What Windows 8 Haters Don’t Understand About Windows 8

The whole hater/fan mindset about OSs/phones/technology perplexes me. Why do some people feel so strongly about these things? And where does these strong feelings come from? To me these things are just not emotionally engaging in the way that, say, a book or game or work of art can be - and I wonder if this engagement is trivial or actually quite important.

Are so many people identifying as haters of fans because these things are genuinely emotionally engaging? Or is it an amplification effect of the internet echo chamber? Or because some of us make career investments in these technologies?

I develop on the Windows platform and have done for about 20 years. Its okay and practical and I'm comfortable with it, but I don't feel that that makes me a fan of Windows or a hater of other platforms. Same with my Android phone. I don't particularly like Apple as a company. Their products seem okay, but I alternate between wondering if they focus on surface appearance over substance or whether this might actually be a great thing. Does this make me an Apple hater?

If I try and get inside the minds of these people, here are my impressions of their thoughts/emotions:

- Apple. Haters see an authoritarian company obsessed with style and controlling its customers. Fans see the long-time underdog finally triumphing through attention to design and vindicating the fan's loyalty.

- Microsoft. Haters see a big, stupid, evil corporation deservedly slipping into insignificance. Fans see solid engineering and persistence in supporting their customers in the long-term.

- Android. Haters see a lazy, poor imitation of iPhone that is unworthy of success. Fans see the last hope in a titanic struggle for freedom.

Obviously these are stereotypes and I'm emphasising extremes because that seems to be what haters/fans do. But how does technology do this to some people, and is this new?

I'd be very interested in other people's opinions on this.

They are still fighting the popularity of Windows XP which is a tough act to follow. I upgraded to Windows 7 about 6 months ago, and despite tweaking it to get it very close I still suffer bouts of profound exasperation when using it.

I'm not saying that XP was flawless by any means (and I was using the much reviled 64 bit version), but it accomplished an excellent balance between simple ease of use and access to more complex features, which no Microsoft product has managed since.

There has been a gradual shift toward automation which in a few cases is welcome but in others has become an impediment to actual use. The automated functions just aren't up to task at this point, either technologically, or because of the assumptions the designers have jumped to about what you want to do are just wrong.

In addition some people don't cope well with context sensitive menus (and I am one of them I freely admit), they are messy and unintuitive after a certain point. Sure once you learn them they can be helpful but if you have to learn something it's not intuitive.

Nowadays there should be no reason to learn technology, it should just work.

That was my experience in my 2 months of using it. Then I had to format (bought a new SSD), and came back to seven. But I have to admit that I was a little worried at first about the changes. And some weren't of my liking. But in my day to day there was no difference with seven.

Complete nonsense.

They only need a sufficient number of people to like it. Even if not a single grandmother in the world likes it, they'll probably be fine.

> a singular experience that can be all things to all people

You obviously have no idea what you're talking about. Grandma's ARM tablet is going to use Metro, and Joe Accountant is going to spend all day in the classic desktop environment. The only thing Joe is going to notice is a new start menu, and that's not exactly going to be a deal breaker for anyone.

Regardless of whether you like the new Metro interface and the new start screen or not, it's simply idiotic to say that if not everyone in the world loves it then the company will collapse.

I think you are the minority. Ribbon is much better.