Gartner Tells IT the Windows 8.1 Water is Fine

Windows 8 has been a punching bag, and the blows are all of its own making.

Windows 8 tried to be a blend of the modern tablet/smartphone touch interface and the rich, productive look and feel of traditional Windows.

The result, for many – even highly skilled IT pros – was the very worst of both worlds as the two interfaces clashed mightily.

The touch interface didn’t do enough, so when real admin things had to be done, users were thrust into the old Windows. Did I mention the No. 1 most useful feature, the Start Menu, no longer existed, leaving users scratching their heads as to how to do basic things – you know, like launching an application that didn’t have its own tile!

The majority of IT workers hated the darn thing, and have had to go out of their way to custom order Windows 7 or buy a Win 8 machine with downgrade rights. In fact, that’s what this reporter did when he bought his last laptop – he found one in a return bin at Best Buy with Windows 7.

Windows 8.1 is a bit of a fix for all this incongruity.

The biggest new feature is kinda like Classic Coke – now users can boot directly into old Windows. And Start is back. Pretty bizarre improvements.

This alone has Gartner singing Windows 8.1’s praises, telling IT it is now okay to migrate in droves the operating system.

Windows 8.1 is expected to ship in about a week’s time.

“Based on the information currently available, we believe Windows 8.1 features could quiet most of its detractors,” blogged Gartner analysts Michael A. Silver and Stephen Kleynhans.

Gartner now advises IT to test apps for compatibility, and look at Windows 8.1 when buying new PCs.