Windows 8.1 reviews, news: Microsoft recently unveiled the IE 11 for Windows 7, with some saying that its best parts are still actually for Windows 8.1 Though the new browser adds the support for permanent tabs and infinite tabs and some key performance enhancements, the update on the IE11 has still been limited.

It seems that, at least according to Digital Trends, who did a comprehensive review of the Windows 8.1 to declare that the software update with a new name is still Windows 8.

The Digital Trends reviewer noted that “we’re worried by what appears to be a half-hearted execution.” Though it remarked about the return of the Star Button, there are several key elements in the new Windows 8.1 that seems to be unimpressive.

First is though the Star Button is back, it still is not the Star Menu. Instead of returning to the old ways, as DT noted, Windows 8.1 attempts to merge functions of the Start Menu into the new UI design through a feature called the “apps view.” It’s accessible by either swiping down from the start screen or activating the Start button.

Another issue that Digital Trends raised is that the “apps view is half-baked.” It does little to unify the big difference between the Windows desktop apps and Metro apps, an issue that was highlighted with Internet Explorer. The apps menu is not a fit Start Menu replacement. One annoying reality with the Windows 8.1 is that the files from the apps view cannot be removed without deleting them.

Other issues raised in the DT review is that the desktop and Metro user interface is still at odds and the Internet Explorer 11 in the new Windows 8.1 remains slow and unwieldy. The split-view for multi-tasking is also constrained to low-resolutions PCs.