Windows 8.1 External Media evaluation-ease of use enhancements, still small problems

Windows 8, which came out last year, is a controversial operating system, and its emphasis on touch operations and sharp changes in the interface have drawn criticism from a wide range of PC users ...

Yesterday, Microsoft officially released Windows 8 's first major upgrade Windows 8.1. In this upgrade, Microsoft based on user feedback on many aspects of the system to improve, but also added a lot of new features. With the official release of 8.1, The verge of the technology website also brought a review of the system:

After you upgrade to Windows 8.1, you will not see much of the same place as Windows 8. Boot is still very fast, after login to jump out of the still dynamic tiles. However, with the depth of use, those minor upgrades become more pronounced.

First-time users will see a demo when they set up, and then when navigating the application and system, they will also get tips that are useful for new users. In addition, a special "HELP + hint" application is added to the system to provide more help to those users who are puzzled by the new interface.

On the New Start screen, Microsoft borrowed WP8 's design and added more dynamic tile sizes. Weather tiles can now display 3 cities and 3 days of forecasts, and the calendar shows all events of the day. The Windows App Store now also has animation effects that provide immediate application recommendations. While most of the start screen upgrades focus on new Windows 8 apps, Microsoft now allows traditional desktop apps to use color tiles, not just icons, which should make everyone's start screen look prettier.

Sliding up the Start screen opens the All Applications view, which contains all the applications installed on the device and can be filtered according to criteria, and you can set it to the default view of the Start screen. These changes appear to be designed primarily for desktop users, and in desktop mode settings you can also choose to boot directly to the desktop rather than the start screen.

After you run Windows 8.1 for the first time, you'll see the Start button coming back. Its role now becomes the switch between the desktop and the Start screen, and at the Start screen, it appears only when you place the mouse in the lower left corner of the screen. For many people, this start button will be a hint of how to navigate windows, much more intuitive than the odd openings in Windows 8. But it's just a button: Microsoft won't bring back the traditional Windows Start menu.

Windows 8.1 also allows users to make more personalized customizations. The new built-in background image will animate the motion as it slides, and you can choose a color theme--a lot more flexible than Windows 8. But in personalization, the most important thing is to set the same desktop mode and start screen wallpaper. Although it sounds simple, it is actually an effective way to connect two of the interfaces that are not tuned.

The author's favorite change--at least visually--is the ability to organize Windows 8 applications in a view. By default, if you click a link from one application, the system will open a new application on the screen side with a 50/50 view, such as clicking a link in the email, IE pop-up, and the mail application in parallel. If you open a picture from the mail or elsewhere, the resulting image application will get a little more space. Any application can have different windows or expand across multiple monitors. If you've already put more than one application on the screen, the system will pop up a floating application tile when you open a new application, allowing you to choose a position to stick to.

At the same time, users can now attach more applications to the screen. Although the panel can only open 50/50 of the view scale, but if it is a 27-inch display, the number of applications supported can be up to 4. You can even use a compatible miracast monitor to pull and drag applications across the screen. In this mode, the usefulness of Windows 8 applications is greatly improved, especially when mixed with traditional desktop applications.

The biggest change in Windows 8.1 is likely to be a search, which has become more comprehensive from the height limits of Windows 8. If you search for a "store" in the system, search results include Bing's search results in addition to apps. Search is now a separate application that collects documents and data, system settings, and even web results in a local or SkyDrive, all in a single interface.

Bing's Intelligent search function is impressive when it comes to people or places to search. For example, if you search for Rihanna, the system will present you with a Full-screen interface that contains the person's pictures, videos, and songs. This approach is practical and stylish, and Bing is also able to retrieve data from the application. If you want to play a singer's music, the system opens the Xbox music directly.

News will now be on the search, as well as the key information from Wikipedia. Images can be expanded and browsed individually, and you can even sift through colors to find the one you need. When it comes to images, if you're searching for a location, the new search experience will even find the pictures you took there-if any-and present them with the results of the web search. Although search is a bit complicated in applications, most built-in apps choose to add a virtual search bar to make the transition easier. Clearly, Microsoft has put a lot of thought and effort into the new search interface, and it has worked.

Microsoft has linked visual changes and functions to a new set of built-in application upgrades, and SkyDrive's central location is more pronounced than before. The synchronization engine is placed in the system, and Microsoft also brings some intelligent improvements to file synchronization.

SkyDrive now does not download all of the stored content to the PC, but only the information needed to load the icon and identify the file. When you open the file, the download will not open. Of course, you can also download files and folders through settings, or the entire SkyDrive store for offline use.

