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Windows 8 proving less popular than Vista

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Re: Windows 8 proving less popular than Vista

#3
Windows 8 is and I supposed designed for tablets but not specifically for tablets which is what I think is wrong, I'm sure everyone thinks that.

I'm curious to see how many people got tablets over the holidays and if Windows 8 use increases some.

Windows 8 is so different than the previous versions of Windows it's quite obvious people are out of their comfort zone. But I think it's good to see some attempts at change and this change is not "just because" it's a valid attempt at spurring sales because of the tablet craze.

I like Windows 8 but I am comfortable with computer and even I find it quite a leap there's no way my elderly relatives could figure it out, they have trouble even with Windows 7/Vista/XP.

Re: Windows 8 proving less popular than Vista

#4
MS should seriously consider releasing a patch that makes Win8 look like Win7 on desktops (shouldn't be very hard). Win8 has a fair number of improvements under the hood.

My guess is that someone in the Windows org has this working.

(I won't get into the quality of the Win8 UI, since I have not used it yet. Maybe it's the bee's knees and I'm just believing all the anti-hype).

Re: Windows 8 proving less popular than Vista

#6
I run window 8 and its a solid upgrade. It feels faster and has incremental updates to various parts of the OS. (Native mounting of ISOs was a nice surprise)

Only down side? The lack of start menu. But since that can be easily fixed with Start8 (Google it), then there is no reason to not upgrade.

If you run windows 7, then stop wasting time and upgrade to 8.

Re: Windows 8 proving less popular than Vista

#7
post #3

Windows 8 is and I supposed designed for tablets but not specifically for tablets which is what I think is wrong, I'm sure everyone thinks that. I'm curious to see how many people got tablets over the holidays and if Windows 8 use increases some. Windows 8 is so different than the previous versions of Windows it's quite obvious people are out of their comfort zone. But I think it's good to see some attempts at change…

I don't think that the problem is figuring out Windows 8 (something that anyone could do given enough time), but, rather, the real problem is unwillingness to buy. Having heard from friends and the media that Windows 8 is radically different, any remaining interest is dissipated on sight of screenshots or a demo computer in-store.

That said, my parents, when actually confronted with it, were fine; they weren't huge fans, but using the new interface wasn't a problem after they adjusted.

Re: Windows 8 proving less popular than Vista

#8
Microsoft made a mistake trying to force a made-for-touch interface on PC users, and in the end the strategy is not that different than forcing a PC interface on a touch device. It may actually be worse, because at least in that case you would be familiar with the interface, so at least it would have that advantage.

I think this video explains most of the problems with Windows 8:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WTYet-qf1jo

Re: Windows 8 proving less popular than Vista

#9
I think the problem that exist is that computers have reached the level of being good enough to not replace or upgrade. If you had a PC with a Pentium 4 and 256 or 512 MB of RAM you would be in serious pain trying to run a modern web browser or do much of anything, but a Core2Duo with 4GB of RAM is more than enough for 90% of people out there. There is no longer a compelling reason to upgrade when your computer is no longer a major pain point and is good enough, compounded with the fact that the world economy is in the trash can and people are holding on to more dollars[1].

[1]http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2012-10-01/business/35501...

Re: Windows 8 proving less popular than Vista

#10
post #4

MS should seriously consider releasing a patch that makes Win8 look like Win7 on desktops (shouldn't be very hard). Win8 has a fair number of improvements under the hood. My guess is that someone in the Windows org has this working. (I won't get into the quality of the Win8 UI, since I have not used it yet. Maybe it's the bee's knees and I'm just believing all the anti-hype).

It'd still be a mixed bag. Some settings and preferences are accessed in through the control center (of the desktop app), while others are in the Metro settings. Apps purchased in the app store would open fullscreen in Metro (unless they'd display Metro applications in windows on the desktop). Metro is not truly separate, but it is also not well-integrated.

Windows 8 is an operating system for tablets. On desktops and laptops it's an experiment at most - touch screens are not ubiquitous, and it remains to be seen whether they will be successful on 'traditional computers'.

I think everyone would be better off if Microsoft had released Windows 8 as a tablet operating system, providing other improvements as a service pack for Windows 7. But they are probably making a bet: businesses will stick with Windows 7 for a while, and they are probably hoping that consumers get as much Metro-exposure as possible via Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, and Windows RT.

I don't like it. So, I'll stick with OS X on the desktop and iOS/WP8 on phones ;).

Edit: I wanted to add that I do like Metro a lot... For touch devices.

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