Windows 8.1 review: Start's return

The changes in the RTM version (which isn't quite final) of Microsoft's newest operating system bring back the Start button - but frustrating elements remain

WIndows 8.1: you can make this desktop-friendly app view the default in the Start screen. Photograph: Microsoft

When is an RTM not an RTM? When it's the release-to-market version of Windows 8.1, which was made available via developer channels earlier this month.
Microsoft, which usually puts up preview and RTM versions of new software early on its Technet and MSDN channels for subscribers, had said that in a change to its usual approach, developers and subscribers would have to wait until GA (general availability) on October 17 – just like everyone else.
Following some wailing and gnashing of teeth, Microsoft changed its mind and made the RTM available so that developers and system admins can test applications against the final version and prepare to roll it out to enterprise.
Microsoft says that's because it's working on a much faster schedule of upgrades than previously: we can expect big updates to Windows around once a year in future. And it's keen to stress that this RTM isn't actually the final, final version that will be released to all and sundry next month; that version will be more polished.
With that caveat in mind, what's the very-nearly-but-not-quite-final-polished version of Windows 8.1 like? One note: this is hands-on based on some time playing with it on a non-touch laptop: I might have missed how to do some things and I haven't looked in detail at all the apps and wrinkles.

Install and re-Start

 
Windows 8.1: begin the install process.

The install process is straightforward. I did a format and clean reinstall on my laptop, which took just under 20 minutes on an SSD – your mileage may vary if you're installing it on a traditional spinning HDD. You can go for the clean install, or you can upgrade, choosing to keep your documents, settings and programs or just your personal files only. You don't have to boot off the install media, either: you can mount the ISO file within Windows 8 and launch setup.exe from there.
 
Windows 8.1: the Start screen is unchanged, and synchronises with others
Once the install is finished and you've signed in, you arrive at the Start screen. If you've synchronised other Windows 8 computers to your Microsoft account, you'll be presented with any custom wallpaper you've set (note: that's my custom wallpaper, not a Microsoft one), though as I'd gone for a clean install, I had to redo all my custom settings.
Windows 8.1: at last: you can boot straight to the Desktop One criticism of Windows 8 has been addressed: you can now opt to boot straight to the Windows 7-style desktop. However, setting this up is fiddly and not something you'd work out for yourself. Here's how it's done
• go to the desktop (by clicking on the desktop tile in the bottom right-hand corner)
• right-click on the Taskbar
• click on Properties, Navigation
• Tick" When I sign in or close all apps on a screen, go to the desktop instead of Start".
I also advise ticking "Search everywhere" instead of "Just my apps when I search from the Apps view", as well as Show the Apps view automatically when I go to Start. That means when you initiate a search, it will also search your documents, emails etc rather than just your apps.

Who moved my Search?

Ah yes, Search. In every version of Windows from XP to 7, searching meant clicking the Start button and typing your search term. The disappearance of the Start button from Windows 8 was one of the biggest WTF moments for users, as it meant the search tool seemed to vanish.
In Windows 8 and 8.1, you have to hit the Windows key, which takes you either to the Start screen or the Apps view, depending on how you set up your PC, and start typing your search term.
You might think that the return of the Start button would also mean the return of the handy search field it invoked in previous versions of Windows.
Here's the bad news: it doesn't. I grew used to the absence of the Start button in Windows 8, and think the form in which it has returned is somewhat useless. Clicking it simply takes you to the Start screen (or the Apps view, depending on how you've set it up).
It's more useful if you right-click it: you get a series of useful shortcuts including an elevated command prompt, disk management and the control panel.
  Windows 8.1 bring better visual prompts All of this is fine once you get the hang of it. But Windows 8 was rightly criticised for providing little in the way of help to people floundering around trying to get their OS to work for them. The RTM of 8.1 does offer more help in the form of big, intrusive visual prompts when you first start using the OS, including pointers to the new Start button.
Windows 8.1 brings a Help screen with big visual prompts. If you're using 8.1 on a non-touch laptop, you might be driven bonkers, as I was, by the fact that the Charms bar is invoked by sweeping in from the right-hand edge of your touchpad, which means it pops up all the time
There's no way to disable that natively: if your touchpad is driven by a Synaptics driver, I suggest that as a priority you head straight to the Synaptics website to download the latest version of the touchpad driver and once it's installed, untick Enable Edge swipes.
Windows 8.1: if you have a Synaptics touchpad, you can set it to ignore the 'swipe-from-right' invocation