SkyDrive will store all your settings, files, and applications. If you need to use a different Windows 8.1 pc, you just need to log in to your Microsoft account, and all content will be synchronized to the new PC, just like using your own PC--which is certainly a great convenience. As with other content in Windows 8.1, synchronization seems like a well-deserved upgrade, but it is also one of the most important upgrades in Windows 8.1.

Microsoft has also used its own cloud synchronization technology to upgrade IE 11 browsers. IE now supports unlimited tags and shifts them to the bottom of the screen to make it easier to use small flat panels. At the same time, IE 11 has become faster and more intuitive, and you can now sync tags, favorites, and history across devices. In future Windows phone upgrades, this capability will also be extended to mobile phones.

Microsoft also added WebGL support for IE 11, allowing developers to make larger web games. Reading views also make Web browsing more convenient and can store pages for later reading. The ability of IE 11 to detect mobile phone numbers also allows users to use applications such as Skype to speed up dialing from a Web page. Many of these changes are well suited to touch-friendly IE 11, but Microsoft seems to have omitted the desktop version of IE. At the same time, rivals like Google continue to drive expansion, application and even the entire system to their browsers.

The built-in application of Windows 8 feels like a rush-making and lacks functionality. But in Windows 8.1, all of these applications have been upgraded. Each application is visually altered, and some even add Windows Phone-style apps to enhance navigation. Email applications have been thoroughly redesigned, both in mouse and touch control. You can drag and drop information into folders, easily select multiple messages in your Inbox, and the overall filtering and management becomes simpler. The performance of the application is also greatly improved, and the mail-writing window appears on your right-hand side rather than the entire screen.

Outlook.com users are naturally able to get the best experience-Microsoft joins a separate filter for favorites, flagged messages, and news-and social-networking messages. The mail application also adds a new window option that allows users to stick to information side-by-side. There is also a new calendar application that brings a redesigned "new content" view, a networking application upgrade, and some keyboard improvements that quickly enter numbers. Compared to Windows 8, the new messaging experience is a lot more advanced.

Microsoft has also used Skype to make significant changes to the communication capabilities of Windows 8.1. Previously limited information applications were canceled and turned into a built-in version of Skype. Although it is still a separate application and works in the same way as Windows 8, Microsoft has extended Skype's functionality to the lock screen: You can now accept calls without unlocking your PC. Skype's information experience still needs to be upgraded, but it has been able to work across connections and email applications, and you can call your friends by clicking their names directly.

Microsoft has also created functional upgrades for built-in image applications, including reduced, rotated, and additional editing capabilities. Unfortunately, the integration of Flickr and Facebook photos has been canceled due to the addition of a separate application, but SkyDrive support is still available. The new Photo Loop feature also allows camera applications to take photos immediately after loading, which is really a good experience if supported by hardware.

The brand-new Windows App Store combines these together. It is a new application or even a Windows window, and now can automatically upgrade everything in the background. The new design of the App Store makes it easier to find apps, but it still lacks the options: there are too many fake Facebook, YouTube and other unofficial apps, and too few third parties. In many ways, this is very similar to the situation of Windows Phone. But at least Facebook has now launched its own official apps and is starting to become interested in the platform. This is a critical part of the success of Windows 8/rt on tablets, and Microsoft needs developers to build a comprehensive, healthy App store.

Windows 8 brings a direction around the touchscreen, but Microsoft alone is not enough to drive the concept of the Windows tablet. This device-biased system is not what the user wants, nor does it match the manufacturer's design and planning for a hybrid PC/tablet. Microsoft admits through Windows 8.1 that they have a lot to do. But the upgrade is the most successful attempt by Microsoft to build a platform that is more practical for both PCs and tablets. The return of the Start button shows that Microsoft is aware that it is going a little too far in the Windows 8 plan, but this small change makes the system more familiar to users.

In Windows 8.1, we see that Microsoft has done a lot in the last 1 years, even though much of it should have come with Windows 81. Intelligent SkyDrive Consolidation and a beautiful and useful built-in search feature are examples of Microsoft's rapid upgrade of Windows 8. At the same time, Windows 8.1 shows Microsoft's determination and effort to unify its products.

Of course, there is much to be done. While Microsoft is trying to blur the boundaries between the desktop and Metro, new applications do not offer the same flexibility and performance as desktop applications. A truly "no compromise" operating system is clearly the ultimate goal, but Windows 8 is still improving. Hopefully in the future upgrades, we can run Windows 8 applications in windowed mode and cross the boundaries between the desktop and Metro. The flexibility of desktop mode remains one of the most attractive uses of Windows 8.1, which is not enough. Windows 8 applications need to keep moving forward.

Windows 8 users will of course welcome the changes brought by 8.1, and these changes should also clear some of the confusion. If Microsoft can maintain this pace and further deepen the integration of products and services in the future, we can expect a lot more.