

Big backlash is building against Windows 8. Will Microsoft listen? - ale55andro
http://blogs.computerworld.com/19890/a_big_backlash_is_building_against_windows_8_will_microsoft_listen

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ImprovedSilence
Pre rant disclaimer: I have yet to use windows 8, and I rather enjoy Unix
based OS's.

But lets be honest with a few things, this sentence irks me: "In hindsight, I
suppose that Microsoft's quest to combine a desktop and mobile OS into one was
damn near impossible to begin with." And there seems to be so much backlash
against attempting to do so.

I'm pretty sure this is the direction all OS's we will be using are going to
end up in the coming years. Some people will cry and yell and holler that
there is no way something can be made for both keyboard, mouse, and touch
screen. I see this as simply a failure of vision. That's absolutely the way
things are going to be going, and it's coming sooner rather than later. (I
actually think the OSX launchpad is pretty close to allowing this
implementation) Devices are getting smaller and smaller. I use a Mackbook air.
but guess how it gets hooked up at home? That's right, wireless keyboard and
mouse, nice big monitor, I never see the actual computer. It's only a matter
of time before my laptop gets replaced by a tablet that has comparable
hardware specs. The OS allow for my normal desktop interfaces, along with a
nice touch screen interface. I'll use it to pick out movies to play on my TV,
from my couch. I"ll use the same device to write code at my desk. My kids will
use it to play video games, both mobile, and on the TV. I'll use it to send
email in the backseat of a car moving at 65mph. (As a wireless comms guy, I
fully appreciate the technology it takes to perform that last action.)

But the bottom line is, It's going to happen. Sooner rather than later. And
Windows, and every other OS, is going to try their damndest to build the
first, and/or best implementation of this model. Windows my not have it sorted
out yet (like I said, I haven't used it yet) but they HAVE HAVE HAVE to try.
I'm sure they'll produce something useable eventually. Everyone has their
Vista moments...

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brudgers
The purpose of the consumer preview is to collect data. It's not primarily a
marketing tool.

If the biggest complaint one can muster is that a new OS is unfamiliar (which
is the vast bulk of non-ideological criticisms), it's hard to envision a
meaningful backlash among users.

As every blogger notes, Microsoft is not Apple. People will not be camped in
line at midnight to purchase copies of Windows 8. Microsoft does soft rollouts
of its OS - the fact that there is a consumer preview is obvious evidence of
that.

Most Windows users upgrade their OS when a new computer is purchased, not upon
the OS's release. The few who will upgrade their OS as soon as it becomes
available probably have availed their selves of the beta or RTM versions and
thus have had time to become familiar with it.

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tmcw
As much as I want to support the backlash, it sounds just conservative and
reactionary. The start bar is gone? Really it seems like Microsoft has grown a
contingent of users who are even more conservative than itself.

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brudgers
It's a contingent of Tech bloggers - a group known more widely for their
criticism of Microsoft than their praise.

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spobo
I fear that developers will flock to developing Metro apps in the future
instead of regular windows apps. And thus forcing desktop users to use the
crappy metro experience and crippling the desktop experience even further.

They need to do something progressive but a touchscreen OS for the desktop is
_not_ it imo. I'm sure though that it'll be a blast on a tablet.

If they can manage to explain it well to new users and to have 2 different app
ecosystems it might just work. If either fails I don't see it ending well.

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breckinloggins
Cue the 30-page MSDN blog post explaining with charts and graphs that "no,
seriously, our focus groups think this is the best user experience ever!"

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domador
What I'd really like is Windows 7.1, not Windows 8. However, I doubt that
Microsoft will ever come around and embrace incremental upgrades (or switch to
a subscription model, or subscription-level pricing that would fund such a
form of development).

~~~
brudgers
> _"What I'd really like is Windows 7.1, not Windows 8."_

100 years later, a faster horse.

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huggyface
As a loud critic of Windows 8, one aspect of the counter-argument that bothers
me is the argument that we're simply unwilling to accept change, sticking to
what we know, etc.

I adapt to and accommodate change willingly and eagerly _where it benefits
me_. The problem with the change in Windows 8 is that it provides a
significant negative change for desktop users. It forces a seriously crippled
experience all so Microsoft can try to funnel desktop users to their mobile
experience.

~~~
bsphil
I'd be very willing to delve into the OS more if there was more readily
available help to transition people from the Windows interface we know to the
new Metro style. Right now it's mainly an OS only for people who already know
how to use it, but that includes virtually nobody outside of Microsoft.

