Windows 8.1

Windows 8.1 (Build 9431)

8.1 update to windows is Microsoft's attempts to make customers to switch to new platform from the established and highly successful Windows 7 and XP. Microsoft's intentions are crystal clear with the release, a unified experience. Its sounds exciting but is it too late or is it just too early.
Windows 8 for many is just "More personal Less professional". The only thing I could not figure out in this windows 8 environment is Recent places. And no matter how hard I tired I could not add it to the start screen ( Usually I opt not to store this information).
As a user I had a hard time using windows 8 for the first time but in time I grown fond of the new interface. So what is the new preview has to offer.

1. A fish???

Yes fish. The boot screen for the new 8.1 has a fish instead of the Windows logo. Why is it so? May be because am using the preview version. But a fish....

2. The big and the little

There has been two new additions to the tile size along with the existing two. One which has the size of 4 normal size tiles and other with just 1/4th the size of a normal tile. Which is cool and a welcome addition. Not all application can take the large tile size.

Resizing the tile is another issue. If you use mouse then you have to right click on it then choose the tile size from the menu below rather than toggling between sizes. Since the tile can have four new standard size this makes good sense. What if you decides not to modify your start screen layout while customizing? Well then you either have to select the customize icon from the extreme right of click on an empty are on the screen TWICE.
Simply put why can't have the same option like windows phone to toggle icon sizes which could make more appealing and interesting rather than menu.

3. Swipe down for Application list

When you are in the start screen you will see a small arrow pointing down. On clicking this list of all apps will be listed. MS included a sort option which can save while searching for your favorite app.

4. Log in to Desktop

One of the commonly requested improvement was the option to boot n to the desktop rather than the start screen. If you don’t have shortcuts on your desk top to launch your favorite applications then this option is just another useless feature. Any way I this choice is now available in the task bar properties. To enable logging in to desktop, you have to follow the steps given below.

Right click on the Task bar

Select properties

Then choose the Navigations tab

Under start screen section check the Go to desk Top instead of Start when I sign in option

5. The return of start button but no Start Menu

It was a certain bet that the next release of windows will have the start button. When windows 8 came along it did not had this option, which is ok if you use it on a tablet. But with mouse you have to click on the left bottom corner of the task bar to reveal the start screen. In this 8.1, instead of this blind click you have one windows icon and that's it. Not the star menu. Frankly I did not want the start menu either.
There is something odd. Unlike other task bar icons this new windows icon is strangely different. When you hover over this you it gets an odd black back ground color and the windows logo animates with a blue light. Not very pleasing. To make things worse, the windows button can be traced in the start screen as well. More like an alternative to the Desktop tile and totally off-putting.
There should be an option to disable this start button. The option in the task bar properties for this is a bit confusing.

6. Unified search

Unified search is a place to find what ever you want no matter where ever it is. It's a cool addition and completely integrated in to bing and windows. The search results are displyed in a very visual manner. And everthing you need to do is right there. I totally dig this feature.

7. New Windows Store

The full windows store experience have been changed. In previous version the store was a bit dead and less than impressive. Now just like the stat screen the full experience has been changed with live sections and suggestion for specific for you. Search has been enhanced with instant search results to make your work fast. Impressive.

8. New Camera app interface

The camera app has gone the way of Windows phone 8 interface, with on screen option for toggling between camera and video mode. There is more, in the video mode you can take pictures by clicking or taping the interface.

And there is less. The option for adjusting resolution and other small options are gone. I have a life cam HD 5000 with me, and I installed the Life cam app from the store but it won’t integrate with the new camera app. Fail.
Along with this new camera app you get new Alarm app, voice recode app but I don’t see the message app that was available with windows 8. This means I have to install a forth party app to make Face book chat.

9. More Snap Views

I have my desktop set up at 1400 x 900 resolution. Previous windows version allowed only two type of snap views. Either 25:75 or 75:25. This time it's even more. You can re arrange the snap view between the existing ranges of 25-75 and also the most anticipated 50:50.

10. IE 11

The new version ships with IE 11. May be when it release to public a better build version may be available. There is no visible changes from IE 10. In the HTML 5 test it scored 355 points which is 35 more than IE10.

11 More PC settings Options on Modern UI

This new release has included more options to the modern UI. Which makes tweaking the settings to your personal preference easier.

Changes I want in the final release

1. Bring back My computer

That's right. 8.1 calls My computer as "This PC". This holds totally valid if you use multiple Windows PC/tablets at the same time, But should this sacrifice the personal touch of My Computer?

2. More start screen personalization options

An option to download more personalization options from windows store or website (just like new themes) could be helpful.

3. IE11 performance

Opening multiple tabs in IE has always been problem. IE11 bundled with this build has stopped responding 2 times in a session of 10 minutes. Some time I had to put the sites on compatibility mode to make them render correctly. This was a big issue from IE9 (which gives every web developer nightmare.)

