.1 will be delivered alongside security-based Patch Tuesday updates, starting with the August updates on August 12th.

This month, we can expect a few minor upgrades alongside the usual array of security patches:

• Precision touchpad improvements – three new end-user settings have been added: Leave touch pad on when a mouse is connected; allow right-clicks on the touchpad; double-tap and drag.
• Miracast Receive – exposes a set of Wi-Fi direct APIs for Independent Hardware Vendor (IHV) drivers or OEM drivers to develop Windows 32-bit applications that run on all supported x86-based or x64-based versions of Windows 8.1, enabling the computer as a Miracast receiver.
• Minimizing login prompts for SharePoint Online – reduces the number of prompts with federated use in accessing SharePoint Online sites. If you select the “Keep me signed in” check box when you log on for the first time, you will not see prompts for successive access to that SharePoint Online site.

The updates will be delivered as usual through Windows Update, meaning it will happen automatically for the majority of users. If you'd rather get the updates immediately, head into Windows Update on August 12th to perform a manual update.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/57647-there-will-be-no-windows-81-update-2-replaced-by-monthly-updates.html

 

[DDG4005]

This makes sense; updates are delivered on Patch Tuesday without a lot of fanfare that enhance existing features or fix problems.

Sounds like a plan.

 

[cmbjive]

I still am using Windows 8 because the last iteration of 8.1 nearly destroyed my computer. I hope the updates will make 8.1 more stable.

 

[Skidmarksdeluxe]

Why would they release update 2 anyway? It's time to unveil Threshold and stop wasting time and money on flogging a dead horse.

 

[Guest]

This is really nice actually. There were so many people (myself incuded) that had so many windows 8.1 problems when trying to download "ALL" of the updates and install them all at once. I think this will allow for the bugs to be minimized greatly and will hopefully turn out for the better.

 

[Nobina]

Can they at least release a hotfix which gives me a start menu and removes that bug called metro.

 

[drjekel_mrhyde]

I think a lot of people would like metro if they could make the tiles transparent(like WP8.1) or be able to change the tiles colors

 

[TadMSTR]

Can they at least release a hotfix which gives me a start menu and removes that bug called metro.

Look up Classic Shell. Brings the Windows 7 Start menu back, with lots of options for customizing. I put it on all the Windows 8 computers at work. The users on Win8 greatly appreciated it.

 

[TheBigFatClown]

I think a lot of people would like metro if they could make the tiles transparent(like WP8.1) or be able to change the tiles colors

I think a lot of people would like metro if they could make the tiles transparent(like WP8.1) or be able to change the tiles colors

*shakes his head no*

It's a touch-based UI. It has no real place on a desktop in my opinion. I don't like holding my computer screen 3" from my face 8+ hours a day. Maybe I am an exception to the rule? Oh wait, Windows 8 has captured 12% of the operating system market compared to 50% still using Windows 7. Looks like I am nobody special after all. *sigh*

 

[GeforcerFX]

I think a lot of people would like metro if they could make the tiles transparent(like WP8.1) or be able to change the tiles colors

I think a lot of people would like metro if they could make the tiles transparent(like WP8.1) or be able to change the tiles colors

*shakes his head no*

It's a touch-based UI. It has no real place on a desktop in my opinion. I don't like holding my computer screen 3" from my face 8+ hours a day. Maybe I am an exception to the rule? Oh wait, Windows 8 has captured 12% of the operating system market compared to 50% still using Windows 7. Looks like I am nobody special after all. *sigh*

Well at this time in its life cycle windows 7 had capture 22% of the market share and had passed vista's market share early in the year (talking 2011), but XP was still 60% of the over all market share so I Guess windows 7 was a flop as well. 8/8.1 has the same prob 7 had in the beginning the only people who moved to 7 were the vista users Xp was still all anyone wanted. 7 still gets the job doe great for many user so why move to 8? 7 has only seen a 6% market share increase since windows 8's release so technically windows 8/8. outgrew 7 by double. There was no huge reason for anyone running a normal dual core internet system to move to 8 because they will see no benefit in performance or extra usability for most.

 

[darkzelda]

I hope they don't charge much for going from Windows 8.1 to Windows 9. It would be a terrible mistake since Windows 8 is still pretty recent

 

[TheBigFatClown]

I hope they don't charge much for going from Windows 8.1 to Windows 9. It would be a terrible mistake since Windows 8 is still pretty recent

Windows 8 was a terrible mistake. So major changes are necessary to correct that.

