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Microsoft is driving users away

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Re: Microsoft is driving users away

#51

Post by hkgirjenk »

Barrin92 wrote: post #24

>hey are making some improvements like the GUI and cleaning up other elements that give a more cohesive look. No more mixing Metro UI and Legacy panels like Windows 10 I don't even think this is wholly true. The new / old context menu that for some reason now exists in parallel so you have to do two clicks on every right-click actions still mixes legacy and modern UI, and there's so many redundant mouse control and a…

The new two stages desktop context menu is indeed insane. Probably "we need to give it a new look, but we can't risk breaking anything, so let's keep the old one too".

Re: Microsoft is driving users away

#52

Post by cocoa19 »

doawoo wrote: post #7

I really agree with this article- I used Windows as my primary OS (not counting work machines) until about 2 years ago, the mess of non coherent design and CONSTANTLY resetting my user preferences every update (like shoving new buttons [see: ads] onto my taskbar) ultimately lead me to buying the first m1 mbp as my new personal machine. Never looked back. I only boot up windows for occasional games now, and even then,…

> like shoving new buttons [see: ads] onto my taskbar

searching for apps in the Windows menu used to take less than a second. Now it takes 5-10 seconds to fetch crap from the internet (ads and bing results), and mix it with local results.

Re: Microsoft is driving users away

#53

Post by nickelpro »

naasking wrote: post #33
nickelpro wrote: post #15

This is basically an article by a guy angry that the UI for printers changed and predicting the end of the Windows empire based on that.

He's not angry that it changed, he's angry that the new settings interface doesn't let him fix the issue at all, and while he used to be able to easily access the old interface so he could fix it the old way, MS has now hidden that ability too. If not for some user-hostile magical incantation, printing would have been permanently broken. Who wouldn't be seriously annoyed with this situation? How many non-technical us…

The article doesn't specify what the issue was, neither you or I can say what the best way to fix the problem would be, if it required something specific of the old panel unable to be accessed via more appropriate or modern tooling.

I suspect this is on purpose.

Re: Microsoft is driving users away

#54

Post by overgard »

I really hate the way they're forcing their products I don't want on me. Stop opening things in Edge, I'm never ever going to use it. And stop asking me to backup folders on OneDrive, I already have Dropbox, I don't want it.

And jesus, stop breaking the taskbar. Every major windows version they just make it worse. Now you can't even dock it to different parts of the screen. Why?!? The Windows 2000 taskbar was infinitely superior to this macOS dock wannabe pile of trash. Also, why do "widgets" always come back. It's never been a good idea in any OS, but it feels like we're constantly being sold on it. If I want the weather I'll just do a quick internet search. I mean, they've been trying to make this a thing since Active Desktop in Windows 98 and most users have never ever cared or wanted these things. Maybe 26 years later it's time to say that it's not a good idea?

Re: Microsoft is driving users away

#55

Post by throwawaymedic »

hypothesis wrote: post #37
doawoo wrote: post #7

I really agree with this article- I used Windows as my primary OS (not counting work machines) until about 2 years ago, the mess of non coherent design and CONSTANTLY resetting my user preferences every update (like shoving new buttons [see: ads] onto my taskbar) ultimately lead me to buying the first m1 mbp as my new personal machine. Never looked back. I only boot up windows for occasional games now, and even then,…

> CONSTANTLY resetting my user preferences every update (like shoving new buttons [see: ads] onto my taskbar) ultimately lead me to buying the first m1 mbp as my new personal machine. Boy are you going to be disappointed when you discover that settings reset quite aggressively, especially in cases where Apple really thinks it knows better. Want to keep bluetooth off? Both iPhone and macs will not abide. Want to keep…

I’m guessing you must be referring to something niche? [parent post kindly edited to add examples]

I’ve been using macs since 2012 and never had any setting change on me.

