The "Is Windows 8 a Flop?" Thread

[Space_Chief]

Windows 7

Click start button
Click all programs
Scroll to the program group you want
Click on said program group
Click on program to open it

Windows 8

Hit Windows key
Type in first letter of the program you are looking for
(optional) type in second letter of the program you are looking for
Click on program to open it.

There you go, despite you PMS induced ramblings I still managed to show you that it is easier. If you would like to, I can draw a pretty picture in MS paint (that I can open in 3 key strokes) to show you how I did it.

If MS wanted you to keep on using the start button they would have included it but how dare they tell you what is easier. The bastards. I guess it is true that there are none as blind as those who don't want to see.

You haven't shown anything. The first method is easier for me, while the second may be easier for you. Secondly muscle memory dictates that first method is always attempted whether I like it or not, I'm human after all.

"If MS wanted you to keep on using the start button they would have included it but how dare they tell you what is easier."

That's right, Crowley. How dare I not know what's easier for me. After all I am the only person who inhabits my body. But since MS knows better what's easier for them then what I find easier for me, I must be irrational. Gosh MS must be plugged into my mind or something. And MS would admit to making mistakes, right?

And FYI why should I care what MS wants? Who is MS anyway? They designed Windows for who exactly? Who's the customer here?


You need to learn the difference between

1. What's easier for you and for others.
2. What's easier for MS.
3. What "easier" means. It need not mean fewer steps. When the steps are done automatically, new ways of doing things are not easier at all, especially when you have to use a keyboard too and you've been using the Star Menu from 1994 .
4. MS does not have monopoly over behaviour, tastes etc.
5. MS does not have a unique view inside my head to know what I will find easier.
6. Is MS really after ease of use or just forcing customers to adapt to a new way of doing things to limit on support issues by eliminating extra ways of doing things? Is this cost cutting?

 

[kingrob]

I saw on Flipboard that Windows 8 Market Share is now 1.64%.

Will see if I can find it.

Update : Found it!

LOL

 

[Crowley]

tl/dr

Nobody is forcing you to use Windows 8. If you don't like it then switch to iOS or Linux.

 

[LazyLion]

Nobody is forcing you to use Windows 8. If you don't like it then switch to iOS or Linux.

... and that's exactly why Windows 8 is doing worse in sales than Vista was. Because the majority of people are choosing not to use it.

i.e. Microsoft released a poor product.

 

[ithacapellin]

I think what a lot of people don't think of off the bat when it comes to business and the whole tablet/Desktop/Laptop debate is that

a) The vast majority of business users, are using office type tools (Word, Excell) or Simple interfaces (Web or VB type client) that connect to backend systems to do queries.

b) Those that are not in the category a) above tend to fall into either Specialised requirements eg autocad or something that is more mobile like Sales or Management.

The main key issue here is that apart from the more specialised group you can do pretty much you need to do , or in the future need to do with today's computing power. Yes operating systems might need more resources going forward but for most other things we have pretty much hit the plateau. Lets break down what this now means.

a) Desktop PCs will be phased out as the power of laptops and increasingly tablets will be more then enough to cope with the majority of tasks. Yes there are issues that need to be sorted out (like decent docking stations for folks to be able to use excel with a decent mouse) etc

b) Laptops will become the domain of the power user and tablets will cater more to the generic user.

What does this mean for Windows 8. To me its a step that M$ had to take. They know that down the line the desktop market will be shrinking. Personally I don't think they implemented it very well (Metro should have been optional until its polished a lot more.) There are some very strange design decisions that point to them not really having a long term vision of what they want to do. Their biggest win from windows 8 is that they are finally designing their own hardware to go along with their software. Once they see the benefits of being able to do that ie not having to bloat their OS trying to allow for every driver in existence they will finally be able to put out a seriously awesome operating system.

 

[Rodent-Boy]

... and that's exactly why Windows 8 is doing worse in sales than Vista was. Because the majority of people are choosing not to use it.

i.e. Microsoft released a poor product.

