It's not windows 8 that's causing the drop in sales
MS seem to think it is at least partly responsible, so do a lot of the oems - all of them in fact , I think., and a great many industry analysts. They are all wrong then, are they? It wouldn't be the first time.
I might add that most people I know are using Macs. They never pay any attention to anything to do with windows. The few who have windows laptops are not looking to replace them, as far as I know.
Obviously none of them care in the least about 8. If you insisted on showing it to them, they would be polite and feign a vague interest, I suppose, but they won't care really.
Yes, I think it is at least partly responsible. My response was to the notion that windows 8 is all to be blamed for the drop in sales. Considering the fact that pc sales was already way down long before windows 8 came out, the notion that windows 8 is to blame for all of it is ridiculous.
Here's what I think is going on.
Most people have always used computing devices for basic tasks like web browsing and email. Perhaps a little document editing here and there, but nothing major. Only a small percentage of us actually use computing devices for more than just content consumption.
So, when tablet devices came out, this was pretty much the answer to most people's prayers. They no longer have to lug around big heavy laptops if what they only want to do is consume for the most part. That's why PC sales took a nose dive when tablet devices like the ipad and android tablets were introduced. In fact, both the market and people's homes were saturated with iOS and android devices.
For example, the last time I visited my sister, I rounded up all her tablet devices and took a picture. She and her husband have 3 kids. Their ages are 3, 6, and 8. All 5 members of the family have an asus transformer infinity TF700T. The sister and her husband also each have a galaxy tab 2 as well as galaxy s3 phones. Look at picture below.
The devices you're seeing are this.
ASUS Transformer Pad Infinity Tablet, 64GB, TF700TC1GR - Best Buy
That's just the tablet part. Each keyboard docking station is about $150.
The kids have been doing all the school work with those tablet/notebook hybrids. Pretty cool, I think. But the point is people like my sister's family have already invested in the ultra light weight android hybrids that have an app for just about everything you can imagine. With the amount of money they've invested in those devices, do you honestly see them jump ship to windows 8 if they don't have to?
Everyone has a budget that they work with. When I say windows 8 is partially responsible, I don't mean there's something wrong with windows 8. In fact, I absolutely don't think there's anything wrong with windows 8 as it is. And most people are indifferent either way about the UI. The reason windows 8 is partially responsible for PC sales drop is because it came out too late. Most people have already spent their budget on android and iOS devices. They have already invested in those ecosystems. You can't ask them to just get up and switch ecosystems.
I think it's always been inevitable that as soon as something ultra light weight came along most laptop owners will jump ship simply because most people don't create. They are perfectly happy consuming for the most part.
So, all these arguments about a damn start button or menu is meaningless in the grand scheme of things. Most people simply don't care about the UI change. What they care about is their budget. And they've already spent all of it on android and iOS tablets. And their windows 7 PC's work just fine. Why upgrade?
My sister and her family is the typical American family. Husband is an engineer. She's a mathematician. The 3 boys play baseball, participate in boy scouts, and go to sleep overs. Their current setup is an i7 PC running windows 7 x64, an i7 laptop upstairs, 5 asus transformer infinities, 2 galaxy tabs for gps and ultra ultra light weight consumption devices, and android phones. Do you see anywhere in there that they can fit in windows 8 devices?
That's why last year I started saying windows 8 will fail not because it is lacking but because it's simply too late to the game. People are not going to just spend more money on something they already have.
