Microsoft Says You’re Getting Used to Windows 8

Microsoft Has Been Watching, and It Says You’re Getting Used to Windows 8

Despite some of the more scathing reviews of Windows 8, ordinary users are getting along with it just fine, according to Julie Larson-Green, the Microsoft executive who leads Windows product development. Data collected automatically from some Windows users, she says, show they are adjusting to some of the new operating system’s controversial features without problems.

“So far we’re seeing very encouraging things,” Larson-Green says of the large volume of data that Microsoft receives every day from people using Windows 8 who have chosen to join the company’s “customer experience improvement program.” All users are invited to enroll in that program when they first log into the new operating system. If they do so, anonymized information about how they are using the operating system is sent to Microsoft. Referring to complaints from some quarters, Larson-Green says: “Even with the rumblings, we feel confident that it’s a moment in time more than an actual problem.”

Source

A Guy

 

[crawfish]

MS did claim 40m had been sold.

What does it mean?

Does it mean 40m people have bought, installed and are using - or does it mean those are sales to wholesalers - who will try and shift them over the next two or three months - or does it mean something else entirely.

Seems strange there are claims it is outselling win7.

I don't know a single person who has bought a copy ( apart from me ).

I also don't know a single person who has bought a win 8 device.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/24/t...crosofts-windows-8-point-to-shaky-market.html

The clearest evidence of Windows 8’s disappointing introduction comes from the research firm NPD, which estimates that sales of Windows machines have actually dropped from a year ago.
According to NPD, stores in the United States sold 13 percent fewer Windows devices from late October, when Windows 8 made its debut, through the first week in December, than in the same period last year.

I am surprised. While I've maintained as long as I've been here that Windows 8 would be failure, I thought there would be at least some initial sales before it died. Apparently, it's stillborn.

The company says it sold 40 million copies of Windows 8 during its first month on the market, a figure that includes upgrade discs sold to consumers and copies installed on new machines by PC makers.

I don't think that 40M is anything close to real. I think there's likely a boatload of Windows 8 licenses that were counted loaded on machines that haven't sold. The rest of it would be the initial sales I was expecting, and I expect it is a spike more than a slow start.

 

[SIW2]

Yes, after an ad campaign costing in excess of $2bn allegedly, and the fact this is the peak buying season - it could hardly be much worse.

When MS say people are getting used to win8 - maybe they mean people are getting used to leaving it on the shelf.

Not surprising - Xmas is a bad time for Turkeys.

 

[Mustang]

Yes, after an ad campaign costing in excess of $2bn allegedly, and the fact this is the peak buying season - it could hardly be much worse.

When MS say people are getting used to win8 - maybe they mean people are getting used to leaving it on the shelf.

Not surprising - Xmas is a bad time for Turkeys.

Haven't posted for awhile, as this forum seems more like a W8 M$ promotional blog by the "faithful" and is repetitive and boring.
However couldn't let your post go by without a couple of well earned roflmaos

 

[Joan Archer]

OK so I'm one of your bog standard users, I have nothing against the OS and use both 7 and 8. My desktop runs 7 and I bought a Laptop which came with 8 and I'm using that more than the desktop and have no problems with it.

I don't have 3rd party apps installed so I can have a Start button I haven't missed it, I have it set so I'm logged in automatically and have my most used programs pinned to the Start Screen so I can just click one and I'm away using it, that goes for my forums as well, although not all of them. I've changed the screens to my colours and have the desktop showing the Bing page of the day, although I was using a theme before and may go back to using one in the future.

I don't have everything transferred over to 8 yet but do have it joined to my network so it's part of the family and I can check on stuff on the other computers in the house.

The only thing I have changed is attaching a mouse to the Laptop, I got on with the touchpad OK but for me it's much quicker and easier with a mouse, I found a spare one among my spare parts yesterday and plugged that in.

I like it, OK there are still things that can confuse me, alright that doesn't take much to do, but all in all I like the OS and as it's new would rather learn to use it as a new OS rather than try to make look and work like an old one.

 

[Rickkins]

"Microsoft says......." ....I stopped reading right after that....

 

[Mustang]

"Microsoft says......." ....I stopped reading right after that....

They just keep coming ... and coming!

 

[Brianbscc]

Of course that's what MS says. Newsflash, "My laptop is not a cellphone!" Can't believe Microsoft created such a user-unfriendly OS and is still WAAAAAYYYYY behind Apple in the idea department. Whoever dreamed up the "App" experiment should actually talk to people sometimes because they seem to be living in a cave with only an iPhone to keep them company.

 

[Coke Robot]

You know what is really sad? apple seems to be copying/integrating the clean modern metro design into itunes 11. Just saw it in the flesh, I was livid.