I don't think that's the case. XP was around for such a long time that when Vista was released more people were ready to try something new. Microsoft's policy of a new OS every two years now will probably pretty much guarantee that sales on new operating systems will be poor, unless there is something absolutely ground-breaking in the new OS. Why would the average user fork out for Windows 8 when they can just hang onto Windows 7 for another two years and then get Windows 9? It doesn't say as much about the quality of the OS as it does about how disinterested people are in upgrading every two years.

 

[Bobbin]

I think what a lot of people don't think of off the bat when it comes to business and the whole tablet/Desktop/Laptop debate is that

a) The vast majority of business users, are using office type tools (Word, Excell) or Simple interfaces (Web or VB type client) that connect to backend systems to do queries.

b) Those that are not in the category a) above tend to fall into either Specialised requirements eg autocad or something that is more mobile like Sales or Management.

The main key issue here is that apart from the more specialised group you can do pretty much you need to do , or in the future need to do with today's computing power. Yes operating systems might need more resources going forward but for most other things we have pretty much hit the plateau. Lets break down what this now means.

a) Desktop PCs will be phased out as the power of laptops and increasingly tablets will be more then enough to cope with the majority of tasks. Yes there are issues that need to be sorted out (like decent docking stations for folks to be able to use excel with a decent mouse) etc

b) Laptops will become the domain of the power user and tablets will cater more to the generic user.

What does this mean for Windows 8. To me its a step that M$ had to take. They know that down the line the desktop market will be shrinking. Personally I don't think they implemented it very well (Metro should have been optional until its polished a lot more.) There are some very strange design decisions that point to them not really having a long term vision of what they want to do. Their biggest win from windows 8 is that they are finally designing their own hardware to go along with their software. Once they see the benefits of being able to do that ie not having to bloat their OS trying to allow for every driver in existence they will finally be able to put out a seriously awesome operating system.

I agree. To add I believe the only thing really holding Windows 8 back, well let's say the concept of Windows 8 at least with all frustrations and teething issues aside, is that there is no business justifiable reason to spend thousands upgrading to the new OS when Windows 7 works just fine and will continue to do so on existing infrastructure for years to come. However the day will come when Windows 8 is necessary for tablet computing and not just part of the lifecycle upgrade process.

Sales of Windows 8, or perhaps 9, will rocket when the time is right and all it takes is for that tipping point where tablet computing becomes viable for all the standard business functions. I would bet on Windows 8 as MS would not want to lose out their investment on the product. And businesses will want to control those devices due to compliance and data security, and Android and the ipad as far as I know can't join to Active Directory so Windows 8 wins in that regard and I believe this is a very important point to make.

Mobile computing is more than just a preference as it may become integrated into the way we operate daily both at home and in the office. The convenience and cost factor of owning just one device to do it all is very attractive to me.

I don't miss the start button either I have grown used to working as it is now.

 

[Bobbin]

Windows Key + I
Windows Key + X
Windows Key + E
Windows Key + Start typing your desired program and hit enter
Add an address bar to your taskbar for quick Internet browsing
Organise your icons on the start menu (windows key menu) and put frequently used programs on the left

This covers 99% of how I regularly work on Windows 8 without touch interface and would advise others try it and see. Not saying it will work for you but give it a shot

 

[AfricanTech]

I may sound aggro but I'm not. I'm just tired of these "it works for me personally and the marketing guys say it's cool so get over it" approaches.

Yeah, got to agree with you on that.

fundamental change and reduced functionality for no good reason really grates

 

[kingrob]

Yeah, got to agree with you on that.

fundamental change and reduced functionality for no good reason really grates

+1

It's already an epic fail if you must install a $4.99 start menu fix for an OS with a few hundred million dollar budget.

 

[vinodh]

That combined with the fact that Microsoft were selling Windows 8 upgrades for R120 indicates their need for people to buy into a version of Windows that isn't an essential upgrade.

 

[rwenzori]

Windows Key + I
Windows Key + X
Windows Key + E
Windows Key + Start typing your desired program and hit enter

Hell, if I wanted to launch programs by keyboard I could always use DOS 3.3.

 

[biometrics]

Not to mention you can do it in 7 and XP already.

 

[AlphaJohn]

Only people who can truly answer that Microsoft, and I guess for that we will need to wait for the financials.

If they turn a profit then it was a success doesn't matter how you try to paint it.

