Win 8.1 and RT 8.1 Impressions
- Thread starter quadtronix
- Start date
demandarin
Active Member
My pro has fully updated. I'm still checking out all the new features. My rt is still going through final stages of installation.
@kristalsoldier. If the new update has improved your rt greatly, with battery life included, I say hold off. Theres no rush. Give the new update some time to sink on with you. If you feel you still need more power them go for the Surface2. If not then save your money. Of course the new version will be more powerful and all that. But if you feeling satisfied with update, then don't rush to get Sirface2. It will always be there.
@kristalsoldier. If the new update has improved your rt greatly, with battery life included, I say hold off. Theres no rush. Give the new update some time to sink on with you. If you feel you still need more power them go for the Surface2. If not then save your money. Of course the new version will be more powerful and all that. But if you feeling satisfied with update, then don't rush to get Sirface2. It will always be there.
kristalsoldier
Well-Known Member
Thanks. What you say is logical. I'll have to test the impact on battery - probably will do that over the course of tomorrow. That said, the advantage of the Surface 2 - aside from the new SoC - is the redesigned kickstand and the reduction of thickness and weight (though the latter is really negligible in the scheme of things). It is also true that I am enjoying 8.1 - both on my desktop and on the RT - but I need to invest some more time to explore in depth. I really think MS should have launched Win 8 in this form, it would have been excellent!
It is a stupid update. I do not want an MS account as my default. I do not like the fact that the 'start' button in desktop takes me to the metro start. WTF? Why put it in if that is the point?
I don't like the grouping...
Why has the way to change the grouping changed?
Why doesn't scaling work consistently across apps? Still?
Why bother?
I don't like the grouping...
Why has the way to change the grouping changed?
Why doesn't scaling work consistently across apps? Still?
Why bother?
brocharlieb
Member
Just performed the update, it updated painlessly and I like the look. Have to see how it works over time, but I'm thinking I'll be happy.
The MS account/local account issue was addressed in your other thread.
As for the button going to the Start Screen... That's probably to highlight the entire point that the Start Screen IS the Start Menu. In touch format.
On a Surface Pro or any other full Windows 8 machine, I'm sure there are programs/hacks to force the classic Start Menu look.
http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/hands-windows-81-start-screen
To avoid accidentally moving things around.
Don't know about scaling. Maybe that's an app-based variable.
Why bother with 8.1?
What's new in Windows 8.1 | ZDNet
Windows 8.1 - What's New, IT Pro Features, Devices, UI | TechNet
As for me, I'm most looking forward to the addition of Outlook RT to my Surface.
mitchellvii
Well-Known Member
WillysJeepMan
Member
That's exactly what I'm going to do (buy the new TypeCover 2). The TypeCover2 is as thin as the Touch Cover 1 that I currently have and although it is usable, having actual keys in something that thin would be... to quote Sean Ong... "epic". :excited:
Although I'm pleased with the performance of 8.1 +tweaks, I believe that there are still a few more tweaks possible to eek out even more performance... still investigating.
CrippsCorner
Well-Known Member
Yes I agree must a problem with your Surface, as I do not experience this. Maybe a second or two every now and then... but 10 seconds? I'm beginning to understand your hatred towards your device! That's not acceptable, and certainly not normal.
Seems pretty good--nothing earth shattering. Two issues: when I swipe left or right (very noticeable in start screen) the display is somewhat jumbled (kind of irritating) also, all my tiles are noticeably smaller than before and the font is extremely small (wonder if there is any way to adjust this)--anyone else noticing these things?
kristalsoldier
Well-Known Member
So, here is my initial impression of 8.1 on my Surface RT.
At the outset, I should mention that I think 8.1 is an excellent update to Win 8. Most or all of you would have reached the same conclusions. I think MS should have released this as their original release though whether that would have blunted much of the criticism is open to debate.
Given that, here is what I see and experience:
First, I like the fact that I can resize the titles. Some tiles need to be larger - weather, mail and calendar are among those that I think need the extra size.
Second, I like the sync between the Surface and other Win 8.1 devices/ machines. In my case, I do this between my Surface and my desktop machine. I like the fact that I can sync the apps on the start screen, the pinned sites etc.
Third, I am ambivalent about IE 11. Of course, I appreciate the fact that now unlimited tabs can be opened etc. But, I am not sure if having the tabs on the bottom help. Then there are small things. For example, when I swipe up from the bottom to reveal the open tabs, I find that to close a tab, the 'x' mark is on the bottom right corner of each open tab. I'd rather this was on the top right corner. Very small thing, I know, but I think that follows a convention, which still is widely prevalent. I also think - maybe because I have not yet played around with IE11 enough - that it takes some time to open sites. I attribute this to the security features, which I will eventually disable and/ or modify.