Even more disturbing, google is doing a similar thing.

Even more interesting is how that people that don't like or believe in Windows 8 REFUSE to believe anything good about it.

 

[Hopachi]

You know what is really sad? apple seems to be copying/integrating the clean modern metro design into itunes 11. Just saw it in the flesh, I was livid.

Even more disturbing, google is doing a similar thing.

Even more interesting is how that people that don't like or believe in Windows 8 REFUSE to believe anything good about it.

So it must be a good interface for tablets and maybe that's why they all apply it.
But people seem to be upset about forcing it into the desktop as well.

 

[Coke Robot]

You know what is really sad? apple seems to be copying/integrating the clean modern metro design into itunes 11. Just saw it in the flesh, I was livid.

Even more disturbing, google is doing a similar thing.

Even more interesting is how that people that don't like or believe in Windows 8 REFUSE to believe anything good about it.

So it must be a good interface for tablets and maybe that's why they all apply it.
But people seem to be upset about forcing it into the desktop as well.

No, this is itunes 11 on the desktop for Windows and mac os. I imagine it looks like a sore thumb on mac os as it doesn't match the overall UI design of it.

google did the same thing with YouTube in how it poorly scaled on large desktop monitors and nicely on tablets. What OS can render the desktop version of YouTube correctly without issue? Windows 8. That, along with a tablet PC makes the redesign work. I haven't checked if they fixed that though.

But it's not just itunes on the desktop, it's also the crap designed ipod app on ios, messaging, and appstore and itunes. It seems apple must be comprehending the metro design as white and black, when it's not. Even my friend commented on that, she's not concerned with technology at all! The huge and most significant ingredient apple doesn't understand is digital motion of the UI. google on the other hand kind of gets it.

Fiends.

 

[Hopachi]

You know what is really sad? apple seems to be copying/integrating the clean modern metro design into itunes 11. Just saw it in the flesh, I was livid.

Even more disturbing, google is doing a similar thing.

Even more interesting is how that people that don't like or believe in Windows 8 REFUSE to believe anything good about it.

So it must be a good interface for tablets and maybe that's why they all apply it.
But people seem to be upset about forcing it into the desktop as well.

No, this is itunes 11 on the desktop for Windows and mac os. I imagine it looks like a sore thumb on mac os as it doesn't match the overall UI design of it.

google did the same thing with YouTube in how it poorly scaled on large desktop monitors and nicely on tablets. What OS can render the desktop version of YouTube correctly without issue? Windows 8. That, along with a tablet PC makes the redesign work. I haven't checked if they fixed that though.

But it's not just itunes on the desktop, it's also the crap designed ipod app on ios, messaging, and appstore and itunes. It seems apple must be comprehending the metro design as white and black, when it's not. Even my friend commented on that, she's not concerned with technology at all! The huge and most significant ingredient apple doesn't understand is digital motion of the UI. google on the other hand kind of gets it.

Fiends.

Gray or black and white only is crap. Sorry,no offense... but I wonder: why do our monitors have to be 32bit color if you only use just a few for the interface. Metro's got some color but also got rid of Vista/7 gradients... BUT they removed 16bit resolutions and only allow 32 ones. A lot of awkward changes occurred the last years.

 

[Coke Robot]

So it must be a good interface for tablets and maybe that's why they all apply it.
But people seem to be upset about forcing it into the desktop as well.

No, this is itunes 11 on the desktop for Windows and mac os. I imagine it looks like a sore thumb on mac os as it doesn't match the overall UI design of it.

google did the same thing with YouTube in how it poorly scaled on large desktop monitors and nicely on tablets. What OS can render the desktop version of YouTube correctly without issue? Windows 8. That, along with a tablet PC makes the redesign work. I haven't checked if they fixed that though.

But it's not just itunes on the desktop, it's also the crap designed ipod app on ios, messaging, and appstore and itunes. It seems apple must be comprehending the metro design as white and black, when it's not. Even my friend commented on that, she's not concerned with technology at all! The huge and most significant ingredient apple doesn't understand is digital motion of the UI. google on the other hand kind of gets it.

Fiends.

Gray or black and white only is crap. Sorry,no offense... but I wonder: why do our monitors have to be 32bit color if you only use just a few for the interface. Metro's got some color but also got rid of Vista/7 gradients... BUT they removed 16bit resolutions and only allow 32 ones. A lot of awkward changes occurred the last years.

That's a question to be asked for apple. What makes them think that black, white, grey and blue are fantastically great colors is beyond me.

The metro design is revolved around the use of color on either a dark or light or rich background. Overall though, Windows 8 compared to macs is comparing a box of crayons versus a box of grey crayons. LOADS more color, lots of digital motion (no wobbly windows) and lots of clean and fairly consistent design. Even with ios, there mixed elements of old design and new design that makes things inconsistent where Windows Phone and even android is more consistent.

