NoelC

Yes but there used to be substance in addition to the Marketing BS. Now it's only hype left. Who forgot that someone actually has to BUILD the better mousetrap? -Noel

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2919355 The update that keeps on giving. -Noel

Here we have, since April 8, the much anticipated "Update 1" aka "Spring Update". It said it was going to be huge - over 800 MB. It didn't download anywhere near that much - more like 200 MB in actuality. I monitored it. So clearly even the size has been "Marketeered" into fantasy, presumably to make recipients think it's more than it really is. Microsoft built it up to be the great hope of all desktop users. They "leaked" it to get the hype going. In reality it's virtually NO different on the desktop side at all, and very little different on the Metro/Modern side. I don't give a rat's a** about Metro/Modern apps, and couldn't care less whether the Taskbar shows over there, or any thing else about those toys. I don't see 'em, I don't use 'em. There literally is NOTHING new or better on the desktop side. Really, there's about enough functionality in this "Update 1" to justify a download of maybe 30 MB. And it took HOW long to prepare? When will Microsoft learn that just continuing to pile on the BS deeper and deeper is NOT what Windows users want?!? -Noel

No, mine shows the same old tiny dialog icon as always.-Noel

Your problem is simple: It has "nice, smart person" detector and will only work for them. -Noel

Just between us chickens, ferob, having an attitude will get you, well, ignored. Nobody owes you anything, and when you act like they do... You see how well that works out. On the other hand, being humble and helping others whenever possible often works out better. Just my 2 cents. You wrote: Interesting. So it sounds like one cost of managing your system carelessly and ultimately having to reinstall the OS is an unexpected change to the Aero Glass machine code. That's not too surprising I guess. Probably your drive got assigned a different serial number when you formatted it. I know it's water under the bridge already, but do you do system image backups? Make a System Recovery drive? It is possible to keep Windows running fine virtually forever if you're careful, and you can restore it if you get into trouble (vs. throwing everything away and starting over). Until I installed Windows 8.1 I ran the very same Windows 7 installation I first put in in 2009 when Windows 7 first came out. I even restored it to replacement hardware on two different occasions. It was working perfectly until the day I shut it down. It's doable. Now Windows 8.1 is as stable and nimble as the day I installed it (geez, was that 6 months ago already?!?). -Noel

Windows 8.1 is perfectly stable for me. It runs for weeks on end, between updates. I'm a software engineer and use it hard every day on a big system. A few things are slower, most are about the same as Win 7. A very few things are faster, but not by much. There's really VERY little difference outside of the deleted desktop features, and whatever's happening on the Metro/Modern side (don't use it myself). Honestly, the system seems about the same after the "Spring Update" as before. No difference in performance, no difference in functionality that I see. Certainly there's no new Start Menu, but who cares? We have tools like Classic Shell now that are better than any version of the Start Menu Microsoft ever made. We even now have Aero Glass so it's not such an eyesore. XPClient's got it right: "3rd party applications make Windows 8 my idea". I'd add "and lots of reconfiguration" to that myself. If you shut off / work around / avoid everything Microsoft's done to it since Vista it's not a bad system at all. -Noel

Explorer dialogs (e.g., copy progress or "confirm the file replacement") still pop behind Explorer windows. Microsoft is circling the drain. -Noel

Big whoop. Anyone notice that nothing of particular value is being delivered by updates nowadays? You can fit a LOT of software changes in 800 MB. When Microsoft threatens to stop delivering updates if you don't install an update - opposed to giving a good reason to WANT the update - things have gotten bleak. -Noel

Big Muscle should be proud. -Noel

Well, given all the hype, I kind of expected this "Update 1" to be like a service pack. As it turns out it appears to be little more than a roll-up of prior fixes, with one or two minor UI changes (which I don't use anyway), so I guess it's just more "business as usual" Windows Updates. The hype machine has never been more fired up - over nothing. Windows 8.1 after the much heralded Update 1 is essentially no different than before Update 1. Bphlpt, magic smoke is amazing stuff. It's built into things to make them work. Once it's released from electronics, they don't work any more. Actually, I was saying that Windows 8.1 after Update 1 seems to work okay. But now I realize it's not really surprising that it does - since very little of substance has actually been changed. -Noel

