Windows 'Blue' will leave Microsoft customers seeing red

Reflecting on my expectations for Microsoft's forthcoming Windows "Blue," I'm reminded of a favorite "Deep Thought" by Jack Handey, from "Saturday Night Live." In this passage, instead of taking his little nephew to Disneyland, Handey takes him to a burned-out warehouse and tells him Disneyland has burned down:

He cried and cried, but I think that deep down, he thought it was a pretty good joke.
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Is Microsoft playing some kind of trick on us? Forgive the corniness, but the early scoop on Windows "Blue" has this tech analyst seeing red.

It's the customers, stupid
Why am I so indignant? I'm not going to say it; instead, I'll let a comment off Paul Thurrott's Windows Supersite about the new features do the talking. There, Grapemanca says:

But there's got to be much more than this, right? As a Desktop user who runs Win8 with Stardock's Start8 and ModernMix, I'm not sure I can see anything here that I'll even notice. We still can't boot directly to desktop. We still waste an amazing amount of space around the Modern [Metro] UI edges. We still can't see basic functions on a UI that is purportedly a graphic user interface. We still can't resize Modern apps to the dimensions that suit us. We're still forced to use a keyboard to maximize efficiency ... à la DOS. We still don't have a brand-new Windows that's maximized for the desktop. Talk about underwhelmed.​

We'll know soon enough if we're being led to Disneyland or a burned-out warehouse. If it's the latter, will it be too late to go back? If Microsoft really wants to show customers that it's listening, it needs to drop the secrecy immediately and spell out the changes it plans to make to address the complaints.
Otherwise, Microsoft risks making them so angry that by the time the company gives them what they want, they won't care anymore.

Windows 'Blue' will leave Microsoft customers seeing red | Microsoft Windows - InfoWorld

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[Ray8]

No, you don't get it, it's quite evident from your, and other's, repeated posts as to why everyone else's point of view is wrong.

And yours I'm assuming, is right ALL the time about everything?

No, but I'm not the one who is always saying that there is no need for a start button/menu and that touch is all anyone needs.

Those who are critical of the current Windows 8 UI, accept that others like it and find it useful, sadly the latter (you and your supporters) cannot accept that others don't like it or find it useful.

You see the difference?

 

[SIW2]

You see the difference?

Somehow, I doubt it.

 

[pcRat]

The only people who I've come across that like the Windows 8 MPI are the few loyalists on this and other tech forums. I have not met one person in real life or on a non-tech forum that has a good word to say about Windows 8.

Of course not Ray. You stay on these sites spreading your hate for 8 instead of mingling with people in the non-tech world.

 

[Ray8]

Ouch! Oh my! That hurt!!!

 

[SIW2]

Not clear to me why some don't follow 8 is not selling well.

Obviously, a lot of folk aren't buying it. Seems to me to be an important discussion point on an 8 forum.

Would you rather everyone pretended different, perhaps.

 

[pcRat]

I wish we could read news about 8 improvements instead of the whining by a few trolls that clearly have the choice to use whatever os they want, instead of complaining directly to MS on their site.

No one cares. If you don't like it, leave! There is a 7 forum and MS site where trolls can whine in unison.

I wish we could read news about 8 improvements instead of the whining by a few trolls that clearly have the choice to use whatever os they want, instead of complaining directly to MS on their site.

No one cares. If you don't like it, leave! There is a 7 forum and MS site where trolls can whine in unison.

When are you going to start posting good news about Window 8?

People hated XP at first and for a long time. A very long time but when people started discovering and sharing information, tricks and different ways of navigating it, it started becoming the best OS.

There are enough techs in this forum to work together and find a way to bypass the start screen going directly to the desktop without holding the enter button down. But they would rather just gripe

 

[goodintentions]

The difficulty is that of those who would still have bought a laptop over the past several months - quite a number have not done so - because of 8.

Again, I think this is simply not true. MS may have hinted that this is partially the cause, but I think it's just a PR stunt. Looking arrogant is the last thing they want to appear. If PC manufacturers need a sacrificial lamb to appease their investors, then they're going to start pointing the finger at MS. If MS disputes this, it will just look like a case of he said she said.

