Thank you to everyone who voted and left comments on our recent poll to find out whether you think Windows 8.1 has saved Windows...

Thank you to everyone who voted and left comments on our recent poll to find out whether you think Windows 8.1 has saved Windows 8. We received just over 4,000 votes and it was a pretty close run from the start. However, 59% of voters decided ‘No’, Windows 8.1 has not saved Windows 8.

When reading your comments, it’s clear that there are many issues within Windows 8 itself that 8.1 just hasn’t solved. In some cases it was felt that even the few positives in Windows 8 were actually removed in 8.1. It seems that a few of you have already tried to remedy the problem, or at least patch it up, by using a piece of free software called Classic Shell. This enables you to improve the usability of Windows but in a customizable way that suits you. It gives you the option of switching back to the classic Windows view, which so many of you preferred and a solution that some were looking for. If you want to give this a try then you can download Classic Shell by following this link.

On the flip side 41% of you felt that Windows 8.1 had saved Windows 8 and are happy with the way it’s working for you. There is no denying that Windows 8 was designed mainly for use on touchscreen tablets so for some people it’s a great UI. It’s important to consider that maybe one day in the not too distant future most technology will be touch-based, so a traditional interface just won’t suffice but how near that eventuality is, no one knows.

I think it’s fair to say that as far as Windows 8 goes, an attempt to combine a desktop interface and a mobile interface has been just too much of a change and has proved largely unpopular. So what’s the solution? Usher in Windows 9 sharpish! It seems unlikely that there will be a Windows 8.2, or Windows 8.3 so what can we expect from Windows 9?

Well it is thought that it won’t arrive until 2015 but when it does, Microsoft could fully re-introduce the Start menu, with the apps being able to run on the desktop. Hopefully the plan is to make Windows 9 more user friendly for desktop users. In the meantime most of you will just have to grin and bear using Windows 8. Roll on Windows 9!!