Speaking of such and on a real unrelated note, the Windows Blue update may actually further refine the Desktop, probably will chuck out the Areo iconography. Too gross.

 

[Hopachi]

The metro design is revolved around the use of color on either a dark or light or rich background. Overall though, Windows 8 compared to macs is comparing a box of crayons versus a box of grey crayons.

Agree. Color says it all. :thumb: Why not use it if monitor supports it!

Speaking of such and on a real unrelated note, the Windows Blue update may actually further refine the Desktop, probably will chuck out the Areo iconography. Too gross.

Let's hope so.

 

[Fredledingue]

“So far we’re seeing very encouraging things,” Larson-Green says of the large volume of data that Microsoft receives every day from people using Windows 8 who have chosen to join the company’s “customer experience improvement program.”

If that's the same stat collection which told them that they can get rid of the Start Menu, then they can keep this comment for themselves.

---

Anyway what Microsoft is saying is irrelevant. They don't want to read the opinion of the poeple, so they shouldn't expect us to read theirs.

---

You know what is really sad? apple seems to be copying/integrating the clean modern metro design into itunes 11. Just saw it in the flesh, I was livid. Even more disturbing, google is doing a similar thing. Even more interesting is how that people that don't like or believe in Windows 8 REFUSE to believe anything good about it.

You know what? I think that this new W8 style is not a question of more readability, cleanliness or even taste. It's a fashion.

---

It's a fashion launched by Microsoft and because they make incredible advertising campain about it and because you see it everywhere, this fashion is there and other companies have to follow suit.

---

IMO I still feel it's ugly, no matter what the industry decided what the fashion will be.

 

[SIW2]

I am not sure anybody is copying from w8.

Why would anyone in their right mind copy from a product that is doing so badly ( atm at least )?

Cokie, I don't suppose you realise the feeling at Apple has been their ui is a bit fussy for a long while - at least since Mike Mace was doing platform marketing there.

I expect they hadn't done anything about previously as there was so much else to concentrate on with new launches.

Now they are in a period of product life extension, they can start doing those things.

More important now, in fact.

 

[mart4494]

---

It's a fashion launched by Microsoft and because they make incredible advertising campain about it and because you see it everywhere, this fashion is there and other companies have to follow suit.

---

IMO I still feel it's ugly, no matter what the industry decided what the fashion will be.

My daughter goes one further and believes anything sold by the fruit company is a lifestyle choice (plus of course a fashion accessory) - forget whether it's any better than their last product and does what it's needed for. Must have the latest (not necessarily the best). LOL

Now I hope MS are not going to fall into that category.

 

[hdmi]

Both my new laptop and my dad's new desktop came with Windows 8 preinstalled. Neither I nor my dad are using the Start screen, ever. I haven't even bothered looking for apps that might appeal to me. I avoid touchscreens like the plague because display quality versus cost matters to me, I hate fatty fingerprints on my screen, and the mouse is over a dozen times more accurate, as well as more ergonomically relaxing. I don't use the touchpad of my laptop unless I am forced to, for similar reasons.
Anything that doesn't require going fullscreen shouldn't go fullscreen, hence I am using the Classic Start Menu of Classic Shell. Media Center and Windows Media Player is just bloatware compared to Media Player Classic HomeCinema (using LAV Splitter and madVR renderer) and foobar2000. So, basically, I got used to Windows 8 virtually the same way I got used to all other Windows versions, namely by either skipping them entirely or by fixing them. Fixing them, McGyver-style.

 

[mcnulty]

Windows 8 Falls Behind Even the Maligned Vista

Windows 8 Falls Behind Even the Maligned Vista - Legit Reviews

 

[Fredledingue]

My daughter goes one further and believes anything sold by the fruit company is a lifestyle choice (plus of course a fashion accessory) - forget whether it's any better than their last product and does what it's needed for. Must have the latest (not necessarily the best). LOL

Exactely! Most of the youth function like that. They think you'r an old fart if you don't have the last stuff. They think you are a bum if you don't have a fruit logo on the lad. (Part of the reason why MS is not even denting the tablet market.) Windows PC is symbol of the cheap choice, of the one who can't afford or of the nerd who don't want to be cool even when we told him so.

---

Yet, they will think W8's Metro is more cool than old fashioned Vista-looking 7. At least they reckon that Windows is coming up with something that is visualy new and worth including in fashion trends.

---

The future of the OS will be decided by couturiers.

 

[Rickkins]

Windows 8 Falls Behind Even the Maligned Vista

Windows 8 Falls Behind Even the Maligned Vista - Legit Reviews

Ouch...that's gotta hurt...