But the policy - where users are cut off from getting security patches if they do not install Windows 8.1 Update 1 - was heavily criticized for "terrible timing."
"Windows 8.1 Update is a cumulative update to Windows 8.1, containing all the updates we have released for Windows 8.1, so if you install this update you do not need any earlier updates. It also becomes the new servicing baseline for Windows 8.1, so next month’s security updates (on May 13th, the next 'patch Tuesday') will be dependent on Windows 8.1 Update," Microsoft's Ben Hunter said in a blog post.
The update pack includes enhancements such as an Enterprise Mode for Internet Explorer 11, which allows businesses to benefit from modern web standards, better performance, and increased security of Microsoft's latest browser.
However, an article on Forbes.com questioned the policy, saying this can alienate users who may be left behind in terms of patches when the next Patch Tuesday comes on May 13.
Forbes.com also indicated it is ironic that users of Windows 8 - a version earlier than 8.1 - can continue receiving patches until January 2016.
"If Microsoft can keep security eligibility alive for Windows 8.0 for eight more months because it recognises not everyone upgrades immediately, why can’t it give Windows 8.1 users more leeway than 30 days to install Update 1?" it said.
Also, Forbes.com cited Microsoft’s "terrible timing," coming amid concerns over Heartbleed, a security bug that may have exposed user details on 17 percent of the world’s supposedly secure web servers.
"Heartbleed has hit headlines around the globe and made users paranoid about security. Microsoft could not see it coming, but in refusing to give Windows 8.1 users more time in its wake the company looks antagonistic," it said.
Still another problem is an issue preventing some who already installed Windows 8.1 Update from getting patches.
The tragedy is that the update pack is a great one, addressing many complaints of earlier versions of Windows 8, Forbes.com said.
Update 1 can smartly boot users without touchscreens to the desktop by default instead of the Metro interface.
It also cuts its install size in half (from 32GB to 16GB) on SSDs, runs faster on slower hardware and has minimum memory requirements from 2GB to 1GB of RAM.
"And yet perhaps the most frustrating aspect to all of this is Windows 8.1 Update 1 is a great update. In fact it is arguably the best and most important update Windows 8 has received," it said. — Joel Locsin/TJD, GMA News
source: gmanetwork.com