I'm here to complain!!!! I updated to KB2919355 and nothing seems any different! Aero Glass for Win 8.1 just works perfectly. I don't get to have all the fun troubleshooting that all these other folks have been having. I feel so left out. -Noel

Thanks, Andre. It turns out they report 6.3 service pack 0, so there is no version differentiation at all. The things you have suggested above will prove valuable. I wonder what bright spark at Microsoft decided that they need to change the whole way versioning is managed. Ah well. I have put the update into a VM and so far it hasn't released the magic smoke. -Noel

I'm interested to know if anyone's developing / testing with Update 1 and has determined the identity via the IsWindowsVersionOrGreater version info API. I need complete version info for logging purposes, and I'd like to be able to differentiate "Windows 8.1" from "Windows 8.1 Update 1". I'm guessing Update 1 will be considered "8.1 service pack 1". I'd just like to confirm this. Thanks. -Noel

Back from a trip, I am in front of my workstation again. I used this system remotely via RDP without the slightest glitch for 2 weeks. I really, really like Aero Glass for Win 8.1. It just works right, and it makes me want to be here using Windows, instead of anywhere else using any other kind of system. Thank you, Big Muscle, for this fine product. -Noel

I know most all of the Windows configuration processes, how to adjust process priorities, etc. That's not really what the problem is, as far as I can see. The problem seems to be that Windows is doing a lot more work inside the NTFS implementation for certain operations to achieve the exact same goals (e.g., enumerating files inside a folder, which happens all the time and thus affects a lot of different things). However, thanks for the tip. Perhaps I'll test that program in a VM and see what it tweaks. Maybe they've found something else to tweak that I don't yet know about. -Noel

Hm, I wonder if maybe Microsoft's strategy for taking complete control of how people run Windows is to release updates that break all the 3rd party stuff often enough that 3rd party developers just can't keep up. I know I'm not going to apply Update 1 right away when it comes out. I really don't understand a desire to update the second new Windows software is available, no matter what it breaks, and especially in light of the fact that Microsoft really isn't adding any particularly useful "must have" features. And as far as those who just get the update automatically, they should know better than to let Microsoft update their system whenever Microsoft wants. It's still possible to configure it to ask you first. -Noel

It already works that way now. But the Taskbar isn't painted with the right attributes for Big Muscle's software to render the glass effect without extra help. If you are getting Taskbar transparency, and not translucency, you need one of several tools that will cause the "glass" attribute to be set in the Taskbar. One such tool (which I use) is Classic Shell by Ivo Beltchev. Another, I believe, is Start Is Back by Tihiy. -Noel

Version 1.2.1 is up and running beautifully. The installer put it right in over the top of the previous one (in my case, in C:\Bin), without any trouble. The screen flashed a couple of times then the whole desktop just came up fine. -Noel

For what it's worth I've been using my system pretty heavily since that update went in and it seems fine so far. So it's not a universal fail. Is there a particular activity that seems to net problems? -Noel

I'm glad to hear that, actually. That makes more sense based on the poor results I've seen with file system compression. -Noel

Just wanted to chime in here and thank Big Muscle again for his fine work in implementing multi-monitor support. I've added a third monitor with the two smaller ones I had before turned up sideways as "ears" and Aero Glass just works perfectly across the whole desktop. -Noel

Heh, you're right. I'm relaxing and watching the blinking lights now. Sorry for letting my stress spill out. -Noel

It's been a long time since I just had one screw loose. -Noel

I feed my family and put my son through college on sales of my software. You'd better believe I am going to push the "do it right" line and I'm going to keep pushing it. If that offends you... -Noel