{"id":3467,"date":"2013-09-12T10:00:32","date_gmt":"2013-09-12T14:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.nccomputertech.com\/?p=3467"},"modified":"2013-09-12T10:00:32","modified_gmt":"2013-09-12T14:00:32","slug":"windows-8-1-review-the-great-compromise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nccomputertech.com\/techtalk\/2013\/09\/12\/windows-8-1-review-the-great-compromise\/","title":{"rendered":"Windows 8.1 review: The great compromise"},"content":{"rendered":"
Microsoft is poised to release Windows 8.1<\/a>, a deep and crucial revamping of the Windows 8 ideal. The code is final (though Microsoft reserves the right to tweak it further), and the time for speculation is over. Does Windows 8.1 atone for Windows 8\u2019s sins?Yes and no, and that answer is utterly appropriate. More than being just another update, Windows 8.1 is a lesson in true compromise\u2014for Microsoft, and for us.<\/p>\n

Compromises<\/h2>\n

For Microsoft, the \u201cno compromises<\/a>\u201d mantra guided Windows 8\u2019s development. PC or tablet, modern apps or traditional desktop software, glittering aesthetics or buckle-down productivity, Windows 8 was the operating system that was supposed to deliver it all.
\nBut a funny thing happened on the way to ubiquity: Microsoft\u2019s \u201ceverything and the kitchen sink\u201d approach to its new-look operating system wound up, well, pretty darned compromised<\/a>.
\nRather than delivering a seamless experience, the modern UI and the desktop interface gave Windows 8 a warring, \u201cJekyll and Hyde\u201d feel. To make matters worse, the operating system had a nasty habit of ripping you away from one interface and unceremoniously dumping you into the other. The modern UI\u2014while gorgeous\u2014felt half-baked at best, chock-full of byzantine interfaces<\/a> and missing functionality. And in a bid to push everyone into the modern mobile age, Microsoft eradicated the beloved Start button and made booting directly to the desktop impossible.<\/p>\n