<p>Microsoft is preparing the way to release its second update for the Windows 8 operating system next month, but thanks to both contacts within the industry and a foul-up by Microsoft which made the Windows 8.1 Update 1 packages available on Windows Update for anyone wanting to grab them, I've had the chance to take this latest update for a spin.</p><p>On installing the update it's clear that Update 1 is an evolutionary step for the Windows 8 species as opposed to a radical revamp. It seems the Redmond giant still believes that the overall user interface and user experience debuted in Windows 8 is the way forward, and that the whining will eventually die off and people will take their Modern/Metro medicine.</p><p>I'd like nothing more than for Microsoft to take what it has learnt with Window 8 and Windows 8.1 and combine that with Windows 7 to give us Windows 7.5 in other words, a better version of Windows 7 but that's just not going to happen.</p><p>I'm not going to cover specific changes rolled out in Windows 8.1 Update 1. For that you can check out the changes here, but little has changed since the leaked build I looked at back in the beginning of February. The bottom line is that if you liked Windows 8 and Windows 8.1, and you spent time getting to grips with the user interface and adapting your old workflows to suit the new system, Update 1 is going to mean tweaking that workflow a bit, but on the whole you're still going to like the platform.</p><p><a href="http://www.zdnet.com/windows-8-1-update-1-meh-itll-have-to-do-i-suppose-7000027152/">Keep reading...</a></p><p>Read also:</p><p><a href="http://www.pcworld.com/article/2105765/3-ways-to-get-a-new-windows-7-pc-in-the-windows-8-era.html">3 ways to get a new Windows 7 PC in the Windows 8 era</a> (PCWorld (blog))</p><p><a href="http://www.baselinemag.com/it-management/a-guide-to-making-the-most-of-windows-8.html/">A Guide to Making the Most of Windows 8</a> (Baseline)</p><p><a href="http://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2014/03/windows-8-1-update-1-more-interface-concessions-that-still-wont-make-people-happy/">Windows 8.1 Update 1: More interface concessions that still won&#039;t make people ...</a> (Ars Technica)</p><p>Explore: <a href="http://news.google.com/news/more?ncl=d0T6lps5g8_5JhMFuKOBoRqQNtc1M&authuser=0&ned=us">348 additional articles.</a></p>