
Windows 8: The Most Confused OS Launch Ever - draegtun
http://www.drdobbs.com/windows/windows-8-the-most-confused-os-launch-ev/240009572
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melling
I'm a Mac/Linux guy so I really don't care that much about Windows. However, I
am a "let's just roll with it kind of person," so if you do like Windows why
not just give Microsoft a chance? They are taking a bold step forward. How
about giving it a chance? Even if it's a "failure", it'll still be bigger than
my two favorite OS's in a matter of ... weeks ...or months?

~~~
bitdiffusion
It's like this for every major product launch - gives the techbloggers
something to talk about. Give it a few weeks and they will be bemoaning the
next IOS / Android / Ubuntu release. I put this kind of thing into the "Bad
News Sells" category. See
<http://pewresearch.org/assets/pdf/NewsInterest1986-2007.pdf>

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kyberias
I think the journalist here is confused for no good reason. Perhaps because he
likes to make his own definitions of things. Windows 8 is the new release of
Windows. It will be delivered in two builds: ARM and x86. The former being
more limited and called Windows RT. They share the Metro UI but not very much
of the traditional desktop UI. There. That's it. It's not really confusing at
all.

~~~
mgkimsal
But... it's not called Metro anymore.

And Windows RT and WinRT are different things.

And there's new tablet offerings of Windows 8 that will _be_ Windows 8 (not
just look like them with the Metr... Modern UI) in a few months. If I didn't
know that, I'd be pissed in a few months. If I _do_ know that, I'll probably
wait to see what the options and pricing are in a few months.

Even for those 'in the know', there's a lot of confusion and decision making.

EDIT: I say this as someone who has fond memories of MS from many years ago,
became an antiMS bigot for a bit, and now just would like to see them succeed.
Not as a huge fanboy so much, but as someone who likes to see a marketplace of
good options/ideas. MS has often botched good tech seemingly because of
internal politics, and that's sad to see.

~~~
mbrubeck
You don't need to wait a few months to get "real" x86 Windows 8 tablets. Acer,
Asus, Dell, HP, Lenovo, Samsung, Sony, and Toshiba are all releasing x86
Windows 8 tablets and/or convertibles this week.

So you'll need to wait if you specifically want the Microsoft Surface Pro, but
you'll have other choices starting on Friday. In fact there will be more x86
devices than ARM devices shipping with Windows 8 this week.

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FreshCode
It feels like this linkbait title was upvoted by haters without reading the
article. Complete FUD before Windows 8 has even officially launched.

~~~
flatline
Remember the Windows 7 launch party? Their marketing department has some
issues if nothing else, and I think that's most of what the complaints
ultimately focus on. They seem to have thoroughly blurred the lines between
the tablet OS and Windows 8 leading up to launch, possibly just through
incompetence in their presentation.

~~~
Sumaso
As long as the guy at best buy can explain the difference between Windows 8
and Windows 8 RT, it doesn't matter.

The uninformed consumer will go to others for guidance. As long as the CSR's
are informed there won't be a problem.

~~~
tomrod
It will matter. As the unofficial family tech guy, I promise you, it will end
up mattering to the uninformed person who thinks they know something.

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andrewla
I agree with the statement about confusion here, though of course only the
future will tell how successful it is. Of particular note to me is that on
Amazon, you can now preorder Windows 8 [1]. The options are "Windows 8 Pro",
"System Builder 32/64-bit", "System Builder Professional 32/64-bit", and
"Windows 8 Pro Pack". So is Pro 32-bit or 64-bit? The "Pro Pack" says it
upgrades from "Windows 8" to "Windows 8 Pro" -- where is "Windows 8"
available?

Thinking that this was just because Amazon hadn't yet gotten the full list of
items, I went to the windows site [2], expecting to find the usual matrix of
options and features, but found nothing -- just a link to a blog post that
talks about pricing scheduling for updates for Windows 8 Pro, with no
indication of what the "Pro" means or what the alternatives are.

So, yes, confusing.

[1] <http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html/?docId=1000843871>

[2] <http://windows.microsoft.com>

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corporalagumbo
Pfft. This is humbug. He's just conflated the NYT article and his view on
Visual Studio. Watch the W8 ads; they're all pretty great.

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san86
When apple does something new it's a "breakthrough" and "innovation". When
Microsoft does it's "confusing". Surely the launch(es) are more complicated
than most MS launches, but that is because this a bold _complex_ move. It's a
humongous achievement if MS can make it big in the mobile world.

