Has Microsoft stumbled?

[Tommy Vercetti]

Just look at the sales and adoption figures compared to Win 7 and Vista. You can say there are less PC sales overall, but its like at 1/4 of what Win 7 adoption rate was at the same point after release. No one is buying it and if they claim like 100 million sales or whatever, then some people are downgrading after they get a Win 8 machine.



Yeah, and they should have made desktop default with Metro UI as an option.

My thoughts exactly, the actual usage rate for Windows 8 is lower then even Vista in the same time frame after its launch and no where NEAR that of Windows 7. Considering how big of a failure Windows Vista was that should say a lot. Vista never surpassed XP in usage rates. I am thinking we will likely see the same thing with Windows 8 and Windows 7. Zelig has linked to people defending Windows 8, there where people who also defended Vista too and you see how well Vista still did.

 

[Zelig]

Generally that is the only OS offered with them, its not like most stores offer a choice.

And?

Yeah, and they should have made desktop default with Metro UI as an option.

Why?

From a usability standpoint, what does it add to start with the start screen closed? The first thing you do after you start your computer is presumably start a program, which works exactly the same from the start screen as it does from the desktop, except possibly saving a step since you already have the start screen open.

My thoughts exactly, the actual usage rate for Windows 8 is lower then even Vista in the same time frame after its launch and no where NEAR that of Windows 7. Considering how big of a failure Windows Vista was that should say a lot. Vista never surpassed XP in usage rates. I am thinking we will likely see the same thing with Windows 8 and Windows 7. Zelig has linked to people defending Windows 8, there where people who also defended Vista too and you see how well Vista still did.

I see you're unable to refute anything I've posted.

 

[hobbsyoyo]

Win 8 is beautfiul and easy to use. Job well done Microsoft!

 

[Maniacal]

And?

So of course most new computers are selling with Windows 8, there isn't much of a choice!

 

[dutchfire]

If there was such a popular demand for non-Windows 8 computers, surely the free market would cater to that demand?

 

[sophie]

So of course most new computers are selling with Windows 8, there isn't much of a choice!

How is this different than any other OS release? The exact same thing happened with Win7 yet the sales of Win7 are a testament to its popularity while the sales of Win8 are a testament to its failure.

The point Mars is making is that popularity of an OS is not intrinsically tied so sales or installs of that OS.

 

[dutchfire]

The limited bits I have read about Windows 8's interface is that is takes some getting used to and it is quite a bit different from the interface that fundamentally hasn't changed since Windows 3 (or whatever it was). For some perspective, Margaret Thatcher was still in office and the Soviet Union was still around when Windows 3 came out.

Things from the 80s:
Thatcher, the Soviet Union and the Windows Desktop.

Well, 2 down, 1 to go.

 

[Tommy Vercetti]

How is this different than any other OS release? The exact same thing happened with Win7 yet the sales of Win7 are a testament to its popularity while the sales of Win8 are a testament to its failure.

The point Mars is making is that popularity of an OS is not intrinsically tied so sales or installs of that OS.

There where A LOT more people using Windows 7 at this point after its release then people using Windows 8. Windows 7 has GAINED market share in February. Likely a mix of people upgrading from XP to 7 and people downgrading from 8. The market share for Windows 8 is staying very low. It is still behind the latest Mac OS. A lot of those XP users will likely get Windows 7 instead of Windows 8. Metro UI and the removal of the start menu are likely major contributors to Windows 8 being a failure so far. XP has held on to a large market share for a long time and Windows 7 will be the next XP.

 

[Zelig]

There where A LOT more people using Windows 7 at this point after its release then people using Windows 8. Windows 7 has GAINED market share in February. Likely a mix of people upgrading from XP to 7 and people downgrading from 8. The market share for Windows 8 is staying very low. It is still behind the latest Mac OS. A lot of those XP users will likely get Windows 7 instead of Windows 8. Metro UI and the removal of the start menu are likely major contributors to Windows 8 being a failure so far. XP has held on to a large market share for a long time and Windows 7 will be the next XP.

I see you're still ducking pointing out any actual problems with Windows 8.

(And Windows 8 certainly does not have a smaller market share than the latest Mac OS. If the uptake of Windows 8 does not increase at all, it will pass every version of Mac OS combined within the year.)