Fourth, I love the Skydrive integration. For my purposes, it is seamless. But... and this is a big one especially for me... this capability presumes a very easily available capability to access the internet. In Western Europe (and in North America) maybe this is the case. But large swathes of spaces in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa don't have this, which will quickly become a problem for someone like me who relies heavily on Skydrive. I have a trip to Asia coming up in a couple of weeks so I will have a chance to test this out. I think there is the option of making files on Skydrive available in off-line mode. I'll have to look into that.
Fifth, I am not sure if this is a placebo effect or not, but I find working in the desktop space more fluid. Office seems to open up much quicker than it used to. I have been testing Word and PowerPoint and both perform extremely well.
Sixth, and continuing on the topic of the responsiveness of the Surface, in general, I find that it has indeed become more responsive - in both environments. I expect MS to deliver a series of minor firmware updates to further optimize the hardware to 8.1. But, as I said, that is my expectation - it is certainly not necessary that MS will do so, - especially now given the Surface 2, which is where I think most of MS's energy will be focused.
Seventh, prior to the update, I found the Mail app to be - to put it mildly - a disaster. My experience of the Mail app after the update has been nothing but good. First things first, I hated the green colour of the Mail app before the update. I like the blue colour of the revised app. I also like the refinements that MS has brought to the app. For example, I like the layout which includes bringing to the forefront the drop-down menu for flagged messages, frequent contacts etc. The swiping up gesture brings up other useful features, which fill in the gaps of the previous version of the app. One thing, however, I noticed is that while they have the copy and paste commands, they are still missing the "cut" command, which I think should have been included. One other thing is that they have moved the button for sync to a hidden menu which is located on the extreme right of the list of commands that show up when swiping up. Previously, this was on the extreme left and not hidden. I would have preferred if they could have left that where it was. If there is a way to move these commands around, then I have not found it - though I suspect that this cannot be changed by the user.
Eighth, I was a bit taken aback by the different views in the Calendar. But having got over my initial surprise, I think it works just fine and I appreciate the different views.
Ninth, I much prefer the reworked PC Settings section accessed via the Charms menu. It is much more meaningful now and has most, if not all, the major sections that are required to manipulate the device.
Tenth, the only thing remaining for me to work out is the impact on the battery. I may have mentioned it in an earlier post that I was going to test it today, but I have not yet got. A chance to do it. Most likely, I will do so on Monday during a full work day. At the most I can say that I noticed that the battery lost about 2% charge in about 2 hours or so. During this time, the Surface was on, but I wasn't using it - though WiFi was on, RT was off, and screen brightness was on about 45%, which is the max level that I regularly I use.
I should also mention that unlike some of the posters here, I have not experienced any problems with either the WiFi, Type cover (which is the only one I have) or anything else really. This, in addition to the points mentioned above, lead me to say that I am quite pleased with the update and am glad I waited to update to 8.1.
But this 'good story' has another side. Some of you may know that I have been considering buying the Surface 2. This update only serves to heighten my dilemma. While the Surface 2 is definitely much faster - attributable to the T4 SoC - would that be reason enough for me to buy it immediately (that is, within. 9 months of buying the Surface RT)? Of course, there are a few other advantages with the Surface 2 that the original Surface does not and will not have - better screen, lighter, two-step kickstand etc. - and it is this which leads to my dilemma.
Edit: Typed on my RT running 8.1 with a TYPE cover! And, the experience was flawless!
Edit: I just found an interesting topic. I'll post the link at the end of this paragraph. Basically, the matter deals with how to close an app in 8.1. AFAIK, the process in 8.0 was to drag an app and pull it down. This would close the app and kill it too. But, I believe, in 8.1, the method is slightly different. In 8.1, you also drag the open app down, but don't release it. After a couple of seconds you will notice that what you have dragged down (which would be of a thumbnail size) will flip around. At that point you release it, which kills the app. Now, I am not sure how this works, but I did test the method and did notice the flipping. Got to look more into this. Here is the link where I found this: http://forums.wpcentral.com/microsoft-surface-windows-rt/232487-8-1-pro-rt-battery-life-changes.html - Look at post#13
At the outset, I should mention that I think 8.1 is an excellent update to Win 8. Most or all of you would have reached the same conclusions. I think MS should have released this as their original release though whether that would have blunted much of the criticism is open to debate.
Given that, here is what I see and experience:
First, I like the fact that I can resize the titles. Some tiles need to be larger - weather, mail and calendar are among those that I think need the extra size.
Second, I like the sync between the Surface and other Win 8.1 devices/ machines. In my case, I do this between my Surface and my desktop machine. I like the fact that I can sync the apps on the start screen, the pinned sites etc.
