Some facts:
-Windows 8.1 Update 1 is not even available to MS Insiders.
-The various reviews online are based on it having been, "leaked today on various file-sharing websites ahead of its March debut"
What this means, put together? It's probably a fairly old build. In this case the actual MSU for the latest leak was created on January 30th (in the article I found, it had a screenshot of regedit that showed registry keys that had this information encoded in them).
it is a leaked build made available through pirate torrents. So it's hardly a reasonable basis on which to create any appropriate criticisms of said OS.
Let us examine this particular article, for example:
It's hard to watch Microsoft's pathetic response to the firestorm of criticism that's rained down on Windows 8 in big part because it's been so, well, pathetic.
On this I agree. the firestorm of criticism that Windows 8 received was pathetic.
Instead, we drafted our own plan to fix Windows 8: Windows Red.
In other words, "we, a group of 'journalists' and technical hobbyists with the ability to accept change about as well as a vending machine that only accepts 20 dollar bills, have come up with features we think should exist in Windows that we concocted with a 15 minute brainstorm session to create content to put ads around"
Consider their "Windows Red" Article.
They open with "Windows 8 is a huge flop" and that is a link that goes to an article which discusses a serious drop in PC Purchases and how that could negatively affect Windows 8 sales. This was posted in last July, before Windows 8.1 was even released.
That article further 'cites' their OWN ARTICLE reviewing windows 8 from a year before as a sort of 'citation' to how it has a "frankenstein interface". The only thing I can gather from reading that citation is that these Journalists are absolute morons who's idea of "research" and "citation" is "point readers at our other crappy articles on the subject".
that Earlier article says "A desktop OS for tablets and a tablet OS for desktops, Windows 8 is guaranteed to disappoint nearly everyone" in other words, it's downright wrong as the intervening time has shown.
Their "research" is so sub-par as to make me wonder if they plagiarized straight from google-searched forum posts. Their writing is clearly biased and has no factual information, and conclusions are drawn entirely out of thin air, supported by nothing but more links to their own crappy articles. Consider their "points" about Windows 8:
-Windows 8 needs much more than a cosmetic upgrade
handwavey assumptions are made here- including outright wrong information. They also call the Modern UI "Metro" because they are morons who have firmly decided to refer to something based on it's early name, because they are stalwart and wouldn't know "journalistic integrity" if you tattooed it on their forehead backwards so they could see it every time they look in the mirror.
-Introducing the three versions of Windows Red
In other words, they decided that Microsoft's effort to avoid the problem of too many editions- (Basic, Home Premium, Professional, Enterprise, Ultimate- just to name a few) to fewer wasn't any good.
Instead of three editions, they want... three... editions. Huh. Windows 8/8.1 comes in Standard, Professional, and RT editions.
They also present completely fallacious information in this panel as well.
They claim Windows 8 Pro- the Desktop version- would not have any touch-friendly features. "gone is support for touchscreens, which are ergonomically dangerous on PCs. ".
It's a fallacy uttered by the incompetent to create sensational articles to garner page views. They back up their claim with no research, studies, or anything. They just state it as a fact.
The best part is they describe almost exactly the Editions of Windows. They just gave them a different name. Good work.
The rest of the slides are equally stupid. It boils down to essentially making Windows "red" be almost exactly the same as Windows 7 but use Windows 8 theme styles. I Understand it can be hard to let go of something that has been around since 1995, but Computers and pretty much everything computer-related has changed dramatically since our current paradigm was even introduced.
naturally, in the linked article, Windows 8.1 fails their "Windows Red" test, because it was created by people who, despite being in the tech industry, are clinging to their 18-year old OS paradigms like a petulant young adult still carrying around their blankee. If they cannot adopt to change and are insistent on being a shrill, whining voice complaining about it every step of the way, maybe they should find a career in a more static field that doesn't require them to actually know what they are talking about.