Re: Microsoft is driving users away

#56

Post by epolanski »

nikanj wrote: post #9

Nobody gets a good performance review for keeping a time-tested design. Rewriting everything is the key to career progress

Bingo. Many people need to justify their role in an organization so they need to just deliver anything even if harmful.

Most companies I've worked with are full of similar projects, rebrandings, major rewrites in micro services, everywhere I look at from UI to tech to product there's always a huge bunch of people needing to show they are actually delivering and working.

Re: Microsoft is driving users away

#57

Post by forinti »

probably_satan wrote: post #31
firesteelrain wrote: post #4

As much as I like Linux, tides won’t be shifting for desktop to Linux. It will be Microsoft Windows for years to come

I've converted a handful of some of the least computer tech heavy people to Linux. This was years ago. The final few nails of Microsoft's coffin are being nailed as we speak. Not only because they are just fundamentally bad at innovation, but because they also sold out the United States to China. Billy boy is scared, and he should be.

I managed to convince my mother-in-law to use Linux and drop Windows.

But it seems that convincing the network guys at work is harder than convincing a retiree. Apparently it's easier to administer a Windows network than a Linux one.

Re: Microsoft is driving users away

#58

Post by Swizec »

pdimitar wrote: post #28

Microsoft has been driving users away for no less than 10 years now and nothing much is changing IMO because Windows is what most people think of as "the computer". Non-technical users think they have no other choice, they shrug the defects off and try to get their job done. Though the article kind of piqued my interest by claiming that Microsoft "is in panic" -- any proof that they are indeed bleeding users more tha…

> any proof that they are indeed bleeding users more than what is deemed normal?

They are, but not to other OSes. More and more people associate computers with something you use for work (and work provides) or for school (and school provides). All personal computing happens on a phone.

My partner, for example, uses her personal laptop about once a year to do taxes. Otherwise it sits in the closet.

Even I use an iPad for most personal work these days. Laptop is mostly for personal coding projects for which I have less and less time as life adultifies.

I know a lot of people who don’t even have a personal computer anymore and just use the work laptop the few times their phone isn’t good enough.

Re: Microsoft is driving users away

#59

Post by littlestymaar »

jseliger wrote: post #6
rodolphoarruda wrote: post #5

I used Ubuntu on my laptops from 2008 to 2023. Last year I switched to Windows 10. Looking at what's going on, I believe I'll be back to Ubuntu in my next laptop. Cycles...

It may be true that Linux on the desktop is finally here, but I used to read about that on /. in the late '90s and early '00s, and people talk about it occasionally on HN. Just because it hasn't happened doesn't mean it won't, but like 25 / 0 of the last "Linux is taking over the desktop" moments have been predicted.

Linux have been usable as a daily driver for at least the past ten years (exhibit: my mom), and with Proton it has even become usable for gaming.

For people above 60 who've spent two decades using windows, Linux Mint has even shown to be more manageable than jumping to a newer version of Windows.

Re: Microsoft is driving users away

#60

Post by SketchySeaBeast »

probably_satan wrote: post #31
firesteelrain wrote: post #4

As much as I like Linux, tides won’t be shifting for desktop to Linux. It will be Microsoft Windows for years to come

I've converted a handful of some of the least computer tech heavy people to Linux. This was years ago. The final few nails of Microsoft's coffin are being nailed as we speak. Not only because they are just fundamentally bad at innovation, but because they also sold out the United States to China. Billy boy is scared, and he should be.

Is converting the least tech literate an issue? I assume some of the easier distros are pretty much plug and play now, and if your only goal is to browse Facebook and print off recipes from an already set up printer pretty much anything can do that easily. But these people would probably be happy with an iPad if their iPhone wasn't cutting it.

I think the big middle of the population that's the problem, people who are tech literate enough to do some things, but not willing to relearn the wheel. They can use microsoft office, but don't want to have to relearn a new file structure. Those are the people who probably will have the biggest issue, and there's a lot of them. That's office workers, computer gamers, all those people. Even the pretty tech literate people who know how to do things in Windows but don't care to relearn it all in Linux.

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