I fear the future of Windows may be too much for you too handle. Microsoft are planning on bringing back the traditional Start Menu, removing the flakey charms bar, bringing virtual desktops to Windows, and probably more stuff we don't know about just yet in Windows 9.

If you are happy where you are I would suggest you simply not upgrade to Windows 9. It's an easy decision. Much like I have done with Windows 7.

 

[Guest]

I use 8.1 in a desktop environment everyday & never even see metro. Boots straight to desktop by default.
Granted a proper start menu is in order but that can be solved easily by installing Startmenu".
I would have preferred an update 2. New installations would be much quicker than downloading all these updates...

 

[Jad Chaar]

Why would they release update 2 anyway? It's time to unveil Threshold and stop wasting time and money on flogging a dead horse.

They probably noticed that xD. Windows 9 is probably gonna be 99% Windows 7 and 1% Windows 8.

 

[Guest]

You're aware that he said "charge," not "change," right?

 

[Guest]

I just hope upgrading from Windows 8 to Windows 9 would be free or very cheap.
FORMER MICROSOFT EMPLOYEE BELIEVES WINDOWS 9 COULD BE FREE:http://www.windows9update.com/2014/08/former-microsoft-employee-believes-windows-9-free/


I moved from Windows 7 to Windows 8, because of Explorer's Ribbon. And many other productivity enhancements as well:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_Aero:

In comparison to Windows 7, the interface adopted a flatter look with almost no transparency effects, fewer rounded edges, and solid colored window borders designed to attract more attention to the content of a window.

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/05/18/creating-the-windows-8-user-experience.aspx:

Aero was designed to help people focus less on the window chrome itself, and more on the content within the window. It draws the eye away from the title bar and window frames, and towards what is valuable and what an app is about.

http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/2012/05/18/creating-the-windows-8-user-experience.aspx:

To complete the story, we updated the appearance of most common controls, such as buttons, check boxes, sliders, and the Ribbon. We squared off the rounded edges, cleaned away gradients, and flattened the control backgrounds to align with our chrome changes. We also tweaked the colors to make them feel more modern and neutral.

Designing the Windows 8 file name collision experience
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/...windows-8-file-name-collision-experience.aspx


Improving our file management basics: copy, move, rename, and delete
http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/...ement-basics-copy-move-rename-and-delete.aspx


Metro UI in Windows 8:
I never ever use Metro UI on my computers on windows 8. Releasing different SKUs is the idea they should have gone with from the start (desktop only for mouse-keyboard computers, both UIs for tablets such as the Surface Pro, and Metro only for low-end, cheap ARM tablets).
I sure do hope they stick to that idea, because all the Metro/Modern UI takes space on the drive and makes the whole system more complex for nothing, at least for me who don’t use it at all.(plus it’s super annoying to have metro UI pop, for example, when searching for Bluetooth devices. Why ?)I guess we’ll see in a few months, when they release it.

 

[TheBigFatClown]

You're aware that he said "charge," not "change," right?

*TheBigFatClown chants, "I hate myself, I hate myself" as he punches himself in the face*

My mistake. The nick feels most appropriate at the moment. None the less, I'll take any opportunity I can to bash Windows 8 just a bit longer before it's quietly laid to rest in the not too distant future.

With a proper response to the original post then....I doubt Microsoft will charge as much as they did in past versions of their OS since they are releasing new versions more frequently. I have heard it could actually be free for Windows 8 users.

With Microsofts new "agile" development practice in place....pushing incremental updates out as rapidly as possible....versus releasing a new operating system every 3 years....they will probably try and lure everybody into a subscription based service to keep the operating system up to date.

So while an update fee of $49 to go from Windows 8 to Windows 9 might seem like a good deal, if you have to pay that on a yearly basis, then it's not all that good a deal.

If staying up to date on the latest version of Windows requires a subscription based periodic fee, I would simply wait as long as possible between updates until such a time that I felt the "payload" was worth the subscription fee, get my updates for the subscription period, let my subscription lapse, and then wait as long as possible. And as far as operating systems go, I still haven't really found any compelling reasons to upgrade to Windows 8 over Windows 7 other than, what would normally be considered, bragging rights for being on the latest Microsoft software. Although, in the case of Windows 8 I don't feel so left behind at the moment. More like, grateful that I am not a "hipster". I mean after all, who doesn't like purple and white square Windows plastered all over their screen...am I right?.