So Microsoft released a preview of Windows 8.1 on Wednesday, and of course my bleeding edge heart was quick to install it on two of my computers. I made the mistake of and ignored the warning against installing it on my work computer. I learned the hard way that Enterprise Edition requires the CD to upgrade (as I think it takes you to Professional Edition), and I ended up having to reinstall all of my software, but at least it was a good opportunity to have a clean slate. My regular edition of Windows 8 upgraded just fine, with everything in tact.
I don’t know how, but Microsoft managed to make the Start Screen worse. When they announced it was a button, I realized that they were not bringing the menu back, but it still seems like the interface was hacked together. at the last minute. When I set up my desktop, I like to put my taskbar on the top of the screen, yet there’s no way to configure the start menu to come in from anywhere but the bottom. Now I have start buttons in two corners of the screen, basically eliminating the quick-switch on the upper left hand corner. However, in re-sorting all of my programs, so that my desktop that was previously out of the left hand side, it’s all the way to the right. It just seems pretty half-baked. At least you can boot directly to the desktop now, and the people at StarDock have already released a beta version of Start8 that restores the functionality I’ve enjoyed. Start8 was still the best $5 I’ve ever spent. I’m looking forward to playing with 8.1 some more to see what else they’ve (hopefully) improved.
I took my first Instagram video this evening, and the interface was awesome. Pretty much the only feature that I’m missing from Vine is the ability to embed videos in other web pages (like my blog), but that should only be a matter of time. You can tell Vine is in a panic mode, even before this story about Vine shares plummeting since InstaVine showed up last week. They’re backed into a corner, and are swinging in every direction, pushing out 2 updates in the same week after not pushing out for three weeks they were released their Android version. I’m not sure what Vine can do to save themselves at this point, except for making their app experience more compelling than Instagram. Maybe they can be the first ones to introduce the novel concept of allowing people to mute videos on playback. I still believe that Vine’s demise is the result of a repressed desire to have a quality video app on Android.
Well that was quick, Adobe’s vaunted new Creative Cloud has already been pirated. I thought one of the benefits of their rental-only model was that it would curb piracy, but it doesn’t appear to be the case. I despise Creative Cloud, and it’s not because I support piracy or fear the future – but rather that it takes away Adobe’s incentive to improve their software, no longer compelling you to buy the next version. Subscription services like Creative Cloud (and Office 365 similarly) are to software what “Green” is to company revenues: it’s about making money while trying to appear forward-thinking. Software manufactures are enticed by the constant revenue streams these rental models provide. As they project revenue, they can count on your $50 per month regardless of whether they put out good releases that month or not. They can talk all they want about how this enables them to continue to push out constant updates, but in reality it’ll allow them to grow complacent and justify replacing innovative updates with incremental bolt-tightening updates. The worst part about is is that you can spend $600 over a year and should you decide to cancel your account, you have nothing to show for it. At least when you bought the software, you have an (albeit outdated) version that you own.