[G8YMW]

Seems to me like the "Corporate Malaise" caused by CEOs surrounding themselves with "Yes Men" and a**ehole creepers.
Who was it who said "I dont want anybody who isnt kicking my a*s*"?
Please excuse my french

[jaclaz]

Once set aside the bias and the pre-made thesis and conclusions (obvious since it was a commissioned study and not an independent one - should such thing as an independent survey/statistic exists), the issue is actually with numbers.

Base is 113 people (too small to have any significance), but the actual "key" results are formed on the base of only 51 replies.

Please note how in figure 3, 96% of the 113 have standardized on a "single web browser".

Logically the 51% that DO NOT allow an alternative browser have NO way to know the costs connected on having it on the enterprise.
As well the 13% that do allow for it but provide NO support for it have NO costs related to the support which is not provided.
The 32% that do allow for it and provide support on a best-effort basis can be divided in two groups:

• the ones that are complete morons, offer support for this, have no idea of the costs of this "best-effort" basis and continue offering this support notwithstanding the possible financial damage (of unknown entity) they are making to the company
  
• the ones that are not complete morons, offer support for this, bear the costs of this "best-effort" basis and continue offering this support and allowing multi-browser as they found that these supplemental costs are trifling

So we have from a minimum of (51%+13%+0%=64%) to a maximum of (51%+13%+32%=96%) of the interviewed people that cannot possibly know the costs involved in supporting multiple web browsers, leaving us with a range between 4% and 36% of people that might know these costs.

But 51/113=45.13% replied to question 7, of these 10% replied "don't know" which reduces the actual "informed" base from 51 to 46.
Still 46/113=40.7% (i.e. higher than the possible amount of people that might actually know these costs)

Now let's read the Figure 7.
We have 7 values in it, you can try to sum them every which way you want, but you can never get a total of 86%.
If you sum the first five you get 4%+2%+14%+12%+45%=77%
To get 87% (NOT 86% and yes, the overall total makes 101%) you have to sum to the above the last value of 10% (the few honest people that replied "I don't know")
So we have that when you reply "Don't know" you are actually saying that your multi-browser strategy added significant costs.
It is to note how the relative majority, 45%, actually replied "Less than 20% higher" while the next alternative voted by 14% was "No change".
This swiftly means that if you actually had a multi-browser strategy AND you knew the attached costs AND you could express them in a percentage (of WHAT) of 1% or 2%, your vote would be taken as saying multi-browser strategy added significant costs.

Please note how the question is worded "If you were to estimate ...." (this actually allows the large majority of people that as seen has no ways to know the actual costs to produce their estimation or guesses ).

Figure 8 makes no sense whatsoever, as said only a part of the 51 people replying could have possibly these data, noone can possibly have them divided into the categories, and the actual unit of measure makes no sense.
People were asked what were the costs related to internal web applications as a result of their multi-browser strategy (that 96% of the people have NOT, since they standardized on a single web browser) but how this relates to actual real word units of measure?
If you spend additional US$ 10.000,00 to test a web app as a result of your firm multi-browser strategy, and this app is used by 10 (ten) people, you are actually spending US$ 1,000,00 per app per seat (and you are a complete moron ), if the app is used by your 10,000 employees, it makes a nice round US$1.00 per app per seat.
They are not exactly the same "kind" of money .

Whilst the question #7 had that "vague" wording, the question in #8 allows NOT estimates or guesses, it represents actual spent money (and as said at the very maximum only 36% - more likely much less than that - of the 113 interviewed, i.e. 40 people may have had spent any money on this)

jaclaz

This post has been edited by jaclaz: 19 December 2012 - 09:41 AM

[JorgeA]

Great analysis, jaclaz -- you picked apart the report very well.

I rushed through reading it and, although I knew there was something about it that bothered me, I couldn't put my finger on it. You identified the problem areas.

Meanwhile, more bad news for the Surface RT:

Microsoft Surface Demand Weak Vs. Apple iPad, Others

Quote

"Feedback from the supply chain indicates continued weakening demand trends for the Microsoft Surface tablet," Pacific Crest analyst John Vinh said in a research note Thursday. "We believe component orders declined another 25% in Q4. This is in addition to two previous downward revisions in orders in the quarter. We are estimating shipments of 1.5 million units in Q4."

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

G8YMW, on 19 December 2012 - 07:52 AM, said:

Seems to me like the "Corporate Malaise" caused by CEOs surrounding themselves with "Yes Men" and a**ehole creepers.
Who was it who said "I dont want anybody who isnt kicking my a*s*"?
Please excuse my french

Your French is excused, thanks to the substance of the message!

