Microsoft Prepares Rethink On Windows 8 536
jones_supa writes "Microsoft has confirmed to be preparing to reverse course over elements of Windows 8. 'Key aspects' of how the software is used will be changed when Microsoft releases an updated version of the operating system this year, Tami Reller, head of marketing and finance for the Windows business, said in an interview with the Financial Times. Referring to difficulties many users have had with mastering the software, she added: 'The learning curve is definitely real.'"
While this decision is generally being framed as a frantic backtrack for Microsoft, it comes as the company has recently passed 100 million Windows 8 licenses sold. Clearly they see this as more of a course adjustment than bailing water from a sinking ship. Microsoft also plans to preview the update called 'Windows Blue' in June.
Lies and statistics (Score:5, Informative)
They may have sold 100M licenses to manufacturers, but adoption is still under 4%: http://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10&qpcustomd=0 [netmarketshare.com]
Re:The betting pool is now open... (Score:5, Informative)
What's in Windows Blue (6.3) at the moment:
- There is an option to log in straight to desktop, skipping the (Metro) Start screen.
- There is a start button (using the new Windows logo, reminiscent of an earlier alpha build of Windows 8): but it takes you to the Metro start screen when clicked.
- The start menu is still gone.
Oh, and they're planning to charge for this "upgrade". What the fuck? They should give it away given how disastrously Windows 8 has been received...
Couple of points... (Score:5, Informative)
1. As much as they need to re-think the whole Metro implementation for users without touchscreen hardware, from what I've read they are *NOT* bringing back the old desktop Start Menu, they are simply putting an icon in the familiar place to get to Metro. Metro is still the place where you will launch programs/apps from... and I will continue to bypass it altogether with Classic Shell on my desktop PC. I don't need a complete context change just to open a command prompt, control panel or start programs. Perhaps surprising to MS, I prefer to do my computing at a desk with a 24" non-touchscreen monitor, and I will not be replacing it anytime soon just so that I can bend forward and reach across the keyboard to smudge a hidden menu with my index finger.
2. As we all know, the 100 million licenses sold BS is just that. MS is conflating OEM licenses shipped with actual users actively purchasing and/or using Windows 8 software. They can pull this off because Windows is the de facto shipping OS on virtually all PC hardware. It is obviously to their advantage to maintain this sleight of hand, so don't expect them to get honest any time soon.
Re:Just like New Coke (Score:3, Informative)
Old coke didn't come back. They created a third product called "Coke Classic" that was not in any way the same thing as "old coke," since Coke Classic is sweetened with High-Fructose Corn Syrup, whereas "old code" was sweetened with natural cane sugar.
Re:The betting pool is now open... (Score:5, Informative)
Re:good (Score:5, Informative)
The thing was that the start menu really was nearly entirely obsolete. None of its features really made sense.
To a uber-geek - perhaps. But not to a common man. Start button replacements are, reportedly, the most popular download for Win8. Otherwise Win8 is not discoverable.
Want to actually search for something? The start screen makes more sense then the smallish non-resizable start menu window.
Unless you are searching for something that you see in another window. Do you want to memorize "StatusReport-836421-FromBill_Rev3a.docx" ? It's a valid runnable object.
Want to get to the control panel, logoff, etc? The charms bar was perfectly fine (if nonobvious).
A nonobvious thing is also nonexistent. It doesn't matter how well it works if non-geeks cannot find it.
And has a hotkey of its own (again non-obvious)
It does? News to me. Which one? How would I know that, outside of reading Slashdot?
The actual hierarchical start menu? Worthless legacy cruft that has been more or less replaced by search anyway.
Q: What do you type to find uTorrent?
A: You type "torrent."
Q: How would *anyone* know that?
A: By trial and error.
Myself, I use more than one computer, and I do not always know what is or isn't installed on any of them. I cannot search because I don't even remember all the names. Was it "diff", WinDiff, KDiff, or something else? Ah, UltraDiff - but no, it doesn't do what I thought it does! Why don't I make a custom menu where I'd keep all the necessary tools that I need, and call it something like "Start" ?
All that was left was the smart recent applications/recent documents stuff which was almost covered by pinning apps to the taskbar.
I disable all that stuff. It makes no sense to me. I may use one set of applications on one day, and another set on another day. What recent activity has to do with the need for a specific workflow? I disable automatic pinning, and instead pin there what I want pinned, and they stay there. Side effects are bad for usability; a context-dependent ribbon also suffers from that - it is not predictable, it has to be understood all anew whenever it shows up.
And make shutdown a direct option so you don't have to logout first, but that can be on the charms bar...
It's already there. But I can't test because I have ClassicShell disable the charms bar. I haven't needed it so far.
Then make hotcorners entirely optional in desktop mode.
Done that already using ClassicShell (also see above.)
Windows 8 (Score:3, Informative)
When I first turned on my new PC loaded with Windows 8, I was flabergasted by the Metro screen. I did not know what the hell to do, but after painstaking searches on Google I was able to cobble together a desktop system that meets my needs. Now I never even see the Metro screen except by accident.
All I can say is that this is the worst customer service fiasco by a major corporation in history, and is even more ridiculous since they planned and conspired to strong-arm their customers into some glitzy crap mode of computing which does not fit with efficient productivity work. As an example of the loonyness expressed by the creators, on the Power button 'Hibernate' is not one of the default choices. You have to dig into the system to find it. What a load of holy bullshit!
Re:The betting pool is now open... (Score:4, Informative)
Failure by what metric? Apple is one of the most profitable companies in the world, Mac sales growth is oustripping Windows/PC in percentage terms and have been for about 5+ years now.
Not everybody drives a Ferrari, yet they aren't failing either. Apple don't have to outsell the PC to "succeed".
Re:The betting pool is now open... (Score:5, Informative)
Hopefully they'll have a 'boot to desktop' option
Windows 8 already has one, it's just that nobody seems to know about it. All you do is move the desktop card to the top left hand side of Metro. Whichever card is in that position will be launched after booting.