

Windows 8: Microsoft will declare victory, but will anyone believe it? - SlipperySlope
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2012/10/22/larry_walsh_on_windows8/

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walru
I went to go use a Windows 8 PC at Best Buy the other day and was shocked.

In screenshots everything looks clean, crisp, and modern - then comes the task
of using it. I don't understand who at MSFT thought it was necessary to
preface every action by a splash screen and inordinately long loading times.
Also, am I missing something? Does everything you do have to be full screen?
Is having multiple windows open and multi-tasking a thing of the past?

I know I'm coming from a place of ignorance - having only used it for about
five minutes. I'm sure I don't quite understand how to use the OS yet.
However, I design software for a living. If I'm not able to immediately figure
out how to use everything and why this is a better approach than what they've
done before, or what their competitors are doing, then how is the mass
populace?

I hate to come on here to be so negative, but the usability of Windows 8 is
simply abysmal.

~~~
Maascamp
On the other hand, I also design software for a living and despite having used
it a large number of times I still find OSX to be (for me) a usability
nightmare. I just don't know how to do anything and find the interface
completely counterintuitive.

Windows 8 seems just like Windows 7 with an extra layer and I found Windows 7
to be extremely usable. It's all pretty subjective.

~~~
sixothree
That's really the problem. Windows 7 / 2008 R2 are by far Microsoft's best
operating systems yet. Going to be very tough to replace, which is what they
seem to be trying to do.

~~~
mariusmg
Win 8 is a better OS than Win 7. Sensibly faster, proper multi monitor
support, lots of cool improvements (explorer, task manager etc).

It's sad that most people can't see behind Metro. Press Winkey +D on that
start screen and start enjoying a great OS.

~~~
r00fus
Metro is what they're selling. Are you blaming people for testing Microsoft on
their own promises?

~~~
mariusmg
They do NOT "sell" Metro for the desktop.

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larrik
Well, when both Vista and 7 came out, Microsoft would tout the great adoption
rates they were seeing with their sales numbers. They would conveniently leave
out that purchasing a PC with XP on it at that point involved buying Vista/7,
and then "downgrading" it, which went on the books as a Vista/7 sale, but went
to the customer as an XP sale (ish).

So yeah, when Microsoft declares victory, I NEVER believe it.

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SlipperySlope
Essentially ...

"There’s much to be excited about. Yet, not many in the channel are excited.
In fact, the Microsoft ecosystem – component makers, PC manufacturers,
distributors and resellers – is bracing for a lull rather than a surge in
Windows-related sales."

~~~
ewest
On the same note, with today's economy it's likely the majority won't bother
upgrading since their Windows installs work, so why upgrade now?

~~~
DGCA
That may be true but, as far as I remember, it's the most sensibly priced
version of Windows yet. Only $40 to upgrade.

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SoftwareMaven
It almost feels like MS is setting itself up to be able to throw their whole
OEM ecosystem out the door. MS is seeing their market shrink, so they may
decide to stop sharing it with other people like they have in the past. They
are starting by getting their toes in the water with Surface, Azure and
direct-licensed upgrades to Windows.

If so, that would be the boldest thing I've seen from Balmer (which is why I'm
very hesitant to actually believe it).

~~~
marshray
Out of curiosity, how do you see Azure fitting in to this plan?

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r00fus
Easy - it's the fabric on which the iCloud-like services from Microsoft will
be delivered.

Didn't Apple rely on Azure (in addition to other cloud providers) for iCloud?
Or am I completely off the mark there?

~~~
marshray
I'm wondering why the traditional OEMs would feel betrayed by new cloud
services. I guess it fits the general "post-PC" theme.

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gamble
The problem with Windows 8 is that Microsoft built a touch-oriented operating
system, but none of the OEMs are shipping machines that are notably more
touch-oriented than their Windows 7 lineup. And the Metro aspects of Win8
offer no benefits to a mouse user, while being significantly less discoverable
without touch. You just have to watch a few "first time using Windows 8"
videos on Youtube to see how unintuitive it is with a mouse.

~~~
meaty
It's actually ok with a mouse - it just takes a bit of getting used to. To be
honest, I use it entirely with the keyboard now (Metro included). I've forced
myself to use Caret browsing in IE and the reuslt is that I've actually turned
the touchpad off on my ThinkPad. This is not because I don't like the mouse
interaction, but because I like the keyboard interaction.

I agree however that this is primarily touch oriented, which is why they're
pushing surface. I'm grabbing a surface pro when it comes out.

I've tried it on a Sony AIO desktop PC with touch support and it was pretty
good on that. Unfortunately it's the kids' PC so I don't get to meddle with it
much.

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neovive
I think Windows 8 is a long-term proposition for Microsoft. I doubt they are
expecting any remarkable change in the short term; there just won't be enough
compelling Win8/touch-enabled devices out there to make a difference. They
need to grow market share over time. They are practically giving away the
upgrade to consumer users which a big change from the past.

This is similar to the early XBOX strategy, which took quite a while to come
to fruition, but the XBOX division is now doing very well in terms of
market/mind share.

Microsoft clearly wants to enterprise market and that takes time.

~~~
squidsoup
> Microsoft clearly wants to enterprise market and that takes time.

It's a pity that Canonical haven't seized on this and made their focus Ubuntu
in the enterprise. I think it's pretty clear that Ubuntu as a consumer OS is a
dead duck, but it does have a place as a viable alternative to Windows in the
business environment. Sadly, this doesn't seem to be their primary focus and
continue to put resources into 'touch' computing, Unity and mobile devices
where they're never going to effectively compete with Apple, Google and
Microsoft.