--JorgeA

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Windows 8: So easy, a child will show you how to use it ( NeoWin 2012-12-19 )

~sigh~ Another Mojave moment complete with a video of a child demonstrating Windows 8. That patented arrogance and knee-jerk need to insult their customers shows up again. Pathetic.

Dear Microsoft, no-one says Windows 8 is difficult. They in fact say it is for children. Clearly It was designed for children, written by children, managed by children if some of these petty Apple-esqe fiascos of the past couple of weeks are any indicator. Unlike the Windows XP default theme which you now criticize and deride as Fisher-Price, this whole thing is Playskool. Of course a child would be a perfect demonstrator at a Microsoft booth. You are completely hopeless.

[jaclaz]

CharlotteTheHarlot, on 20 December 2012 - 03:21 AM, said:

Dear Microsoft, no-one says Windows 8 is difficult.

I guess it's a matter of meanings.
Windows 8 in itself is nothing but a (hopefully bettered) Windows 7.
The issue is it's NCI which is INCONVENIENT:
http://www.thefreedi...om/inconvenient

Quote

in·con·ven·ient (nkn-vnynt)
adj.
Not convenient, especially:
a. Not accessible; hard to reach.
b. Not suited to one's comfort, purpose, or needs: inconvenient to have no phone in the kitchen.
c. Inopportune: Next Tuesday is inconvenient for us.

NOT particularly in meaning a., but in meanings b. and c.

Additionally it is CUMBERSOME:
http://www.thefreedi....com/cumbersome
in the sense of:

Quote

cumbersome
adjective
1. awkward, heavy, hefty (informal), clumsy, bulky, weighty, impractical, inconvenient, burdensome, unmanageable, clunky (informal), cumbrous Although the machine looks cumbersome, it is easy to use.
2. inefficient, unwieldy, badly organized an old and cumbersome computer system

In this case a new and cumbersome computer system.

jaclaz

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Speaking of MSIE, There are moments when Microsoft comes dangerously close to telling the truth ...

Microsoft prepares for the Mayan apocalypse with IE10 campaign ( NeoWin 2012-12-20 )

Quote

... some people believe the world will end, at least according to one interpretation of the ancient calendar of the Mayan civilization. Microsoft has decided to use this non-event to continue its previous "Browser You Loved To Hate" campaign for Internet Explorer.

Well, the truth in the sense that they are at least half right by referencing the sordid past of MSIE. Whether they have learned anything, it is way too soon to tell. Example Images from this page ...




Blackberry 10 defeats Windows Phone 8 in browser face off! ( NeoWin 2012-12-20 )

Oh nevermind. I have just learned in the NeoWin comments that benchmarks don't really mean anything after all.


Google contemplating a $99 Nexus 7 ( NeoWin 2012-12-20 )

This would begin quite a flood of low-priced, high-volume consumer appliances. Let the bloodletting begin. So much for Microsoft getting a meaningful percentage of that mobile space. Couple this with the many other rumors of numerous new really cheap phones from a variety of vendors and re-sellers and there is a good chance that Microsoft will gain nothing numerically in total percentage after all is said and done. The sacrifice of the Windows brand reputation will have been all for naught. Great thinking guys.


My disgraceful Microsoft Surface experience at Best Buy ( Microsoft-News.com 2012-12-19 )

( from a new site I never heard of before yesterday that was mentioned at The Verge ). The author, a Microsoft Fanboy, describes in detail with photos a visit to Best Buy to scope out the Surface in person. He was not happy with the half-hearted presentation compared to Apple and other products. It appears that simply releasing them to the big box stores is not enough, they will need to go the extra mile in creativity and slickness if they want to penetrate other products' turf. In this case they just phoned it in. His disappointment makes for a fun read. Get used to it.


Pokki has had 500,000 downloads of its Windows 8 Start menu program ( NeoWin 2012-12-20 )

Not the kind of news that will make the NeoWin commenters very happy. Let me share with you the wisdom from one of the geniuses: "This kinds of software are really bad for innovation, I hope Microsoft will do something about it.". What is interesting ( and you might want to mention this in the Start Menu Replacements thread Jorge ) is that they ( Pokki ) are clearly gathering their own telemetry. That would be a dealbreaker for me if I was using it ( it is not a free app ). Regardless, as one of the sane commenters points out, when you consider the other alternatives like Classic Shell ( someone says 2.5 million, perhaps XpClient can verify ) there are a lot of installs of Start Menu replacers into the turd called Windows 8.


