

Microsoft's Windows 8 Has Failed, Now What? - sindhiparsani
http://beta.fool.com/joekurtz/2013/04/06/microsofts-windows-8-has-failed-now-what/29367/

======
edtechdev
They made some poor decisions in the user interface this time that make things
more difficult or impossible for average users. Hidden menus, hidden
options... I know they can't copy iphone/android's user interface elements
because of patents, though. Plus everything is so slow - launching apps,
loading web pages, etc. Things that hinder both average and power users
include having two desktops, two control panels, two versions of most apps
(the metro one usually being very crippled), and having no start button in the
windows 7-like desktop anymore. Add onto all that the lack of apps, the un-
user-friendly behavior, like shutting down without asking, including while I
was trying to record a meeting in onenote - the expensive desktop version, not
the free metro version, which doesn't include the ability to add audio
anymore. Luckily I was also recording it on my android phone - had no problem,
shared the audio file to dropbox and emailed the link to others. Can't do any
of that in Windows 8, at least no where near as easily anymore.

~~~
calciphus
I agree there are UI changes, though after a few weeks they made perfect sense
to me. Converting the start menu to a full-screen experience throws people off
at first, sure. It's not obvious that you can tap the "windows" key on your
keyboard and just start typing to find anything (programs, files, control
panel, etc).

------
spo81rty
I like Windows 8 and love my Surface RT. But the OS does need some work. They
need to make all the OS settings work in Metro mode. Right now I have to open
IE on the desktop to change certain browser settings like my search engine.
That is silly. I bet with Windows 8.1/Blue they will correct a lot the issues.
Windows 8 RT is a much better UI and OS than iOS. They are on the right track.

I also got a Windows Phone 8 (Lumina 920) and I like it and the UI and OS is
more modern than my old iPhone. But all the apps are rough. I mostly use
Facebook, Twitter, Maps apps. That's it. They are all sort of buggy compared
to their iOS counterparts. Again they are on the right track but the lack of
users is leading to subpar apps by developers, which leads to fewer users....
And me missing my iPhone some days.

I don't think Windows 8 has failed as it shows so many great things for their
direction. Perhaps it was more of a Vista release that just needs a follow up
to perfect. Lets hope Windows 8.1 does it.

------
orionblastar
Don't worry Windows 8.1 aka Windows Blue will be out, for an additional fee to
address issues with Windows 8.

Well actually no, it is basically a service pack to Windows 8 that is sold as
a brand new version of Windows, but doesn't actually address any of the
issues, but will make Microsoft richer anyway. Sort of like how Windows 7 was
a service pack to Windows Vista. The only reason why Windows 7 was better than
Windows Vista despite being the same damn thing, is they made better drivers
for it from third parties and updated the apps to work with Vista/7 after they
failed to work by releasing a new Visual Studio to upgrade to the new API
calls and new Dotnet. I predict a Windows 8.1, and then a Visual Studio 2014
as well as a new Windows 2014 Server, SQL Server, Exchange Server,
Outhouse/Outlook and MS-Office 2015, Sharepoint Server, Microsoft
Deepthroating EUFI blackmail to run a non-MS OS on a brand new PC like Linux,
FreeDOS, BSD Unix, Haiku, AROS, etc, and of course more FUD from Microsoft on
the alternatives having a 'gasp' virus as to why they won't install unless you
turn off that feature.

~~~
ayi
windows blue is a regular update which you can install from Windows Update
without any cost.

------
Toshio
Well, I for one don't think windows eight was designed to succeed in the
marketplace, it was really designed - via UEFI SecureBoot - to throw a monkey
wrench into the widespread adoption of GNU/Linux by the average consumer.
That's why you won't really see ballmer weep at the poor sales numbers. The
fact that microsoft was able to pull that off without a massive anti-trust
probe by either US or EU regulators is, I think, being regarded as a quiet
success of windows eight during water cooler conversations in Redmond.

~~~
taylodl
They're not out of the woods yet in the EU:
[http://www.techspot.com/news/52067-microsoft-under-fire-
in-e...](http://www.techspot.com/news/52067-microsoft-under-fire-in-europe-
over-windows-8-uefi-secure-boot.html)

