Windows 8.1 and the Start menu – reunited at last!

I know I can get the latest version of the Mac operating system from Apple for £14, but where do you buy a copy of Windows 8 for that price? It’s a lot more than that in ** *****.

If you bought a new PC with Windows 7 between the end of last summer and the beginning of this year, you had the option of buying a Windows 8 upgrade for around £14.
Haven’t used mine yet but might consider it when the start button returns.

Thanks Alfa. That’s a bargain. I feel sorry for those who paid for Windows Vista and then had to pay again for despite all the problems with Vista.

Thanks for the information – that I am sure is helpful to the bemused.

I do disagree though with the ” Yep, OK it’s a different way of working, but life moves on.” comment. Though true it does seem to reflect a Microsoft like it or lump it attitude to the purchasers. You only have to look at the recent round of XBox vs Playstation where because Playstation is such a huge competitor Microsoft backed down smartish from their declared position. The position taken was pretty darn unfriendly and it does seem as though Micro$oft has a very funny view of the public and its tolerance levels.

Going back further to its early days of Works and Office making them incompatible to their later tiff with the EU and with not using standardised international formats and generally trying for proprietary lockdown on such as doc. and wma.

Generally speaking Microsoft’s attitude has been very dismissive of the public and to launch Windows 8 without a reasonably functional quasi historical interface alternative is just another example of geeks destined to lead the common uncouth users to a “better” way.

Right click in blank area on Start menu
Click the “All Apps” icon at bottom right of screen
Right click on an application tile
Click on “Open File Location” icon – at bottom of screen
Right click the highlighted application details
Select “Send to” on the drop down menu, then Desktop (create shortcut) option

PS – I don’t consider myself a geek, – there are plenty of free on-line tips and tutorials which cover all of this and more.

From the authoritative Windows Secrets site:

“Last week, Microsoft released the beta bits for the next version of Windows — the first .1 Windows update in decades.

Win8 fans will surely update to Version 8.1 when it’s released in the fall, but even old-school Windows users will find some surprisingly good enhancements.

That said, Windows 8.1 isn’t going to change many minds about Microsoft’s new direction for its OS. You won’t see Microsoft’s servers crashing as millions download the final release; you won’t see lines of new PC buyers waiting for Costco to open. To put it succinctly, in my (always-in-question) humble opinion, Windows 8.1 simply sucks less.

A warning: As has been widely reported, Microsoft made it difficult to upgrade from Windows 8.1 Preview to the final-release version. If you’re going to try the Preview (more info), do so on a spare system or in a virtual machine. (There’s more on this in the last section of this article.)”

Note the warning for the preview.

“Overall, as a desktop OS, Windows 8.1 is easier to get along with than the original release. The improvements are minor, but are nevertheless welcome.”
P.C.Pro

Praise and faint praise. The more I look at it the more Microsoft seem to have dropped an almighty clanger in going for a single interface suitable for a touchscreen tablet to a 24″ monitor. How unbelievably arrogant/incompetent.

Linux is beginning to look more and more attractive with the latest Mint version 15 operating like Windows but with zero cost. And it has Firefox, a music player, and Office Libre plus utilities installed with it. It almost seems as though Microsoft does not care, or it relies on consumer ignorance, that there is a viable alternative with 60,000 applications available.

Gosh. The new page has prominent links to Which? Conversation, and currently says that Dieseltaylor has commented on cloud storage. 🙂

Perhaps you need a Mac or Linux.

I will try never to buy into any OS controlled by a single vendor : ) Linux your day approaches!