Photos App in 8.1 loses most of its best features e.g. Facebook/Flickr support...

Another case of 1 step forward and 12 back from Microsoft once again. just when I thought they were getting the bigger picture

I really liked my Surface Pro and W8 phone, but I found some decisions by Microsoft to be deal breakers for me, and I sold both a couple of weeks ago and returned to the iPad and an iPhone. While they do not do everything the Windows devices could do, they offer more apps and a much better consumer experience, at least for me.

A couple reasons include the removal of this feature which was one of the best things about Windows 8 in my opinion. Also the absolutely idiotic implementation of MS account security, where if you make the mistake of moving and changing your phone number and then try to remove it as a security contact on your account, are locked out for 30 days with no way of getting help (I contacted "support" several times with absolutely zero assistance).

MS gets the enterprise, they just continually demonstrate they don't understand or seem to even care to service the consumer market. As such, it isn't a platform that I want to invest my money or time in.

I am just soooo disappointed. Surely I will revert my surface pro to 8.0 since people and photos app were the ones I used the most. Photos now can't connect to other services, abums are so small that you can't see full album name, you won't see tile photo if there's no photo inside folder, even if there are many folders inside this lead folder... This is ridiculously stupid move Microsoft. Latley I started to encourage people to move to Windows 8, but I see it was bad idea. Enjoy 5% market share with W8 for next five years.

Another case of 1 step forward and 12 back from Microsoft once again. just when I thought they were getting the bigger picture

Thanks for the feedback, everybody.  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.  Now there are many apps in the store that offer ways to view photos on other services and soon there will even be a Facebook app from Facebook.  We’re confident Facebook will offer great ways to view and engage socially with photos on Facebook.  We welcome Flickr to do the same.  In addition, the People app still offers the ability to socially engage with your friends and even your own photos.

the only app that enjoyed in windows 8 is now gone. upgrading to windows 8.1 is a horrible choice.  at least bring back old network integration and collage slideshow. now it's even harder to integrate photos from other network unlike the old version that you just have to have the same MS account. this just lame backwards and horrible. and the other 3rd party apps out there are just horrible.

This is the best video Carmen Zlateff ever made, this is what people want as a Photo apps !

All the feature we want are in that video !

http://youtu.be/R0qBZyjK2MU

I can't understand why they change it into 8.1

Wow, that is the same Carmen Zlateff who replied on page 2 of this thread with:

Thanks for the feedback, everybody.  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.  Now there are many apps in the store that offer ways to view photos on other services and soon there will even be a Facebook app from Facebook.  We’re confident Facebook will offer great ways to view and engage socially with photos on Facebook.  We welcome Flickr to do the same.  In addition, the People app still offers the ability to socially engage with your friends and even your own photos.

It is hard to believe how much of a 180 she made.

I'm starting to wonder if there is someone higher up in the Windows development team that decided to change this and told Carmen to just give this answer.

I can't imagine why though.

Also as mentioned a few posts ago, in the Reddit AMA Question about this, this is what Katie Frigon responded with:

In Windows 8, we needed 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. Now there are many apps in the store that offer ways to view photos on other services and just released today is the Facebook app from Facebook. The Facebook app offers great ways to view and engage socially with photos on Facebook. We welcome Flickr to do the same. In addition, the People app still offers the ability to socially engage with your friends and even your own photos.

It's bizarre how similar their messages are.