Microsoft: FBR Slices Estimates On Soft Windows 8 Debut ( Forbes 2012-12-20 )

Quote

The evidence is growing that Microsoft Windows 8 is off to a disappointing start.
...
Hilal reaches two primary conclusions: Windows 8 commercial OS installed base will be smaller after one year than XP or Windows 7, although larger than Vista.
...
MSFT today is up 25 cents, or 0.9%, to $27.56.

Don't shoot the messenger. BTW, I'm not sure it will pass Vista after one year, or ever.


EDIT: add another link

This post has been edited by CharlotteTheHarlot: 21 December 2012 - 05:59 AM

[Tripredacus]

CharlotteTheHarlot, on 21 December 2012 - 04:39 AM, said:

My disgraceful Microsoft Surface experience at Best Buy ( Microsoft-News.com 2012-12-19 )

( from a new site I never heard of before yesterday that was mentioned at The Verge ). The author, a Microsoft Fanboy, describes in detail with photos a visit to Best Buy to scope out the Surface in person. He was not happy with the half-hearted presentation compared to Apple and other products. It appears that simply releasing them to the big box stores is not enough, they will need to go the extra mile in creativity and slickness if they want to penetrate other products' turf. In this case they just phoned it in. His disappointment makes for a fun read. Get used to it.

The spec sheet in that article has conflicting information. On the specs side, it says it weighs 1.5 pounds. But in the feature list it says it weighs less than 1.5 pounds!

[jaclaz]

Tripredacus, on 21 December 2012 - 09:04 AM, said:

The spec sheet in that article has conflicting information. On the specs side, it says it weighs 1.5 pounds. But in the feature list it says it weighs less than 1.5 pounds!

Sure , that depends on how much you fill the 16 Gb you are given of local storage.
As everyone knows, 1's weight a little bit more than 0's (because the 0's are full of air).

jaclaz

[JorgeA]

CharlotteTheHarlot, on 21 December 2012 - 04:39 AM, said:

Pokki has had 500,000 downloads of its Windows 8 Start menu program ( NeoWin 2012-12-20 )

[...]What is interesting ( and you might want to mention this in the Start Menu Replacements thread Jorge ) is that they ( Pokki ) are clearly gathering their own telemetry. That would be a dealbreaker for me if I was using it ( it is not a free app ).

Consider it done (mentioning this tracking in the Start Menu Replacements thread).

I visited Pokki's blog after seeing the graphic in Neowin reporting "30 Start Menu replacements 30 days after launch of Windows 8." I was hoping to find either more choices to add to the MSFN list, or maybe a mention of our list there.

The most interesting datapoint was the graph showing a threefold increase in Google searches for "Windows 8 Start Menu" in the weeks after Win8's launch.

--JorgeA

[JorgeA]

Extra! Extra! Read all about it!

Paul Thurrott critiques the Windows 8 UI and proposes giving users the choice to boot directly to the desktop!!!

Quote

It’s just customer-centric common sense.

Quote

But I think Windows 8 users deserve more than a cheap Registry key hack. I think Windows 8, modern and intelligent OS that it is, should do the work. And when you first boot into Windows 8, and the Start screen appears, you should see something like the following:

Attached File(s)

•  boot-to-desktop-final.jpg (35.44K)
  Number of downloads: 22

This post has been edited by JorgeA: 22 December 2012 - 12:19 AM

[JorgeA]

And in a separate article, Thurrott makes the intriguing argument that, in one important respect, Microsoft did not copy Apple enough:

Quote

Windows 7 and Windows 8 were developed in abject isolation from the outside world, because Microsoft disbanded the beta testing teams that had previously offered feedback at a very early point in development. Here, Microsoft was cherry-picking from the Apple playbook -- creating products in secret -- while ignoring the most important parts of that company’s strategy, such as its emphasis on keeping its products aggressively simple and effective. Dictating from on high only works when you make something that everyone loves.

Quote

Today, like Windows Vista before it, Windows 8 is starting to succumb to death by a thousand cuts. But it’s not too late, Microsoft, and your customers would love to help you design a product they want to buy. All you have to do is ask.

--JorgeA

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Thanks for those Thurrott links. It seems that there is a bit of pent-up frustration and backlogged suggestions that was just waiting to get released and Thurrott's suggestions opened the floodgates. Most comments I've seen there in a while ( when he allows comments ). The first link ( Fixing Windows 8, Part 1: App Bar ) is mostly constructive, if half-hearted. By the 2nd link, ( Fixing Windows 8, Part 2: Boot to the Desktop ) the fanboys are no longer amused. And considering that Thurrott is pretty much the definition of that word, when his fanboys get angry and out-do him it becomes a wonder to behold.

