Windows 8 Sales Below Projections 663
harrymcc writes "With early reports on Windows 8 sales indicating that the new operating system is off to a slow start, it's worth pondering what Microsoft could have done differently. Over at TIME.com, I considered several different scenarios, ranging from one in which it released a much more conventional Windows upgrade to one which would have been much like like the Windows 8 we got — except with the ability to boot directly into the desktop, complete with Start button."
Re:Idea (Score:4, Informative)
How about a Windows 8, Developer Edition? A version that doesn't have Metro, just the basic start menu and trimmed-down version of their operating system specifically designed for software developers and gamers who want power and efficiency, not pretty sliding menus. I would rather my computer's RAM be occupied by the far-odd blocks on Minecraft than a smooth windows frame for some gidget that I never wanted, nor will I ever use.
We'll just have to wait for eXperience to release TinyWin8. His TinyXP, rev.09 still rocks
Re:It wasn't time (Score:5, Informative)
Re:It wasn't time (Score:4, Informative)
Re:It wasn't time (Score:5, Informative)
We didn't need another OS. Windows 7 was still alive and well
"We" don't. Microsoft does. Microsoft sales, does, at least. And inside MS, sales is the only thing that matters. Trust me on this.
MS recognizes its big dollars on Enterprise License Agreements, (EA). These have many recurring, subscription-like components that contribute discount for customers, that MS likes to describe as the "total EA value".
A principal incentive in the EA is "Desktop Assurance". That's a sub, where you buy a future-proof, free upgrade to your desktop license count. The rub is this: if there's no significant upgrade to the desktop over several years of window? There's no value in buying desktop assurance! It is cheaper to let DA expire and go 3-4 years, then acquire new licenses when a desktop is actually released.
This sucks a BIG annually-realised amount out of enterprise accounts, so MS needs a principal release, before 3 years are up. They shovel all kinds of shelfware/perkware from their incubation BU to keep year-to-year value for IT. This was the route for Forefront AV, etc.
Then? There's the sync of engineering efforts with Server. Win Server needs to fight for its scrappy share against ESXi and against appliance-like Linux application hosts. So they are pushing a release cycle that was tied back to the desktop with Vista.
Add to this, the OEM revenue that happens when they mint a new version number, and Microsoft really NEEDS a new desktop Windows at a frequency which will drive their uses to Macintosh. ;-)
Re:microsoft looks to have fired to architect of w (Score:5, Informative)
Useability expert jacob Nielson trashed its useability. [cnet.com] It sounde like MS doesn't do any testing at all. One thing in the linked article that made me sit up: W8 isn't Windows except in name, it's Window.
Only Microsoft calls removing features an upgrade... no, wait, Sony has done that, too.
Re:GOOD!!!! :) (Score:3, Informative)
Re:It wasn't time (Score:2, Informative)
Demo: http://www.intowindows.com/how-to-search-windows-8-store/ [intowindows.com]
Re:microsoft looks to have fired to architect of w (Score:5, Informative)
Only Microsoft calls removing features an upgrade... no, wait, Sony has done that, too.
So did the Gnome 3 people.
Re:It wasn't time (Score:5, Informative)
I upgraded to Windows 8 ($40 for Pro, I needed an OS reinstall anyway... worth trying it, worst case is I put 7 back on). It took two weeks to get Chrome to run. It still bluescreens at random intervals, sometimes several times a day (event log is no help in explaining why). I miss having XP mode (although Client Hyper-V is one of its best features so far). So in the end, I'm sticking with Windows 8 but I'm not going to be recommending it to anyone any time soon other than for tablet use and maybe netbooks.
The biggest design fuck-up in my opinion is that they expanded multi-monitor support, but the Win8 UI is absolutely horrible with multi-tasking (the main purpose of multi-monitor for most people). You can't have Win8 apps on more than one monitor, can't float them in their own little windows, can't launch another one without interfering with the current one. I do like some of the apps, but because I can only use one at a time, and I have to hide it to pull up the Start menu, makes them unusable.
In the end, I had to add a third-party Start menu replacement that's similar to Win7's and give up on using apps altogether. The stability is somewhat expected of a new OS but still disappointing.
Not to say Windows 8 doesn't have some nice features - Client Hyper-V being my favorite - but even that has issues. For one, you can't run the Netflix app if you have Hyper-V installed (this may have been fixed since I last tried). Also, you can't import an XP Mode VM into Hyper-V... although you reportedly can import XP Mode into VMWare or Virtual Box without too much of a problem.
Overall, I can only recommend Windows 8 to people who do no multitasking whatsoever and don't run much more than a browser and email. Congratulations, Microsoft, you've developed the first mainstream OS catering exclusively to elderly grandmothers.
Re:microsoft looks to have fired to architect of w (Score:5, Informative)
I think they're referring to the UI formerly called Metro. You can put two apps side-by-side, but most apps don't work well like that and it's a huge pain in the ass to work with more than one app at a time. If you use a desktop, it's more of a traditional feel and I routinely use a dozen apps at a time like that... just no Metro apps.
Long Time Linux User With Windows 8 (Score:4, Informative)
As a Linux user for more than a decade, I was forced to purchase a Windows machine for work. That being said, I sort of like the computer after making a few minor modifications:
#1 Adding a registry key so Windows would use the Blue-Ray that otherwise showed up perfectly in the Device Manager.
#2 Installation of Classic Shell to get a working menu. http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/
#3 Killing the touch screen menu that is unable to sort programs by name.
#4 Removal of all of the useless apps that are just links to Bing.
#5 Removal of about 1000 registry entries tied to Bing.
#6 Moving Windows Defender to CPU core 7 so my programs wouldn't intermittantly freeze.
#7 Disabling useless services like BITS, PnP, & DCOM and only re-enabling them for Windows Updates.
#8 Downloading every codec and plugin that I need.
#9 Installation of a second Linux HDD which can be used on the infrequent occasions that I disable UEFI in the BIOS.
Granted, my TV tuner does not work with Windows, nor does my HD Homerun (but I can hear the audio), nor WebEx recordings for work. But other than that, the clock constantly resetting, lack of Media Player, Flash crashing on restore to original size, and having to roll back to a restore point a few times (in the past month) everything has been smooth sailing. I just don't see why people hate on this OS.
Re:It wasn't time (Score:5, Informative)
Downgrade to Windows 7.
I believe your pro license has downgrades rights. Go download it from digitalriver and use your OEM key. Your BSOD will go away and you can have your XP mode back and be back in WIndows 7 paradise again and be supported for 10 years. I believe WIndows 8 like vista might only get 6 years of support.
Windows 7 is well tested, is an industry standard, it is what your apps are designed to use, and works fine so why change?
Re:It wasn't time (Score:1, Informative)
I like women.
Re:It wasn't time (Score:3, Informative)
Re:It wasn't time (Score:4, Informative)
As for Media Center, this might interest you: http://www.theverge.com/2012/10/25/3553686/microsoft-free-media-center-upgrade-for-windows-8-pro-users [theverge.com]
Re:microsoft looks to have fired to architect of w (Score:5, Informative)
FYI, Jacob Nielsen is the #1 name in usability, and has been that for decades now. Most of the improvements that you see in apple products for example are based on implementing his teachings.
Nielsen is also author of most of the reading that any decent university course on usability will give you.