Windows 8 - Deeper Impressions

[JorgeA]

Let's take into account the number of apps on the store.

Nice analysis, jaclaz.

Maybe the MS exec meant to say that there have been 4 billion app downloads from the Windows Store, or maybe the guy said it right but the blogger forgot to type the zeroes (400 million). Based on what we've seen (and thanks for the links), 400 million sounds more plausible than 4 billion.

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

"Microsoft Mulls Over a Free Version of Windows 8.1: Desperate Times, Desperate Measures"

http://www.itproportal.com/2014/03/01/microsoft-mulls-over-a-free-version-of-windows-81-desperate-times-desperate-measures/

its significant that Microsoft is even looking at releasing a free version of Windows. If someone had suggested such an idea at Old Microsoft, they probably wouldve been fired. To be honest, at this point in Windows 8s life cycle, and with the PC market continuing to fade, its probably not a bad idea for Microsoft to be exploring some drastic changes. Microsoft obviously needs to change something if it wants to continue competing in the PC and smartphone markets. If it has to give away its operating systems to grow its market shares until theyre non-trivial, then so be it. Its not like Microsoft cant afford to experiment for a while, especially if its a matter of life and death.

If I were the microsoft head honcho, I'd extend the life cycle of all current and former operating systems. Not only XP and 2000, but Windows ME/98/95 :-)

Why not support all your former products any way possible? Try and reach the absolute total potential of each system. Write new drivers for hardware. Fix bugs, anything!

I could go for that!

Certainly a lot of PCs that were just fine, except for having an "obsolete" OS loaded on them, have gone to waste (literally). But IIRC it was in the XP era that the PC market really boomed, so if Microsoft were to adopt this policy immediately, then a big chunk of computers destined for the landfill could still be saved. It sure would create a lot of goodwill to counteract the bad feelings they've been engendering with Win8 and with the push to dump XP.

Let all the recent versions of IE work on both XP and Vista. Issue at least some critical patches for IE6 and Win9x. Who could complain -- shareholders? As it is, they're facing a slow squeeze from all the ill will. Maybe they could even monetize this extended-support idea with a modestly priced plan, say for $25 or $50 a year.

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

No mincing words here:

Microsoft: Time to bury live tiles

Square colorful tiles that flash useless information alongside other tiles on the screen doing the same thing. Distracting bits of tiny text that are rarely looked at and totally unnecessary. These are live tiles that make up the lion’s share of the interfaces in Windows Phone and Windows 8. They are so useless they need to go away, and soon.

And there's more:

I’m beginning to feel the same way with live tiles on the Start screen in Windows 8. Large, blocky squares and rectangles that run into one another and keep flashing with rolling information that is rarely, if ever, of use to me. I constantly find myself reaching for a particular app, only to be bombarded by all these tiles with rolling tickers. It’s a constant distraction, and I often end up finding the app I want by the background color of the tile.

In this day and age that’s a travesty. It’s not a carefully thought out organizational scheme or helpful icon that lets me quickly find the app I want. It’s the color of the background on the tile that I usually end up spotting. That’s because the tile probably has flashing text in a tiny font rolling on the tile that makes the background color the only attribute to get my undivided attention.

Sure I could turn the live tile updates off, but then there would just be a sea of blocky color tiles staring at me all day. I’d still be looking for the color I want, and the problem is more than one app has the same color. It’s not automatic, even though I carefully arranged the live tiles in the order I want. I still have to stop, look all over the screen, and then finally tap the proper tile to run the app I need.

I've said from the very beginning that this mess of scrolling and blinking tiles is a potential seizure-inducing nightmare for epileptics. The writer above finds them distracting and useless. And yet Live Tiles is one of the "selling" points of the Metro interface. Without them, we really are left with "a sea of blocky color tiles," many of which are the same color so it's hard tro find what you want.

The alternative is to make these tiles look like icons, each with its own individual color design, over a background screen. But in that case we're getting close to the Desktop model.

All of which means that, ultimately, there is no rationale for the Metro interface.

--JorgeA

Edited March 2, 2014 by JorgeA

[Agorima]

This is the usage share on January 2014

Windows 7 47.46%

Windows XP 29.30%

Windows 8 6.62%

Windows 8.1 3.94%

Windows Vista 3.30%

And this is the usage share on February 2014

Windows 7 47.31%

Windows XP 29.53%

Windows 8 6.38%

Windows 8.1 4.30%

Windows Vista 3.10%

While Windows 8/8.1 increased its market share by 0,12% (10,56% ---> 10,68%), Windows XP increased its market share by 0,23%, almost double than the latest OS :w00t:

Edited March 2, 2014 by Agorima

[jaclaz]

This is the usage share on January 2014

Source please?

While Windows 8/8.1 increased its market share by 0,12% (10,56% ---> 10,68%), Windows XP increased its market share by 0,23%, almost double than the latest OS

Not really-really, whatever the source of that data is, there is no way on earth *anything* can measure market share with an approximation smaller than 1 or 2 % (at the most).

