Microsoft Windows 8.1

My Thinkpad Tablet 2 with Microsoft Windows 8 has been cruising along quite well this year.  Some minor spotty issues but nothing an Early Adopter should get upset about.  Yet I was greatly looking forward to the release of the Windows update known as "Windows 8.1" that started rolling out yesterday.

One of the bloggers I follow over on ZDNet has a write-up that is tough to beat:

windows-8-1-makes-the-thinkpad-tablet-2-even-better

Great little device.  Here is a snippet from his write-up:

Before the Windows 8.1 update the ThinkPad Tablet 2 wasn't slow, but it was a typical Atom-based PC. The more tasks launched to run at the same time the more the tablet would slow down. This slowdown is just the way it is with Atom processors, they work fine to a point and then performance is impacted.

Since updating the Tablet 2, Windows 8.1 has improved performance across the board and that is surprising. I usually have a number of apps, both Metro and legacy desktop apps, running all the time. They now all run as smooth as butter with the entire system operation noticeably faster. The little lags that would pop up under Windows 8.0 are all gone.

What about Windows 8.1 overall?  The folks at ARS Technica have an excellent review:

windows-8-1-what-a-difference-a-year-makes

While the Start screen doesn't look much different from the original there are subtle differences and wonderful improvements in the interface:

Happy reading,

J.W. Gant

PS  If you are thinking of coming onboard the Windows tablet world keep an eye out for new devices in the coming months.  The Intel Haswell processors will be debuting again and again by several manufacturers such as Dell and Lenovo.