Why Microsoft should rethink Windows 8

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bekdik

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Will 90 percent of users always hate Windows 8?

This is what Microsoft have lost in their autocratic implementation of Windows 8.

  • A tiny percentage (say one percent) of users are experts, with a high tolerance for learning.
  • A few more (say nine percent) of users are willing adopters — they have an expectation that the product will meet their needs, and some (albeit low) tolerance for learning.
  • The remaining 90 percent of users just use technology to get a job done and have no tolerance for learning at all. These are mainstreamers.
Click to expand...

Windows 8 usability simply just does not exist for the PC mainstreamers
 
bekdik said:
Will 90 percent of users always hate Windows 8?

This is what Microsoft have lost in their autocratic implementation of Windows 8.

​

Windows 8 usability simply just does not exist for the PC mainstreamers
Click to expand...

Uhm... I have found the opposite... people and family I deal with are all adapting to Windows 8 without issues. This includes 60 year old granny and 10 year old nephew. They are all emailing and internetting and skyping and gaming and everything just as before. Windows 7 has been upgraded and now it is just the Mac users and their bootcamp Windows 7 remaining.

Even the older Core2Duo systems have had zero issue Windows 8 upgrades and are being used without any hassles. I have installed a start button replacement on my system, but all the rest using the what-was-called-metro screen.

No complaints. Zero issues.

Just works.
 
kilobits said:
Uhm... I have found the opposite... people and family I deal with are all adapting to Windows 8 without issues. This includes 60 year old granny and 10 year old nephew. They are all emailing and internetting and skyping and gaming and everything just as before. Windows 7 has been upgraded and now it is just the Mac users and their bootcamp Windows 7 remaining.

Even the older Core2Duo systems have had zero issue Windows 8 upgrades and are being used without any hassles. I have installed a start button replacement on my system, but all the rest using the what-was-called-metro screen.

No complaints. Zero issues.

Just works.
Click to expand...

You must be living in a Microcosm then.

My experience is that all the major retailers are not selling copies of Windows 8, in fact people are going out of their way to make sure that their new PC has Windows 7.
Those few who don't do that, are calling me and saying "Gary, this computer came with Windows 8 and it doesn't work, can you please come and fix it?"
I personally do not know anyone who is actually using it yet.
Everyone has reverted back to 7.
 
kilobits said:
Uhm... I have found the opposite... people and family I deal with are all adapting to Windows 8 without issues. This includes 60 year old granny and 10 year old nephew. They are all emailing and internetting and skyping and gaming and everything just as before. Windows 7 has been upgraded and now it is just the Mac users and their bootcamp Windows 7 remaining.

Even the older Core2Duo systems have had zero issue Windows 8 upgrades and are being used without any hassles. I have installed a start button replacement on my system, but all the rest using the what-was-called-metro screen.

No complaints. Zero issues.

Just works.
Click to expand...

:erm:
 
Garyvdh said:
You must be living in a Microcosm then.
...
I personally do not know anyone who is actually using it yet.
Everyone has reverted back to 7.
Click to expand...

Using it and loving it. Same goes for my parents, who really aren't tech savvy. In fact, I know a few people who upgraded to Win8, and none who reverted back to Win7. I still have to use Win7 on my work PC, and I really wish that I could upgrade.
 
Garyvdh said:
You must be living in a Microcosm then.

My experience is that all the major retailers are not selling copies of Windows 8, in fact people are going out of their way to make sure that their new PC has Windows 7.
Those few who don't do that, are calling me and saying "Gary, this computer came with Windows 8 and it doesn't work, can you please come and fix it?"
I personally do not know anyone who is actually using it yet.
Everyone has reverted back to 7.
Click to expand...

I am encountering a decrease in calls and cries for help with Windows 8... apart from an initial call or two... they remain absolutely self sufficient.

Perhaps it is a case of successful adoption being inversely proportional to technical savvie-ness ??

I require a start-menu - perhaps I am set in my ways - but the new Win 8 adopters around here are coping just fine... and do not seem to miss it.

I have also installed it on a number of older laptops thanks to Groupon and their upgrade promotion... and it performs very very nicely on these machines... I have just upgraded an HP DV6500 with 1GB RAM this morning... zero issues. I have only had issues with new laptops, post purchase and Windows updates causing BSOD and reboot loops. Installing these updates 1 by 1 fixes this.

I do not receive any complaints from these Windows 8 users. None. They all seem to cope with it and are using it without issues daily.

