Some websites are reporting, though, that Windows 8.1’s libraries ditch Public folders. Activating them is easy, as shown in the single screenshot below.Ĭlick View > Navigation Pane > Show Libraries in the desktop file explorer. Your Documents, Music, Pictures, and Videos libraries aren’t visible by default in Windows 8.1-but that doesn’t mean they’re not there.
And despite Flickr’s sudden disappearance from the Photos app, an official app for that service has yet to appear in the Windows Store. (Click to enlarge.)Ī Facebook app launched in the Windows Store the same day as Windows 8.1, but its image-management and sharing capabilities aren’t as flexible as those in Windows 8’s Photos app. Windows 8.1’s Photos app is far more lackluster in both aesthetics and capabilities. “Now there are many apps in the store that offer ways to view photos on other services.” “In Windows 8, we wanted to provide a way for folks to view their photos on other services, knowing there would be few (if any) apps in the store at launch that would do so,” a Microsoft representative said. Regrettably, Windows 8.1’s Photos app no longer supports Facebook and Flickr image integration. Note the Facebook and Flickr integration. (Windows 7’s cap was 7.9, while Vista’s was 5.9.) Whether for these or other reasons, the WEI never seemed to catch on, and it’s nowhere to be found in Windows 8.1. Unfortunately, the WEI’s scoring criteria weren’t well known, and it placed odd, seemingly artificial caps on the highest possible scores. Powerful PCs received higher scores, and so on. The WEI score was supposed to be a numerical indicator of your PC’s brawn. Windows Experience IndexĮver since the Vista days, Windows provided a “Windows Experience Index” score in your My Computer properties. One bummer: Messaging supported Facebook Chat, while Skype does not.
Meanwhile, Skype’s communication services are also being baked into the Xbox One and (but not Windows Phone). Messaging was pretty lackluster and largely overlapped Skype’s core functionality.
No more: Microsoft has kicked Messaging to the curb less than a year after the app’s arrival, replacing the Windows 8 native with Skype.Īs high-profile as the swap is, it’s no great loss. Windows 8’s IM capabilities were handled by the aptly named Messaging, one of the core apps shining front and center on the live-tiled Start screen. Some of the removals are blatant once they’re pointed out, while others are more obscure, but all are off the table in Windows 8.1.
Windows 8.1 shaves away many of Windows 8’s auxiliary features. But apparently Microsoft needed to clear room for all the fresh ideas. 8.1 features Microsoft removed from Windows 8.1įorget about the desktop improvements and Bing Smart Search: Windows 8.1’s biggest draw may be the sheer volume of new and hidden features.