Giveaway of the Day Forums

1. 

   mikiem2
   Moderator

   http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2012/11/14/poll-shows-us-consumers-hesitant-windows-8/1700585/

   "7:50PM EST November 14. 2012 - SEATTLE — Most Windows users in the U.S. know about Windows 8 but few have immediate plans to upgrade to Microsoft's newest operating system.

   What's more, about one-third of Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP users who are ready to buy a new personal computer say they intend to switch to an Apple product.

   Those are the findings of an unusually broad survey of Windows PC users conducted by antivirus company Avast and released exclusively to USA TODAY."

   "Avast's poll of U.S. Windows users found 16% planned to purchase a new computer. While 68% indicated they would get one of the new Windows 8 models, 30% planned to buy an Apple iPad touch tablet, and 12%, an Apple Macintosh computer.

   "Many households already have multiple PCs, and people are keeping their computers longer," observes Penn. "More people are going to the iPad as their second or third computing device.""

   DO note that the article seems to equate tablets with PC/laptops when it comes to plans on what to buy, though don't know whether that was done by the USA Today or Avast folks -- maybe both. Even if you subscribe to the hype or storyline that tablets are the future of computing, you still must acknowledge that tablets & PCs/laptops are Very different things -- anything else is dishonest. So Do take this survey FWIW -- some other parts or the survey itself may be similarly skewed.

   [Separately I think I've boiled down my personal arguments against the touchscreen interface to a simple argument that *may* help explain why it strikes so many as so wrong... I can just about guarantee that you set down your cup of coffee or tea within reach -- you don't put it where you'll have to walk every time you want to take a drink. There is little logic in making things harder than they need &/or used to be, & win8's touchscreen interface does just that if you're not using a smartphone or tablet without a keyboard or mouse.]

   Posted 11 years ago #
2. 

   Anonymous
   Unregistered

   The new Vista

   Posted 11 years ago #
3. 

   ChrisS
   Administrator

   Mikiem, I don't think that's it. I see it more as a visceral reaction to a company, or industry, dictating how you'll use your stuff. It's the company demanding that the consumers change rather than the consumers demanding the product change and that's not how the market works. Microsoft is pushing change for the sake of change, they're trying to create demand where no demand exists. It's like playing an RPG with 10 character classes and the program telling you "no, you're a dwarf".

   Microsoft is telling us "everybody uses their devices in this way" when we know that's not true, they're trying to take the "personal" out of the Personal Computer. We're not drones or droids, we're individuals and the marketing approach to Win8 is as wrong as wrong can be.

   Posted 11 years ago #
4. 

   mikiem2
   Moderator

   Thanks for your reply, Chris, & I do agree 100% BTW. :)

   I've just never had a lot of luck making the dictatorial stuff stick when I *think* I've argued much the same thing over the past months [though likely not stated as well]. With the 1st public beta you could turn off the touch interface entirely, & had a Start Menu. My guess is too many people used that option for Microsoft's liking, so they pulled that option in the 2nd beta.

   MS wants developers to fill their store because 1) whatever is sold they get a piece of the action, & 2) that's money that Apple, Google, or Amazon didn't make, so it weakens their rivals. But if you're a successful developer, why would you write apps for the Windows store with so few customers, when you could make more money with the other stores [with so many more customers that more income is guaranteed]? One way to [artificially] inflate your store's customer numbers is force every win8 user to use the touch screen interface, attempting to make up for a huge lack of cells & tablets in customer hands. Exactly what MS did.

   Posted 11 years ago #
5. 

   mikiem2
   Moderator

   This article:

   Windows 8 Sales Well Below Projections, Plenty of Blame to Go Around

   http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/windows-8-sales-well-below-projections-plenty-blame-go-around

   ... I think makes some of the same points you do Chris, as well as comparing win8 to Vista, as hotdoge3 does.

   Posted 11 years ago #
6. 

   mikiem2
   Moderator

   Windows 8 'Slow Going,' But 2013 Should Be Better, Top Retailer Says

   http://readwrite.com/2012/11/19/newegg-exec-calls-windows-8-launch-slow-predicts-201

   A senior executive at popular retailer NewEgg described the Windows 8 launch so far as not the “explosion” that the company originally planned for, but as slow and steadily improving.

   Posted 11 years ago #

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