Can the new Windows 8.1 bring back users?

First, because I can't resist, let me just say "I told you so!"

I'd said all along that Windows 8's Metro interface was downright awful for desktop users. I was right. Windows 8 saw PC sales plummet to their worst level in a generation. Under new leadership, Microsoft has finally bought a clue and is retrofitting Windows 8.x's Metro/Modern desktop with a much more keyboard- and mouse-friendly Windows, Icon, Menu, and Pointer (WIMP) interface.

I can only ask, "What took you so long Microsoft?" Popular programs, such as Stardock's Start8, showed that Windows power users craved their Start Menu. Besides, Windows 8.x's abysmal usage numbers were even worse than Microsoft's previous all-time operating system flop, Vista. It doesn't take the next coming of GE CEO genius Jack Welch to realize when a core product has failed.

The rest here:

 

[CountMike]

Don't you know the old saying....Windows versions are like Star Trek Movies...every other one is lousy

I liked all Star Trek movies and shows, not so much all M$ stuff.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
Works for Windows releases

Windows 3.0 Horrible
Windows 3.11 excellent
Windows 95 excellent
Windows 98 rather flakey
Windows Millenium -- the less said about that the better.
Windows 2000 ( RARE EXCEPTION -- EXCELLENT)
WINDOWS 2003 EXCELLENT (XP based series including W2003 server)

Windows 7 Excellent
Windows 8 'Nuf said
Windows 8.1 update 1 Okayish.
Windows 9 probably will be excellent.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[Wenda]

Don't you know the old saying....Windows versions are like Star Trek Movies...every other one is lousy

Oh, I dunno.

Some were certainly better than others, but none were truly lousy.

Not even Me or Vista, both of which I still run.


Wenda.

 

[Rickkins]

Yanno, I never had any issues with WinMe. I thought it ran great.

I'm not sure what that says about me....

 

[CountMike]

Win 3.0 was first usable windows, so no wander.
Win 3.11 was just a prelude to W95.
I think you mixed up descriptions for 95 and 98.
Used to run Millennium just fine and had W97 too (at least they called it that after a massive update to 95).
Win 99, hacked version of 98SE. Also referred to as house windows secured with tape in X fashion during NATO bombing of Serbia.
Win 2000 was a pure business edition, had to be good and clean but pain if you wanted to play games or MM.
XP was really good only after SP3.
You missed Vista there, on the other hand, it's better to forget it.
Win 7 was more like repaired Vista.
What about all the NT versions in between other "domesticated" windows ?
Win 9, let's hope but we'll see yet.


What about Windows "Neptune" Windows Neptune - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

[Wenda]

Count Mike wrote:

Used to run Millennium just fine and had W97 too (at least they called it that after a massive update to 95).

Yes, also known as Windows 95c.

I have it on CD-ROM, was still running it in a VM till fairly recently.

By far the 'best' version of Win 95.


Wenda.

 

[LittleJay]

I am not sure what you mean by this. I have been running Windows 8 and 8.1 with a mouse and keyboard on a PC since 8 first came out. Sure, it is designed to run on touch screen devices as well, but that doesn't mean it can't be run with a mouse and keyboard.

Nor do I. Absolutely no problems whatsoever using either peripheral. Being more of a keyboarder than a mouser, the Windows Key is more useful than ever.

Sure you can run it with mouse and keyboard - I do it too. But out of the box it is not optimal. The desktop was not the target audience for 8 - that is obvious. But now they are backpaddling. Maybe they realize that 1 Billion desktop users are not going to put up with their 'strategy'.

You maybe right. If corporate profits are suffering because of it, that is what will determine Microsoft's future course. It will be interesting to see how it all develops. Windows 8 may not be popular with a lot of desktop purists, but that doesn't mean it isn't a good OS and I personally enjoy using it.

 

[acr731]

Windows 9 probably will be excellent.

Not if it follows the same path as Win 8.

