Windows 8.1: What to Expect While You're Expecting

Unless you've been stranded away in the hold of a pirate ship, you know that Windows 8.1 releases this Friday on October 18^th, 2013. Windows 8.1 is a major update to the poorly accepted Windows 8, and Microsoft has spent many development cycles trying to produce something that consumers and businesses will adore. Through development and a long customer Preview (actually beta), Microsoft has addressed a majority of the complaints volleyed against the first-run operating system that totally revamped the Windows operating system.

Microsoft has invested in what they call accelerated product cycles, where updates to existing products will come at a much quicker rate than they have in the past. Still, there was much effort put into making necessary changes to try and offer a more pleasing submission that consumers and businesses were comfortable adopting, and to help a flailing PC industry. Many vendors have blamed Microsoft and the Windows 8 release on the worst PC sales on record since the PC vaulted into a steady revenue stream.

Whether the accelerated product cycle was just too quick for Microsoft to handle, or the developers simply missed a few things, Microsoft will be releasing an update to the update that will available for installation shortly after Windows 8.1 reaches general availability on October 18^th.

The update, named "GA Rollup A" weighs in at a hefty 200MB for the x64 version and 100MB for the x86 and RAM versions. There aren't a lot of new things contained in the update, except a reported new app bar in some of the built-in apps, but instead is intended to addresses bugs. This download will be available through Windows Update just like a normal update and will be offered soon after the Windows 8.1 upgrade.

So, for Enterprise IT who are tasked with controlling deployment of new updates, get ready. Once you rollout Windows 8.1 to your end-users, you'll have even more fun in store rolling out GA Rollup A to strengthen the new operating system. Most Enterprise folks, I imagine, will want to wait until an image can be created with the updated bits before deployment. So, while many will download and install the Windows 8.1 upgrade when released, Microsoft may not see Enterprise uptake until much later than the release weekend.

And, Windows 8.1 comes with a bunch of updates targeting Enterprise customer complaints. Go figure.