Modern life is better

Even if you work mostly in the desktop, you will still probably interact with the Modern apps, which have had an overhaul. Mail has particularly benefited from a rethink: it now takes its visual cues from Outlook 2013.
In the sidebar on the left you can add favourite contacts and folders. You can also pin individual folders to the Start screen for quick access.
Users of Outlook 2013 and Windows Phone will be familiar with how Mail aggregates contact details from social media accounts, but its implementation in this app is much improved.
Windows 8.1: you can add more details and contact methods for people Clicking on a contact in the body of an email brings up a card offering options to email, call or SMS; clicking More details brings up that person's contact card in the revamped People app.
Windows 8.1: the revamped People app is still clumsy I think the revamped People app is still clumsy. It does a good job of pulling in details from a range of social media accounts, but that can be overwhelming. It doesn't seem to offer a way of filtering how you see your contacts: I don't want to see everyone I follow on Twitter plus all my Facebook friends and LinkedIn contacts in addition to my own address book contacts: that's more than 1,000 people. On my Windows Phone, I filter my contacts list so that only those in my address book are visible in the list: I couldn't find a way to do that in this app.
This only shows a fraction of my contacts beginning with 'A' This shows just a fraction of my A contacts, including dozens of people I follow on Twitter)
Switching between the Modern UI and desktop apps is still confusing Switching between Modern UI and desktop apps is still confusing. Pointing to the top left-hand corner will bring up a list of running apps; click on the app you want to switch to, as before. However, when closing a running Modern app, instead of just dragging it down to the bottom of the screen, you now have to wait for it to do a twirl before it actually closes. Just dragging it down merely hides it, which means when you want to switch between modes you might be confused or exasperated by how many Modern apps you turn out still to have running.
Split screen on Windows 8.1 Modern and desktop apps can run side by side, and you can adjust how much of the screen each takes up. That's fine on a big monitor; on a laptop or tablet the screen can get pretty crowded.

Stop Start

For those who were baffled by how to shut down their PCs under Windows 8, it's now a bit easier: right-click Start and it's one of the options there. (Note, if you're still on Windows 8, the old-fashioned three-finger salute – Control+Alt+Delete – seems to be the fastest way to reach the shutdown button.)
However, there's another way to shut down – annoyingly, it's hidden in a nest of system folders, and you'll have to set up a shortcut to access it quickly. It's explained here: Slide to shut down brings the shutdown action from Windows Phone to the desktop: set it up and you'll be able simply to close down your machine with a single sweeping gesture.

Summary

That hidden usefulness seems to sum up this almost-final release of Windows 8.1: there are some quite elegant functions, but other parts of the revamped OS are still an uncomfortable, often clunky compromise brought about by Microsoft's earnest desire to solve some of the problems that gave this release of the OS such a bad name.
The bad name is partly deserved: the radical changes to the interface made it difficult for users to get to grips with, and unnecessarily alienated many. Under the hood, it's an excellent OS: it feels fast in use and it's forgiving of older hardware – I've installed it on a range of machines, some quite elderly, and in most cases it's been an improvement.
One unsung benefit is that it comes with antimalware – Windows Defender – baked in to the OS, which means that a new user doesn't have to faff about deciding which trial to activate (don't activate any of them – just uninstall them) or choosing another third-party solution.
If you've warily stuck with XP, now is a good time to jump, not least because support for XP is coming to an end next year.
Vista user? Upgrade.
Windows 7 user and happy with it? The case for an upgrade is still not compelling.