 

[sophie]

There where A LOT more people using Windows 7 at this point after its release then people using Windows 8. Windows 7 has GAINED market share in February. Likely a mix of people upgrading from XP to 7 and people downgrading from 8. The market share for Windows 8 is staying very low. It is still behind the latest Mac OS. A lot of those XP users will likely get Windows 7 instead of Windows 8. Metro UI and the removal of the start menu are likely major contributors to Windows 8 being a failure so far. XP has held on to a large market share for a long time and Windows 7 will be the next XP.

All it means is that a lot of people were buying computers during the years Windows 7 was active.

This is especially true for XP's massive market share. The early 2000s saw perhaps the greatest increase in computer ownership in the history of the home computer, in spite of XP being one of the most widely despised OSes ever on its release.

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

Speaking of the Windows interface, what was the name of the interface design again? Windows, Icons, .... Menu? And something else I forgot. That may be an interesting thing to discuss instead of constant back and forth.

 

[Tommy Vercetti]

All it means is that a lot of people were buying computers during the years Windows 7 was active.

This is especially true for XP's massive market share. The early 2000s saw perhaps the greatest increase in computer ownership in the history of the home computer, in spite of XP being one of the most widely despised OSes ever on its release.

Windows 7 GAINED Market share in February, this is AFTER the release of Windows 8.

Speaking of the Windows interface, what was the name of the interface design again? Windows, Icons, .... Menu? And something else I forgot. That may be an interesting thing to discuss instead of constant back and forth.

That would be the desktop interface

 

[aimeeandbeatles]

No, Windows, Icons, Menus, Pointer. WIMP. Dating to 1980

 

[Zelig]

Windows 7 GAINED Market share in February, this is AFTER the release of Windows 8.

Mostly at the expense of terribly lazy companies that are doing the bare minimum to get off of XP before MS kills it. XP dies in a year, and average time for a corporation to roll out an OS is something like 18 months.

You're still unable to point out any problems with Windows 8.

 

[TheLastOne36]

Nonsense. Microsoft has record revenue year after year, and they recently acquired Skype which is a huge plus for them.

Android and Google, along with iOS is a problem, and Microsoft is playing catch-up at the moment no doubt, but that hardly means that Microsoft is dieing.

 

[Archbob]

Why?

From a usability standpoint, what does it add to start with the start screen closed? The first thing you do after you start your computer is presumably start a program, which works exactly the same from the start screen as it does from the desktop, except possibly saving a step since you already have the start screen open.

It looks like crap, that's actually a large problem. You can deny it all you want, but Win 8's usage numbers and market share number suck, people don't want to use it. If they did, they'd buy it, like they bought windows 7.

 

[sophie]

You can deny it all you want, but Win 8's usage numbers and market share number suck, people don't want to use it. If they did, they'd buy it, like they bought windows 7.

That's not how it works. Again, most people don't buy upgrade packages for new OSes. Adoption of most OSes comes in the form of new computer purchases. Market share of an OS has nearly nothing to do with the quality of the OS itself.

Moreover the so-called "poor" numbers of Windows 8 has nothing to do with the overall quality of the operating system, just its perception among the highly misinformed masses. There is nothing Windows 7 does which Windows 8 doesn't do better.

Aesthetics are a subjective metric. I find Windows 8 to be Microsoft's most aesthetically pleasing system yet.

 

[Maniacal]

And conversely there is nothing Windows 8 does that makes most people willing to upgrade from Windows 7 to it, which is probably the main reason why it has "low" sales numbers. I am sure some people aren't buying it because of Metro, but I doubt most people who buy it even really know what Metro does and are either probably too afraid or too lazy to fix it if they don't like it. Or don't know they can.

 

[Zelig]

It looks like crap, that's actually a large problem. You can deny it all you want, but Win 8's usage numbers and market share number suck, people don't want to use it. If they did, they'd buy it, like they bought windows 7.

I only argue objective merits, which you seem unable to do.

Also, there's no evidence pointing to causation between any of your points, see Owen's post.

And conversely there is nothing WIndows 8 does that makes most people willing to upgrade from Windows 7 to it, which is probably the main reason why it has "low" sales numbers.

I don't really see the problem here - the only point I've made about Windows 8 is that it is not functionally worse than Windows 7.

 

[Maniacal]

There isn't a problem, I was just adding on to Owen's post.