EDIT: Actually, the only issues I have encountered are with Wacom tablets and the inability to switch of the Microsoft pen / tablet "ripple" and "circle" animations every time the stylus touches the Wacom. Irritated the graphic designers no-end... and these have reverted back to Windows 7 until Microsoft and Wacom stop pointing fingers at each other and fix this or allow it to be turned off.
 
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the Metro interface just has no place on the desktop. Win RT needs Metro, but not Win 8 Pro or enterprise.

Its just so jarring, a completely different interface. It doesnt work. You open a photo, and it opens in Metro. I had to google to figure out how to close a Metro app. Its got a completely different workflow to the Win8 desktop.

Win8 with Start8 is great - but then its hardly different to Win7 at all. Win8 without Start8, and using the Metro interface in conjunction with the desktop interface, is a step back in my opinion. It gets in the way.
 
  • A tiny percentage (say one percent) of users are experts, with a high tolerance for learning.
  • A few more (say nine percent) of users are willing adopters — they have an expectation that the product will meet their needs, and some (albeit low) tolerance for learning.
  • The remaining 90 percent of users just use technology to get a job done and have no tolerance for learning at all. These are mainstreamers.
Click to expand...
Unfortunately for them I don't think Windows 1.0 is coming back. Or are they all still on DOS, not being able or willing to learn anything new? They can't even be using Windows 7 because Microsoft made major changes in the interface between XP and Vista/Windows 7. And you know, they just refuse to learn anything new.
 
My biggest gripe with Windows 8 is the what-used-to-called-Metro interface on a desktop PC. I reverted back to Windows 7 a couple of times last year, but kept coming back to Windows 8. I even commented here on MyBB about the relief Windows 7 brought on more than one occasion.

But, I kept going back to Windows 8. It just performs better than Windows 7, noticeably so. I just needed to push that interface-formally-known-as-Metro out of the way.

Tried Start8, and it was OK... found StartIsBack... and now it is perfect. I have a Windows 8 that I can comfortably use now.

This is just my view. Other around me like the Windows Apps store and actually use it... they like the way it works and seem to cope with it without any issues.
 
Garyvdh said:
You must be living in a Microcosm then.

My experience is that all the major retailers are not selling copies of Windows 8, in fact people are going out of their way to make sure that their new PC has Windows 7.
Those few who don't do that, are calling me and saying "Gary, this computer came with Windows 8 and it doesn't work, can you please come and fix it?"
I personally do not know anyone who is actually using it yet.
Everyone has reverted back to 7.
Click to expand...

I certainly will not buy a pc/laptop with windows 8 pre-loaded.
 
everyone I know who has tried Win8 has rolled back to win 7. There are simply too few advantages vs the learning curve.
 
ponder said:
I also like Pokki.
Click to expand...

Is Pokki the trojan horse that comes with your app to simulate Windows 7 start menu?

If I was Microsoft, I would be so embarrassed that a $5 app is needed to make my OS work.

I would have fired Sinofsky as well.
 
noxibox said:
Unfortunately for them I don't think Windows 1.0 is coming back. Or are they all still on DOS, not being able or willing to learn anything new? They can't even be using Windows 7 because Microsoft made major changes in the interface between XP and Vista/Windows 7. And you know, they just refuse to learn anything new.
Click to expand...

Its funny how anytime somebody criticizes Win8, the apologists always claim it is because we refuse to learn anything new.

I spent a week with Win8. I learned how to use the hot corners and metro apps. And I still found it poor, especially in a multi monitor situation. Its just not a good idea, to have two interface paradigms in one operating system.

Just because it is "new", does not mean it is better.

I think its fine if you need the Metro interface, and only the metro interface, or the desktop interface and only the desktop interface. But mixing the two is where the problem comes in. They are not designed to be mixed.
 
Ancalagon said:
I think its fine if you need the Metro interface, and only the metro interface, or the desktop interface and only the desktop interface. But mixing the two is where the problem comes in. They are not designed to be mixed.
Click to expand...

This! I use W7 and W8 on a daily basis. And also played with the Surface RT for a while. The mixing of desktop and tablet interface kills the general usability. I've had people tell me: Yeah, but I can swipe this and that on the Surface touchscreen instead of clicking or typing. :confused: How is removing your hands from the keyboard and mouse in between regular tasks increasing my productivity? It's not.

And W8 is not faster than W7. UI trickery cleverly disguised as performance increases.
 
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