...iOS is the first platform where I've ever seen my mother seem in control and empowered by her computing experience.
Absolutely. I experienced that with my father and wife. Ubuntu and iOS empowered them to not be afraid to try something new with the computer/device. When people are not afraid of "breaking windows" a wonderful thing happens: they use the device as a tool of empowerment rather than a tool to get some task done.
After five years those interaction models and expectations are seared in to a large number of people and it is going to take an absolutely incredible product to make her move to another platform.
That is why I said that Microsoft keeps iterating better products. I'm sure hey are about to hit it big. What will make people like your mother or my wife change back to Windows is the integration with the other Microsoft products. The majority of professions (my wife is a teacher) are tied down to MS. Giving them a phone that will integrate with that will just make the others look like Linux looks o someone who has always worked with Windows: foreign.
I do not see Windows-ish or Microsoft-esque software to be an asset in the mobile field for the great bulk of consumers. It is not a desirable experience, just a now-familiar one.
The bulk of consumers would pick something familiar over something new (or even better). They know Microsoft through Windows. They will pick Windows if given a trendy and functional phone that will inegrate wih their life (and not the other way around).
But it still be Windows. People will just sit down and learn it. Unlike my experience installing Ubuntu, where people feel foreign to the UI because it is not windows. Even though it is easier to use (My experiences cover Ubuntu/gnome).
Absolutely. I experienced that with my father and wife. Ubuntu and iOS empowered them to not be afraid to try something new with the computer/device. When people are not afraid of "breaking windows" a wonderful thing happens: they use the device as a tool of empowerment rather than a tool to get some task done.
After five years those interaction models and expectations are seared in to a large number of people and it is going to take an absolutely incredible product to make her move to another platform.
That is why I said that Microsoft keeps iterating better products. I'm sure hey are about to hit it big. What will make people like your mother or my wife change back to Windows is the integration with the other Microsoft products. The majority of professions (my wife is a teacher) are tied down to MS. Giving them a phone that will integrate with that will just make the others look like Linux looks o someone who has always worked with Windows: foreign.
I do not see Windows-ish or Microsoft-esque software to be an asset in the mobile field for the great bulk of consumers. It is not a desirable experience, just a now-familiar one.
The bulk of consumers would pick something familiar over something new (or even better). They know Microsoft through Windows. They will pick Windows if given a trendy and functional phone that will inegrate wih their life (and not the other way around).