However, BOTH Vista and Windows 7 seemingly reduced their share , "share" is a moving target (the real numbers should take into account the new machines delivered to customers and the old machines the customers got rid off in the month), but in the hypothesis that the total numebr of PC's remained the same (new deliveries=dumped hardware), i.e. a "perfect" replacement market., those data:

Windows 7 47.31% - 47.46% = -0.15%

Windows Vista 3.10% - 3.30% = -0.20%

Windows XP 29.53% - 29.30% = +0.23%

Windows 8 6.38% - 6.62% = - 0.24 %

Windows 8.1 4.30% - 3.94% = + 0,36

can also be read (since what is "mainstream" is 8.1 now) how:

0.24% of share upgraded from 8 to 8.1

actual new deliveries of 8.1 are 0.12% of share <- which makes a nice trend of an increase in share of around 1.5% per year

0.15% of share (WIndows 7 users) upgraded to XP

0.08% of share (Windows Vista users) upgraded to XP

0.12% of share (still Windows Vista users) suddenly threw their machines in the litter from sheer desperation

Of course those numbers make no sense whatever, the only way to read them is as "nothing changed in market share between January and February 2014".

jaclaz

[Agorima]

This is the usage share on January 2014

Source please?

These are the sources where the datas come from

http://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10&qpcustomd=0&qpsp=180&qpnp=1&qptimeframe=M

http://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10&qpcustomd=0&qpsp=181&qpnp=1&qptimeframe=M

[jaclaz]

These are the sources where the datas come from

http://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10&qpcustomd=0&qpsp=180&qpnp=1&qptimeframe=M

http://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10&qpcustomd=0&qpsp=181&qpnp=1&qptimeframe=M

Good , here is another one (which has obviously very different data, but which graph can be used as example of a nice horizontal striped pattern):

http://gs.statcounter.com/#os-ww-monthly-201401-201402

jaclaz

Edited March 2, 2014 by jaclaz

[JorgeA]

Hewlett-Packard is at it again, confounding the fanboys. Check out this image from their new e-mail circular:

The last line in the image reads: "New models just added." It ain't just old inventory that they're trying to get rid of.

Why is HP selling Windows 7 PCs right now?

Whether you’ve been reading the tech news blogs – or just saw an ad on our HP Shopping page, you’ve probably been asking yourself, “Why is HP selling Windows 7 PCs in a Windows 8 world?” The answer is dead simple: Choice. We like giving our customers the option to get the computer that’s right for them.

So the folks at H-P understand a concept (choice) that appears to have eluded the Microsoft geniuses for a couple of years now.

Neat little animation, too...

--JorgeA

[Formfiller]

The software store on the Mac is far more successful because it offers desktop applications on a desktop computer, while the Windows store is offering craplets on the same format.

Common sense and absolutely obvious. I can remember I brought up that point on Channel9 during the W8 beta timeframe, the hardcore shills shrieked like banshees at the thought of offering "legacy" on the store.

Edit: Found the C9 thread:

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Alright-the-Windows-8-appstore-is-a-non-starter-except-for-fart-apps

Edited March 3, 2014 by Formfiller

[Formfiller]

By the way, here are some more C9 classics from my Enfant Terrible (wastingtimewithforums) days there, in case you missed them:

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Microsoft-still-in-denial

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Reasons-why-desktop-programms-cant-be-installed-from-the-app-store

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Dick-move

https://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Windows-81-is-the-OS-equivalent-of-phishing-mail

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/The-Windows-8-nadir

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/E3-Smackdown

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/How-and-why-is-it-OK-to-ban-second-hand-games

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Windows-and-Line-of-Business-Applications-No-Good-Options

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Windows-Desktop

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Irony

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/The-future-prospect-of-Windows-8-today

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Amnesia-and-scare-tactics

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Telemetry-

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Microsoft-still-in-denial-phase-over-W8-possible-relaunch-in-February

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Windows-8-flops-and-Microsoft-are-to-blame

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Windows-desktop-as-SaaS

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Windows-Blue-should-bring-back-the-DVD-codecs

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/The-cat-is-out-of-the-bag

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/File-management-Shove-it

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Sinofsky-The-more-crapware-the-better

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/There-is-no-end-of-life-XP-problem

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/When-Microsofts-design-teams-were-sane

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/New-anti-Win8-video-is-making-rounds

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Monopoly-Microsoft-was-more-customer-friendly-than-todays-friendly-Microsoft

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Troubleshooting-You-dont-need-that
http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/How-long-will-Windows-8-the-terrible-last-Any-bets

http://channel9.msdn.com/Forums/Coffeehouse/Microsoft-continues-to-please-their-existing-customers

Looks like a wall of link, but I guarantee you that most of them are a metrotard blast.

Maybe I should compile them all into a book, "diaries from the metro trench".

The links are not in chronological order, but you should still be able to see how certain W8 and NuMicrosoft apologists got shrieker by the day.

