

Why Windows 8 is Microsoft’s most vital launch in years - ___Calv_Dee___
http://gigaom.com/2012/02/28/why-windows-8-is-microsofts-most-vital-launch-in-years/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+OmMalik+%28GigaOM%3A+Tech%29

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overgard
I think this article is specious.

The premise appears to be that the world is moving towards touchscreen/mobile,
and thus, the desktop computing experience is going to be relegated to the
dustbin of history (because, you know, its not cool anymore). This is silly.
Tablets have their uses, but they're a niche compared to a general purpose
computer. There are a lot of things that are just very awkward to do on a
tablet; ie, almost anything involving a lot of typing or creation of content.
I could get along just fine without my tablet, but without my PC I'd be in
rough shape. I like them both, but it's pretty clear to me which one is a
powerful tool and which one is a luxury. So to be honest, I really don't care
if windows 8 ends up being a failure as a tablet OS as long as it stays a
decent desktop OS.

It seems like the thing to do is to place this topic in competitive terms,
where somehow the success of the tablet implies that the desktop has to "die".
Why is that? We can't accept that they all have their uses? I have both a
hammer and a screwdriver, but I've never really felt the need to view them as
competitors.

~~~
acqq
More than that, the problem with Microsoft is how much they lose by just
trying to one-up. Apple has iOS for touch devices and OS X for PC devices, and
Microsoft wants to make "one for everything" in fact torturing their huge PC
user base with "touch for desktop" release, thereby alienating the users they
depend on. Way to go, MS.

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webwanderings
Amazed at such headlines, they seem to show up every time Microsoft launches
their new OS. It is always the same.

~~~
___Calv_Dee___
Sure there may have been a lot of expectations and some hype for new up and
coming Windows releases but this will be the first time that Microsoft will be
providing such an overhauled (design and function) OS available across mobile
and desktop. It's a necessity for Microsoft to get the platform integration
right in order to stand a chance against the wonderfully integrated ecosystem
model Apple has really set a standard for. This is definitely, in my opinion,
far from "the same".

[http://gigaom.com/2012/02/28/why-windows-8-is-microsofts-
mos...](http://gigaom.com/2012/02/28/why-windows-8-is-microsofts-most-vital-
launch-in-years/)

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astrodust
This is a serious release for Microsoft since it might be the last significant
desktop OS they put out. There might never be a Windows 9 for desktops. It
might be strictly server or mobile at that point.

It's going to be harder to make any money when you're getting squeezed on one
end by crazy low prices and a free OS like Android which could be a desktop OS
with some hacking, while pressure from above is coming from OS X and iOS
alternatives. There's no room for a $300 desktop OS any more. It's an
anachronism.

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fumar
Microsoft has been pushing metro throughout its ecosystem. Microsoft Kinect
looks like the real game changer. It will change the Windows experience. A new
way to interact with our PCs.

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akulbe
Here are my audacious claims:

I would say that Microsoft Windows is no longer relevant... and hasn't been
for a long time.

The one thing that would make them relevant again, if it is true (and not just
rumor), is MS Office for iPad.

It would sell like crazy, and it's really only the data that matters anyways.

~~~
melling
Windows has 89% desktop market share. I guess if you can ignore facts like
that then you can make all kinds of audacious claims.

With any luck, the Post PC era will see a lot more diversity (eg Android
netbooks/PCs, docked tablets, etc), but I think it'll be a long time before
Windows isn't used on the majority of desktop computers.

~~~
akulbe
There's a big difference between ubiquity and relevance.

There's no arguing Windows' ubiquity, however, I'd argue that Microsoft is
resting on their laurels, as far as Windows is concerned.

Mobile is where things are going, and they were late to the game. It's not
even making a dent, either.

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georgieporgie
_yawn_ inflammatory headline and zero meaningful or insightful content.

 _Windows ME was a joke, Windows XP was an updated but essentially similar
experience to Windows 95_

Um. Windows 2000 was the Win 95 UI married to the excellent NT backend. If you
think that XP -- which was a somewhat optimized Win2k -- delivered an
experience similar to 95, then you don't know your Windows OS history very
well.

 _Windows 7 was what Vista should have been_

Not really. Nothing is yet what Windows Vista should have been, because Vista
was supposed to be Longhorn, which was going to be a radical departure from
all previous Windows versions, at least under the hood. Win 7 was a somewhat
hackish, superficial update to Vista, with better UAC, and (from what I
recall) greatly improved deployment and scripting features for IT people. In
other words, it did just enough to shut the consumers up about how bad Vista
was, and it did a whole bunch to appeal to big business.

And that's the point, isn't it? Continue to appeal to the big businesses that
are the source of vast income for Microsoft. Win8 is just another iteration of
Windows. Nothing truly revolutionary, nothing to write inflammatory blog
headlines about. Business as usual: developers aren't certain what path to
follow, Microsoft providing too many APIs and insufficient documentation, and
companies acting slowly to pick up the new OS.