I have not found a single person in real life that feel strongly either way about windows 8. EVERYONE I know who has been in the market for a new laptop got a new laptop with windows 8. They don't care about the UI change. All they care about is it's got word processor and a few other legacy programs. When I ask them if they miss the start menu or button, most of them just gave me a "huh?" look. A few noticed that it's gone, and they don't care.

The only people I've found who feel strongly either way (for or against) are people on the internet. And I've learned not to trust what people say on the internet fully. Exaggeration seems to be people's favorite thing to do on the internet.

So, MS willing to take the blame for low PC sales has more to do with PR than anything else. They came too late to the game, and now they are paying for it.

And if you're referring to tech reviewers like mashable, don't bother. They all have been taken over by iFans. They will criticize everything that is non-apple.

For example, take a look at the following review of the device I currently have.

HP ENVY x2 does not inspire envy: REVIEW

I own the device. From the review, it is abundantly obvious that the reviewer spent about 30 seconds with the device with the preconceived notion that it sucked. Nothing is more telling than his description of the charging port on the tablet at the middle of the review. He claims that the tablet portion doesn't have a charging port. A bunch of us got on his case, and he finally corrected it.

When iOS came out with twitter integrated into the system, these same reviewers praised apple for such a brilliant idea. Yeah, making an already existing app part of the system is such a major upgrade to the OS...

Anyway, I think I've said everything I wanted to say. MS is being blamed for the sales drop of PC because it is the most obvious target. And MS is willing to take the blame because it's the only thing they can do. They don't have a choice. They have to take the blame, nevermind that PC sales took a nose dive long before windows 8 came out for reasons I've already explained in my previous posts.

 

[Ray8]

So when people post threads about problems they are having with Windows 8 and respondents suggest that they re-install Windows 8 (that appears to be the most common response), they are in fact exaggerating? I always thought so.

 

[jimbo45]

Hi there
I agree with @goodintentions -- most people in real life don't really care a TOSS about the GUI of W8 -- it's mainly people who have a lot of complex classical windows applications who find the interface really horrible --especially the fact that the tiles all look exactly the same (apart from the text on them) and that a wretched tile gets created for every single .EXE file in the package whether it's the program that launches the application or not.

For people running a typical home users number of applications the GUI really isn't an issue -- what is an issue is whether people actually WANT to buy a PC in the first place - and if they do whether the current models are really fit for purpose.

I see a lot of largish not very portable 15.6 inch screen laptops around with teeny weeny processors in them (Celerons !!!!) and fairly poorish graphics (1366 X 768 is the norm usually) which aren't very good either as a decent laptop or particularly portable.

Anything remotely good such as a nice very portable 12 inch screen with full HD (1080 X 1920) Native resolution, USB 3 port(s), 6 - 8GB RAM , i5 processor costs around 1000 USD (excluding tax) which is way what a typical user wants to pay for a laptop. These small screen laptops have decent HDMI output too for connecting to a large monitor.

Even on a 12 inch screen the difference between 1366 X 768 and 1080 X 1920 is quite easy to see --if you can't - either a new pair of glasses or a trip to the opticians might be in order.

If the laptops that people want aren't readily available then people wont buy them -- and before we get into the inevitable degradation of the argument about people not needing laptops for a lot of the tasks they do -- that's irrelevant to THIS issue --I'm addressing myself to the people who WANT a laptop and there isn't much around that's suitable within the price range people are prepared to pay.

Ultrabooks are fine but they are a top end niche market and ARE selling. These are outside most people's budgets at this time.

Cheers
jimbo

 

[SIW2]

people who WANT a laptop and there isn't much around that's suitable within the price range people are prepared to pay.

I haven't got the exact figures, but I would guess the most popular price point is around £400 (uk).
The average Joe will go to pc shop looking to spend £400. The oems have provided a selection around that ( and other ) price points. What is it that Joe thinks is not suitable?

 

[XweAponX]

I wonder how many updated to the Windows GUI using MS DOS. All? Then I wonder how many updated to Windows 95? All? Then 98? All? And so on. I hardly think all did. Not all will update to 8. We will always have those that dislike the next MS OS or choose to stay with their present one for whatever reason. It's practically a fact of life.