I kind of liked ME, but it was replaced so quickly by XP I never spent much time with it. Why did you leave Vista off the list?

 

[whs]

Jimbo, I don't know from where you conclude that. Maybe they addressed 5% of the problems - at best. Looks like there will be another 5% with 8.1.1.

but Windows 8.1 DOES address most of the problems people had (particularly Desktop users) with Windows 8.

 

[Blazergamer]

As a new windows owner I must admit I'm impressed with windows 8.1...The flat interface is great, there are plenty of Apps ans I like Metro with the touchscreen option on my laptop.

I heard a lot of bad things on windows 8 over the past few years but I'm really glad I made the jump from 7 to 8.1 !

Nothing wrong with that. For simple applications and on a tablet it is quite good. But if you are a system guy, there are annoyances. It was not designed for PCs that are operated with keyboard and mouse.

I think it's ok with a mouse and keyboard...The first thing users should do is get a decent mouse with a touch pad instead of a scroll wheel...I have a Logitech T400 that allows you to scroll from left to right.

 

[musiclover7]

Threads like this can be frustrating to read as so many tend to confuse opinion with fact, and suppose that what is true for them, ought to be true for everyone else. I see myself as a Power user, and I have used 8 since it was in Beta. I ran it in Vanilla (no classic shell) for well over a year really wanting the new interface to grow on me so that I could eventually come to like it more than the old. There were plenty of things I liked about 8, but even well over a year later, I really felt like the new start screen was clumsy for many things, and it was not until I installed classic shell earlier this year shortly after 8.1 came out, that I really started truly enjoying the OS. I hang out with plenty of geeks. I manage 50 other engineers scattered across the US and interact with them on a daily basis. I still have yet to speak with anyone, power user or helpless cur, who actually likes Windows 8. No one, outside of these forums has ever had a positive word to say to me about the OS.

I believe quite strongly, as others have mentioned, that this scenario could have been completely avoided. That had Microsoft given folks the novelty of choice with this new OS, rather than electing to try to herd them in the direction that they feel is best for them like mindless cattle, this entire release could have been heralded as a bold, brave step in a new direction, but one that could be digested gradually over time. What they were aiming to accomplish makes sense. The way they went about it was tragic in the extreme. You can talk all day long about how much you love it, or how much others would love it if they just had the patience to learn it, but in the end, no one here can deny that this release has not gone down well for Microsoft. So rather than continuing to argue about how this should not be the case, or how it is the public's fault for not being smart enough to get to know it, maybe just maybe, it is time to admit that there were some serious flaws in Microsoft's approach with Windows 8. Maybe it is time to learn from it.

There is a reason the company is back pedaling now with each release, and why it looks like they are back pedaling further with Windows 9. Most people don't like Windows 8, and yeah, many stubbornly refuse to learn it. Then there are folks like me who diligently tried to like it for over a year, but really only found the entire experience to be enjoyable after finally giving in and installing Classic Shell. So you can stick to your guns and keep asserting that just because you love it, everyone else should too, or you can come down off your high horse and admit that it was a mistake to throw all the eggs into one basket. That denying your user base the element of choice, is a bad move, and before you retort that people have choice, it's called Windows 7, please go back and read the article that started this thread. Cuz that is the choice that most people seem to be making. I am talking about choice within the new. Why is that such a crazy idea?

 

[whs]

No one, outside of these forums has ever had a positive word to say to me about the OS.

This is an interesting statememnt and probably reflects 90% of the users - except my wife. She likes 8.1 (vanilla) and had no trouble dealing with it after a 10 minute course. But she runs only 3 applications, and all the maintenence, imaging and fixes she leaves to me, LOL.

 

[CountMike]

I actually had to talk some people out of Win8, either because them or their HW was not ready for it. For people just starting with computers I'd recommend it without hesitation.

 

[Rickkins]

No one, outside of these forums has ever had a positive word to say to me about the OS.