Edited March 3, 2014 by Formfiller

[ZortMcGort11]

"The software giant on Monday announced that it has partnered with Laplink to provide XP users with a free data migration tool called PCmover Express for Windows XP, which copies all the files and settings from your Windows XP PC to a new computer running Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1."

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2454484,00.asp

If you don't know what version of Windows you're running, you can visit the following:

http://amirunningxp.com/

Edited March 3, 2014 by LostInSpace2012

[JorgeA]

By the way, here are some more C9 classics from my Enfant Terrible (wastingtimewithforums) days there, in case you missed them:

This is epic. Not least is the amount of patience and calm that you were able to deploy against some of these folks. I find it annoying even to read through them, let alone trying to compose replies without going nuts!!

These threads SHOULD be put all together in some way.

Doubt there's a way to research this, but it would be interesting to go back to 2006-7 and see if some of these same people back then were praising Aero Glass and similar fancy visuals and other novel aspects of Vista that they're now looking down on.

Great job, Formfiller.

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

"The software giant on Monday announced that it has partnered with Laplink to provide XP users with a free data migration tool called PCmover Express for Windows XP, which copies all the files and settings from your Windows XP PC to a new computer running Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 8.1."

http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2454484,00.asp

If you don't know what version of Windows you're running, you can visit the following:

http://amirunningxp.com/

I love this crack down in the comments section:

Microsoft should abandon Windows 8 and offer a tool to migrate back to Windows XP.

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

ZDNet's James Kendrick destroys a proposal to make Apple's iOS more like Windows 8 (!!):

Not even Steve Jobs could sell live tiles on iOS 8

With Windows 8 we've seen how difficult, perhaps impossible, it is to make a single OS work well on both traditional computers and tablets. What works well on one device type often fails miserably on the other. Putting a touch screen on everything does nothing to improve that user experience. It just doesn't work.

[...]

It's long been speculated that Apple intends to merge OS X and iOS at some point down the road. I believe the reason that process isn't further along can be traced to the difficulty Microsoft has with Windows 8. Even Windows enthusiasts often agree that the 'one-OS-fits-all' nature of Windows 8 doesn't work for both mobile and desktop situations. That's what Apple faces if they try to do this, and it is this writer's opinion that it can't be done.

Let's face it, if you're going to borrow concepts to implement in your own products, you don't borrow from a product that isn't exactly well received in the market. That alone is a good reason why Apple wouldn't make iOS more like Windows.

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

We have heard over and over again that power users are the main objectors to the Modern UI. Here's a column suggesting why non-expert users might actually have even bigger problems with Windows 8:

The disconnect with Windows 8.1: Hiding the utility

Given the effort to make common tasks easy to do with multiple methods, why do new users frequently express the opinion that Windows 8.1 is hard to use? After discussing this with a lot of Windows users, I believe it's because a lot of the utility built into the OS is hidden from view.

I'm talking specifically about the menus and functions that are invoked from either the corners of the display or the side bezels (depending on mouse or touch control). This includes both the dedicated Windows control menus that don't change, and the context-sensitive menus that morph to provide control to whatever app happens to be running.

These controls have great utility for getting around the apps and the OS. Just invoke the proper menu, tap the desired control, and you're right where you need to be.

Unfortunately, new users often don't feel that way. I interact with a lot of them, and I regularly hear that operating Windows 8.1 is difficult. That's because they can't see all of the hidden menus, and they either don't know they exist or worse, they forget about them. Out of sight, out of mind.

[...]

...the vast group of potential customers that Microsoft must grab to get Windows 8 moving ever forward is full of folks who have trouble with the new OS. This is because the majority of onscreen controls aren't visible all the time. They only appear when deliberately invoked, which doesn't make many new users feel comfortable. Think about that, Windows onscreen controls aren't onscreen until the user does something to make them appear. Which they have trouble with because they don't know the controls exist, much less that they need do something to invoke them.

[...]

...New users must remember where hidden menus live, and what controls they contain once properly invoked. That seems to make some Windows 8 users uncomfortable, especially those who learn how to do something and later forget it, as they don't do it often and there's no visible memory reinforcement. This disconnects the user from the interface.

So the "clean" Windows 8 experience provides the inexpert user, once he's dived into the "immersive" experience, no evident way to swim back out of the depths. Turns out that there IS a purpose to the "clutter" of visible controls.

And here's an interesting point about UX psychology:

I can't remember any mobile operating system users telling me they feel stupid using their system, but I hear it regularly from users of Windows 8.1. When pressed, they confirm it's because they have no visual clues that lead them in the right direction. The word 'clueless' crops up in these discussions far too often.

My personal favorite:

I liken using the hidden controls in Windows 8.1 to what using a keyboard with blank key tops would be like. As a touch typist I could type pretty quickly until I hesitated. Then I'd look at the keys to reorient myself and get nowhere for a brief period with those blank keys staring at me.

--JorgeA