Parks' present sig probably says it the best. :thumbup:

I updated from Windows 3.1.1 to Windows 95 using Dos and a 15 Install disks!

 

[DavidY]

The Desktop UI and desktop PC is a dead and dying breed. THIS IS A FACT. This isn't disputable. This isn't the year 2002 where the desktop is the mainstream center of everything. The world moved onto the mobile form factor. Look at laptop shipments, look at tablet shipments, look at Windows 8. The writing has been written on the wall forever and some just REFUSE to acknowledge its existence. Go ahead, you can deny Windows 8, but you can't deny the facts that the world isn't internet based or will forever and stay Desktop UI based anymore.

I agree the desktop PC is dying, and many of those home users rushing out to buy tablets for "content consumption" don't need a desktop UI for most of what they do.

But in the workplace, or for people doing "content creation" at home, I don't see anything yet that will replace the desktop UI for years and years to come.

 

[Ray8]

The desktop will be here for a long time to come, it will certainly remain in the corporate environment, as well as small and medium businesses. No one is going to do significant work on a tablet. The domestic environment will probably change somewhat, in terms of what is considered a desktop, but even there it will remain, even if the TV becomes a part-time desktop.

And whether Windows features heavily in the domestic scene is yet to be decided, we already have fully Android equipped TVs available that do multiple functions, such as these: 46" Agora Smart LED TV (Full HD) - Buy your 46" Agora Smart LED TV (Full HD) from Kogan Australia.

 

[Rickkins]

People hated XP at first and for a long time. A very long time but when people started discovering and sharing information, tricks and different ways of navigating it, it started becoming the best OS.

Uh, to be polite, I'll just say that I remember quite differently.... quite differently indeed.

In fact, mostly what I remember are rave reviews.... as well as my own positive opinion of the os, and that of damn near everyone I know.

Sorry if ya thought ya slid that one by, but no sale....

 

[SIW2]

The 42 in is about £360. Not looking for a tv right now - but that is an interesting proposition.

Be more of those things at better prices in a year or two, I expect.

The desktop will be here for a long time to come, it will certainly remain in the corporate environment, as well as small and medium businesses. No one is going to do significant work on a tablet. The domestic environment will probably change somewhat, in terms of what is considered a desktop, but even there it will remain, even if the TV becomes a part-time desktop.

And whether Windows features heavily in the domestic scene is yet to be decided, we already have fully Android equipped TVs available that do multiple functions, such as these: 46" Agora Smart LED TV (Full HD) - Buy your 46" Agora Smart LED TV (Full HD) from Kogan Australia.

 

[Ray8]

Invariably the prices will drop and when you consider that nowadays people have multiple TVs, as in everyone's bedroom, this sort of thing will very likely become a defacto desktop in many cases.

 

[Coke Robot]

Ouch! Oh my! That hurt!!!

Seriously, I have to ask, what are you doing here?

 

[goodintentions]

The Desktop UI and desktop PC is a dead and dying breed. THIS IS A FACT. This isn't disputable. This isn't the year 2002 where the desktop is the mainstream center of everything. The world moved onto the mobile form factor. Look at laptop shipments, look at tablet shipments, look at Windows 8. The writing has been written on the wall forever and some just REFUSE to acknowledge its existence. Go ahead, you can deny Windows 8, but you can't deny the facts that the world isn't internet based or will forever and stay Desktop UI based anymore.

I agree the desktop PC is dying, and many of those home users rushing out to buy tablets for "content consumption" don't need a desktop UI for most of what they do.

But in the workplace, or for people doing "content creation" at home, I don't see anything yet that will replace the desktop UI for years and years to come.

Not necessarily. If ms can come out with a metro version of office, I can really see myself using it.

 

[Mustang]

Update forum membership figures:

Windows Eight Forums: 22,125 ... and stalled!

Windows Seven Forums 250,432 ... and counting!

Lets see now. W8F has claimed 8% of the W7F market. Hmmmmm? Oooopppsss! Make that 8.8% ... they can't afford to drop 0.8 percentile.

 

[Ray8]

Ouch! Oh my! That hurt!!!

Seriously, I have to ask, what are you doing here?

Your magnetic personality, erudite and logical prognostications and the sheer comic relief, just draws me in.