This is an interesting statememnt and probably reflects 90% of the users - except my wife. She likes 8.1 (vanilla) and had no trouble dealing with it after a 10 minute course. But she runs only 3 applications, and all the maintenence, imaging and fixes she leaves to me, LOL.

Haha... sounds like my wife, 'cept she only uses two, browser and email client. I'm not sure she even knows what os she has....(7)

 

[musiclover7]

I actually had to talk some people out of Win8, either because them or their HW was not ready for it. For people just starting with computers I'd recommend it without hesitation.

That just backs up my point. Most people are probably not ready for it, and this is only an issue usually up until you install classic shell. Still, most people don't know classic shell exists, so why was that functionality not just included in the original design as a option? What harm would that have caused? Answer me that please...

I've had to talk some people out of upgrading to Windows 8 as well, most recently my step Father's Mother (not sure what relation that would make her to me so I will just say step-Grandma). She is far from ready for it, and I would rather not expend the time teaching her how to get around in the new OS. AGAIN... This should never have been an issue. The only reason we are still having these conversations is because people refuse to admit that denying folks choice within the new OS was a mistake. My step-Grandma hears there is a new Windows and being someone who absolutely loves her computer, she assumes that she will love it that much more with the latest and greatest thing. She is wrong, as has been evidenced by the dozens of other folks I have helped who bought a new PC with Windows 8 on it, and called me up asking for help...

 

[CountMike]

People too used to previous versions I didn't recommend Win8 if they are too attached to Start menu and would be to slow to adapt to charms or ways to close apps etc. people that never had to deal with windows and were not set in their ways, with a compatible computer should have no steeper learning curve than with Win7. In some ways it could be even easier. What's even funnier, little kids find no problems at all, they just start using it.

 

[gregrocker]

Still, most people don't know classic shell exists, so why was that functionality not just included in the original design as a option? What harm would that have caused? Answer me that please...

The intention was to follow much more closely the iPad model than most realize, attempting a business model change to vend apps on a subscription basis which apparently projects out much bigger profits. But to do this they need to wean us off the Desktop and trained to choose apps from the Start screen buttons.

That this was their intention was made clear to me when we picked up our near-complimentary copy of Surface Pro at November MVP Global Summit. I took mine back to the room and spent an hour trying to find the desktop. It was taken off the Start Screen and only found when I caught a glimpse of it behind the Control Panel. By closing the Control Panel I could access the desktop. This and the tiny format which had me hunched over squinting instead of kicked back with big screen caused me to give mine to Rayda for her son.

Examples of how this is working are cards handed out everywhere for Office 365 free first year subscrption, and the 100gb of OneDrive storage being offered free for a year to Live subscribers. I have yet to figure how much this would eventually cost me but you get the idea.

This is the hardest part to understand: On a gambit that there would be much richer profits by vending apps (and eventually OS) they would take the desktop perfected in Win7 and which had earned a billion customers over 20 years, and throw it to the wind!

 

[Rickkins]

Yes, it truly boggles the mind. Worse that they thought this thing would fly....

 

[caperjack]

No one, outside of these forums has ever had a positive word to say to me about the OS.

This is an interesting statememnt and probably reflects 90% of the users - except my wife. She likes 8.1 (vanilla) and had no trouble dealing with it after a 10 minute course. But she runs only 3 applications, and all the maintenence, imaging and fixes she leaves to me, LOL.

. I'm not sure she even knows what os she has....(7)

this one I like ,local computer store where I hang out ,people come in to get the computer fixed ,stand at the counter with the laptop or desktop ,and clerk ask some info to put on the slip so the tech knows whats going on ,most know nothing about there computer including what OS it running ,what browser ,email client ect ect ,and if the clerk said OS they would ask whats a OS

 

[whs]

What's even funnier, little kids find no problems at all, they just start using it.

That's not amazing. The kids are familiar with the playmobile UI.