 

[biometrics]

Only people who can truly answer that Microsoft, and I guess for that we will need to wait for the financials.

If they turn a profit then it was a success doesn't matter how you try to paint it.

PC's ship with Windows. They'll get their 400 million annual OEM licenses regardless.

 

[Space_Chief]

a) Desktop PCs will be phased out as the power of laptops and increasingly tablets will be more then enough to cope with the majority of tasks. Yes there are issues that need to be sorted out (like decent docking stations for folks to be able to use excel with a decent mouse) etc

b) Laptops will become the domain of the power user and tablets will cater more to the generic user.

I think it's an issue of cost. Laptops have been powerful enough for a long time now. Since Pentium M days at least you could run everything very fast on a notebook machine. But I think desktops will continue because they will be cheaper. Cost of assembly, miniaturization and repair/replacement of laptops probably makes desktops cheaper and easier to service. Replacing RAM, HDD, add on cards, screen is easy. On notebook, no so much and more expensive.

 

[Space_Chief]

Yeah, got to agree with you on that.

fundamental change and reduced functionality for no good reason really grates

And imagine if every car had a different setup. Or imagine if every car revision had it different. You buy your new car after trading in your old, and there is no steering wheel but a joystick, and brake pedal is the button on the joystick. The salesman tells you - "Don't worry man, it's easier and the new way of doing it. All the cool kids are doing it this way." :wtf:

The software industry is the only industry which does this sort of BS. No-one else does this type of thing. A fridge from 1930 looks the same as a fridge from 2012. A TV from 1960 looks almost like a TV from 2012 - even if the ON/OFF button is on the remote control and not on the bottom.

 

[Bobbin]

Hell, if I wanted to launch programs by keyboard I could always use DOS 3.3.

Sorry but that is a weak argument and you know it plus I can still access the windows 8 "start screen" using only the mouse if I really really had to and was too lazy to type.

 

[Bobbin]

+1

It's already an epic fail if you must install a $4.99 start menu fix for an OS with a few hundred million dollar budget.

The old start menu is no longer necessary and I ask why one would think it still is. Granted the UI forces one to adopt a different way to navigate so that laptops, desktops, smartphones and tablets can all be standardized the resistance to the change is accompanied by poor justification to the small inconvenience simply based on personal preference and unwillingness to adapt to something that would take maximum 20 minutes to learn.

If you want to keep your desktop free of shortcuts simply pin your fav applications on the windows 8 start interface, I don't see what the problem is.

And if start menu and great performance expectation are all that get in the way of anyone's preference to Windows 8 I would laugh at these little trifles when there could have been more serious concerns had the OS really been poorly designed or executed.

 

[Space_Chief]

The old start menu is no longer necessary and I ask why one would think it still is.

It's not self evident why it is not longer necessary. Many of us think it still IS NECESSARY. On what grounds do you say it is not necessary.

Granted the UI forces one to adopt a different way to navigate so that laptops, desktops, smartphones and tablets

OMW? So we must now navigate a PC with mouse and keyboard the same way that one navigates a touch screen slate device? Obviously that's absurd.

can all be standardized the resistance to the change is accompanied by poor justification to the small inconvenience simply based on personal preference and unwillingness to adapt to something that would take maximum 20 minutes to learn.

That's nonsense. Imagine if the car industry did that. Or the telephone industry. Or the TV industry. Or the medical industry. This is BS. I'm surprised you don't see it.

Your argument is:
Tablet devices are the future and therefore mouse and keyboard computer users must pretend to use a touch interface.

If you want to keep your desktop free of shortcuts simply pin your fav applications on the windows 8 start interface, I don't see what the problem is.

Or get a $5 Start Button replacement and do things fast and well the way you've done since 1994.

And if start menu and great performance expectation are all that get in the way of anyone's preference to Windows 8 I would laugh at these little trifles when there could have been more serious concerns had the OS really been poorly designed or executed.

Just because you like something does not mean everyone has to like it. Many of us think Win8 sucks. Your "but it does not suck" is not a rebuttal.

For the onlookers, this is one more reason to move to an OSX or Linux device. Thankfully MS is losing marketshare.