Microsoft finally seems to get it. Start bar is now persistent, modern apps can be minimized to taskbar / closed at the top, Start screen has a power button.

Lots of small "duh" things that should have made it in a long time ago. Here are the update notes.

Rejoice all ye who use a mouse and keyboard, for alongside these changes, the Start menu is also returning in Windows 9.

[*]Closing store apps by means of the "x" in the upper right corner does the same thing accomplished by swiping down and off. It closes the UI, but doesn't actually kill the process. Likewise with right-clicking and selecting "close window" from the taskbar.[/list]

Windows now tombstones applications that you close instead of actually closing them. This way, if you decide that you need to reopen the app, you are dropped in right where you left off. Some of you may be concerned that this new change will be negative on your resources – it won’t be. The operating system will tombstone your apps until the resources are needed again; at which point, the application will fully close.

A perfect analogy is if you know how a hard drive deletes files. When you delete a file on a computer it really isn’t gone – it just appears gone, but remains on the drive until the space is needed.

While that does seem like a more modern implementation, there's definitely a resource somewhere notating the "current state" of the application. It may be minimal though. However, yet again, another administrative nightmare. "Yes, I closed the app and re-opened, and the issue is still happening!" "Um, you closed it, but now I need you to bring up your existing apps list, and then drag it to the bottom, so it's really really super closed." "What?" "Exactly."

Closing the window != exiting the application is the way things are in the Mac world, so I'm used to that and it actually makes more sense to me, since closing the window isn't explicitly exiting the app... quit = quit, close = close, and close != quit and all that.

If there's a problem with an app, I've never asked the folks I'm trying to help to close the app and re-open it... it's better to ask them to reboot, since that settles any question of application state. And being Windows, that's the first thing I ask folks to do, anyway.

Start MENU remains conspicuously absent.

I notice you didn't mention application availability.

I had to rebuild my gaming rig tonight because of a failing SSD, so I installed directly from a Win 8.1 Update 1 on USB.

I have to say they've made a lot of dramatic improvements. The Windows button in place of the Start button is going to take some getting used, to, but with the right-click functionality I think I can manage.

I'll wait until the next version of Windows before purchasing it for my home (I use it on my work laptop). That seems to be the trend with Windows OS and which one is the superior version.

Windows 95? 98 was better. 2000? XP was better. Vista? 7 was better. 8? .... probably next will be better.

It's not terrible, I just dislike having functionality hidden from me and buried deep. Although, it forcing itself into a reboot because I kept telling it "Not now, damn it!" when it wanted to restart to apply updates... and doing so in the middle of a video conference which I was sharing my screen... kinda pissed me off. No, it really pissed me off.

Well, it is still behind Android and iOS in that regard and there's no way to spin it otherwise. However I am hoping more apps become available now that Windows, Windows Phone and Xbox will support universal applications. I think MS finally has a mobile OS with enough technical chops to attract consumers and developers alike. They are also trying to blur the lines between what you're using - I just noticed that my phone synced its accent color onto my desktop (can be disabled)

It feels like the most significant update the operating system has ever had, and I've been using it since it launched in 2010.

Here's an in-depth review: http://www.wpcentral.com/windows-phone-81-review