4. No native Facebook app for PC

We had to settle with the people app to connect to FB. Whereas the windows phone has a native app for FB and so as android tablets. So why not for PCs?

5. Animation on more tiles

Even at largest tile size native weather tile animation is not interesting. It could circle between different information to make it interesting.

6. Different Icon set

The current icon set used in Windows 8 has not been under gone significant modification since Vista. There should be specific theme set which will include this icon pack making the desk top and explorer closer to the modern UI. I would also like to see a complete Modern file browser and control panel.

What are your impressions on the new Windows 8.1? Let me know.
download windows 8.1

Seagate Backup Plus VS WD My Passport

1 TB External HDD

Seagate Backup Plus 1TB Hard VS WD My Passport 1 TB

 ! Info 

Windows 8 64bit is used for all comparison, Storage and other interpretations might differ based on OS

I still use my PC which has 5 year old specs. I have a 160 GB HDD (5200 rpm), 5 years back the options I had was either 80 or 160. Just a little bit later a bit pricier 320 GB option hit the stores. From their storage capacity skyrocketed for HDD. Price difference dropped significantly during this period making the external HDD a must have option for your laptop or Personal computer.
The dominant contenders in the exteral HDD market are Seagate and Western Digital. Both of them offers portable, solutions for storage needs at compelling price range. Let’s look at two very interesting and HOT 1 TB offerings.
A basic specs sheet is given below

	Seagate Backup Plus 1TB	WD My Passport 1 TB
Capacity	1 TB*	1 TB*
USB	2.0 and 3.0	2.0 and 3.0
Size(mm)	14.5 x 81.1 x 123.4	15 x 82 x 111
Weight	224 g	138 g
Warranty	3 year	3 tear
Price (₹)	4900*	4700*

Build and Usability

External hard disks needs to be extremely portable and should be able to carry around with you. Seagate back up plus is over a 12 mm long than WD passport, but measures 0.5 mm thinner than the WD. But there is a significant difference in weight. WD excels in this category. Weighing in at just 138g its 86g lighter than what Seagate has to offer.

Both devices provide a feet long USB 2.0/3.0 connector. Which is convenient and annoying at the same time. The shorter length demands the hard disk to be placed in closer proximity to the attaching device, which is really unfortunate if you are a desk top user. I had to keep it on top of the cabinet which made the HDD annoyingly hot. I had similar problem with my Television also. Since the USB ports on my Samsung TV happened to be at the top, I had to let the HDD hanging most of the time, Sometimes I had to rest the HDD on a bundle of my old college books :( L. I wish for a bit more cable length on both the devices but then again that’s just my opinion, if you are more of a lap-top user you should be fine.

In terms of usability WD has an edge. Its better build and thought out product than the Seagate alternative. Both devices are made out of plastic, but the rough finish on the WD passport gives a bit more premium feel compared to the glossy reflective finish on the Seagate back up plus. Both are available in different color options, I personally prefer the silver option on the WD. I started using it for 2 days and small visible scratches started appearing on the silver side. Which is really annoying and I had to pay a 100₹ extra for the silver option compared to the common passport black. Seagate offers all color options at the same price, which is cool. Seagate has visible groves along all the edges and at the top which felt a bit uneven and I was able to feel movements along these grooves (when I tires to move the sections applying very little pressure) which is unfortunate. WD on the other had felt more firm. It has two sections well put together to give it a more premium unibody feel.

Data transfer tests

System information used for testing are given below.

System information  System configuration used for testing USB 2.0 Processor: Intel ® Core™ 2 Duo CPU E4500 @2.20GHz 2.19 GHz RAM: 4.00 GB (3.12 usable) OS: Windows®8 64 bit HDD: 160 GB @5200 rpm

System information  System configuration used for testing USB 3.0 Processor: Intel ® Core™ i5 @2.60 GHz 2.60 GHz RAM: 4.00 GB (3.12 usable) OS: Windows®8 64 bit HDD: 500 GB @5200 rpm

 Tests were ran on both USB 2.0 and 3.0. WD scored remarkable upper hand over Seagate on all USB 2.0 based tests. But the result from USB 3.0 where rather close. Surprisingly the Seagate drive shown more consistent overall transfer rate on USB 3.0. The top transfer rate was marked on the WD passport which was around 133.7 MB/s Seagate scored 127.6 MB/s.  Comparison can be found on the below charts. First two blocks on both chart represent internal HDD to the external HDD and the last two columns shows external to internal file copy. The test file used was a 1.29 GB ISO file.

USB 2.0 Transfer on WD

USB 3.0 Transfer on WD

Verdict

This comparison was rather easy, which means it’s fairly difficult to choose between them. Well looking at figures WD wins it all. It’s got the looks and performance that you want. But Seagate is not far behind. Considering the neck and neck result from USB 3.0 test they are on par. Results speaks for them self and it’s in favor of WD passport.