Third, I am ambivalent about IE 11. Of course, I appreciate the fact that now unlimited tabs can be opened etc. But, I am not sure if having the tabs on the bottom help. Then there are small things. For example, when I swipe up from the bottom to reveal the open tabs, I find that to close a tab, the 'x' mark is on the bottom right corner of each open tab. I'd rather this was on the top right corner. Very small thing, I know, but I think that follows a convention, which still is widely prevalent. I also think - maybe because I have not yet played around with IE11 enough - that it takes some time to open sites. I attribute this to the security features, which I will eventually disable and/ or modify.
Fourth, I love the Skydrive integration. For my purposes, it is seamless. But... and this is a big one especially for me... this capability presumes a very easily available capability to access the internet. In Western Europe (and in North America) maybe this is the case. But large swathes of spaces in Asia, the Middle East, and Africa don't have this, which will quickly become a problem for someone like me who relies heavily on Skydrive. I have a trip to Asia coming up in a couple of weeks so I will have a chance to test this out. I think there is the option of making files on Skydrive available in off-line mode. I'll have to look into that.
Fifth, I am not sure if this is a placebo effect or not, but I find working in the desktop space more fluid. Office seems to open up much quicker than it used to. I have been testing Word and PowerPoint and both perform extremely well.
Sixth, and continuing on the topic of the responsiveness of the Surface, in general, I find that it has indeed become more responsive - in both environments. I expect MS to deliver a series of minor firmware updates to further optimize the hardware to 8.1. But, as I said, that is my expectation - it is certainly not necessary that MS will do so, - especially now given the Surface 2, which is where I think most of MS's energy will be focused.
Seventh, prior to the update, I found the Mail app to be - to put it mildly - a disaster. My experience of the Mail app after the update has been nothing but good. First things first, I hated the green colour of the Mail app before the update. I like the blue colour of the revised app. I also like the refinements that MS has brought to the app. For example, I like the layout which includes bringing to the forefront the drop-down menu for flagged messages, frequent contacts etc. The swiping up gesture brings up other useful features, which fill in the gaps of the previous version of the app. One thing, however, I noticed is that while they have the copy and paste commands, they are still missing the "cut" command, which I think should have been included. One other thing is that they have moved the button for sync to a hidden menu which is located on the extreme right of the list of commands that show up when swiping up. Previously, this was on the extreme left and not hidden. I would have preferred if they could have left that where it was. If there is a way to move these commands around, then I have not found it - though I suspect that this cannot be changed by the user.
Eighth, I was a bit taken aback by the different views in the Calendar. But having got over my initial surprise, I think it works just fine and I appreciate the different views.
Ninth, I much prefer the reworked PC Settings section accessed via the Charms menu. It is much more meaningful now and has most, if not all, the major sections that are required to manipulate the device.
Tenth, the only thing remaining for me to work out is the impact on the battery. I may have mentioned it in an earlier post that I was going to test it today, but I have not yet got. A chance to do it. Most likely, I will do so on Monday during a full work day. At the most I can say that I noticed that the battery lost about 2% charge in about 2 hours or so. During this time, the Surface was on, but I wasn't using it - though WiFi was on, RT was off, and screen brightness was on about 45%, which is the max level that I regularly I use.
I should also mention that unlike some of the posters here, I have not experienced any problems with either the WiFi, Type cover (which is the only one I have) or anything else really. This, in addition to the points mentioned above, lead me to say that I am quite pleased with the update and am glad I waited to update to 8.1.
But this 'good story' has another side. Some of you may know that I have been considering buying the Surface 2. This update only serves to heighten my dilemma. While the Surface 2 is definitely much faster - attributable to the T4 SoC - would that be reason enough for me to buy it immediately (that is, within. 9 months of buying the Surface RT)? Of course, there are a few other advantages with the Surface 2 that the original Surface does not and will not have - better screen, lighter, two-step kickstand etc. - and it is this which leads to my dilemma.
Edit: Typed on my RT running 8.1 with a TYPE cover! And, the experience was flawless!
Edit: I just found an interesting topic. I'll post the link at the end of this paragraph. Basically, the matter deals with how to close an app in 8.1. AFAIK, the process in 8.0 was to drag an app and pull it down. This would close the app and kill it too. But, I believe, in 8.1, the method is slightly different. In 8.1, you also drag the open app down, but don't release it. After a couple of seconds you will notice that what you have dragged down (which would be of a thumbnail size) will flip around. At that point you release it, which kills the app. Now, I am not sure how this works, but I did test the method and did notice the flipping. Got to look more into this. Here is the link where I found this: http://forums.wpcentral.com/microsoft-surface-windows-rt/232487-8-1-pro-rt-battery-life-changes.html - Look at post#13
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