Don’t expect much from Windows 8.1

Has Microsoft made Windows 8 much better with its Windows 8.1 tweak? Not really, says David Pogue, tech writer for the New York Times. In a recent sneak peek of the tweak, Pogue writes that if you’re not much of a fan of Windows 8, you probably won’t like Windows 8.1, either.

The problems

First, Windows 8.1 doesn’t resurrect the Start menu. Users who want it will still need to install a third-party app that restores it.

Desktop, touchscreen tension

Secondly, Windows 8.1 doesn’t split the TileWorld and desktop environments that have so confounded users. As Pogue writes, the TileWorld works well for touch screens. The desktop is designed for mouse and keyboard. In Windows 8, you do not have the choice to utilize one of these worlds or the other.

Skip it?

This means, as reported by Pogue, that Windows 8.1 probably won’t save the Windows 8 operating system. The system so far has been a dismal failure, with low sales. The update, if Pogue’s column is to be believed, won’t alter this.