For example, we have this marvelous exchange ...

Quote

Arrogant Uber-Fanboy ... I understand the desire for this, but I disagree. The future is Metro, both on traditional machines and desktop. You're writing about how to make Windows 8 better, and basically saying "give me Windows 7" feels like a cop-out. I'd rather read about how you think Microsoft could improve Windows 8 for traditional desktop users, like your last Fixing Windows 8 article. For the past week, I've been using an app called Code Writer for coding websites. I'm doing this at a professional design firm, and I'm just as productive as I was in the desktop. When an app is written to work well with both keyboard/mouse and touch, there's no need for the desktop.

Thurrott ... Ridiculous. And your comment confirms it: Metro is the future. Yep. It is. I'm using it today, however, and like most Windows 8 users, I'm doing so on a traditional, non-touch PC. Computers should work the way I want, not force me into a UX paradigm "of the future" that makes no sense on my current hardware. That's the point of this, not to subvert Metro, but for their to be a fricking choice. I cannot believe this is not obvious.

Arrogant Uber-Fanboy ... Like I said, I completely understand why you want this. I just think that if Microsoft makes this an option, people will stick to the desktop, and at that point, why even include Metro on a traditional computer? I'd much rather see a more refined version of Metro that makes using it on a traditional machine better than watch Microsoft backtrack and offer the same interface we've been using for 15+ years. I completely get why you don't like Metro on a non-touch machine in its current state, but going back to the desktop in the next update to Windows isn't the solution (even if that's a minor update to Windows 8). Fixing Metro is.

My, my. What a cute little dictator. I'll use whatever I want. Get it? It is also ironic that baby dictator is arguing with Paul "The Desktop Must Die" Thurrott ( see Post #866 )

The 3rd link, Windows 8: Death by a Thousand Cuts? is also worth reading, but still understated. One problem I see is that Thurrott, like so many of the ignoramuses do not even have a basic understanding of the marketplace and the customers ...

Quote

Thurrott ... The problem Microsoft now faces, however, is compounded by a number of issues. Windows Vista, whatever its problems, was a traditional PC operating system aimed at traditional PCs. The competition it faced, such as it was, was Apple’s Mac OS X. At that time, the Cupertino juggernaut hadn’t even released the first iPhone, let alone the iPod touch or iPad. And no offense to Mac fans, but there was only so much ground the Mac was ever going to make up.

Wrong! Apple was not a competitor to Vista, Nor was it a competitor to any version of Windows. We cannot choose the Mac OS unless we are talking hackintosh, and that is no option at all. Get it through your heads, Vista's competition was Windows XP, and it lost that battle. The problem here is that these MicroZombies in their obsessive-compulsive Apple-envy have succumbed to a mental illness. It is a very convenient mental illness because it allows them to completely ignore all previous version of Windows ( the only true alternative available to the customer, thus the only true competition ) thereby escaping any significant and meaningful actual comparison of the new Windows they are promoting. In short, by using Apple as a foil they get to avoid constructive and genuine criticism of their baby.

I found this one little bit interesting though as it expands upon our discussion above ( Post #1373 ) ...

Quote

Thurrott ... Microsoft also claims, curiously, and, I think, disingenuously, that it had arrived at the design for Windows 8 before the iPad arrived. This claim was most recently repeated by new Windows chief Julie Larson-Green, a disciple of previous Windows chief Steven Sinofsky, the man most personally responsible for all that is both right and wrong with Windows 8. “We started planning Windows 8 in June of 2009, before we shipped Windows 7, and the iPad was only a rumor at that point,” she told MIT Technology Review recently. “I only saw the iPad after we had this design ready to go.” I was told a similar tale by the credible Jensen Harris, who helped design Windows 8.

... Almost sounds like an admonishment, telling them to shut their yaps before their habitual need to lie gets them into trouble. That crazy meme they are pushing ( Metro precedes the iPad ) will not fly in this day and age of instant and permanent communication.

That 3rd link also gives us a taste of the mindset of those that are threatened by the slightest criticism of their little playskool OS ...

Quote

Paul, lighten up. I am worried for you. It seems that you are personally responsible for many of those thousand cuts. You have become like the boyfriend locked out of his girlfriend's house after she has had enough of the beating and changed her locks. You have become embittered and unhinged and it shows. You are abusing the preeminent position you built up over the years by displaying good judgment, and seem hell-bent on destroying your own reputation. Please stop these rants before it's too late.

Actually it is you MicroZombie who is unhinged. And you are unhinged at the most minor of criticisms by a life-long Microsoft shill. You are a perfect representative of the hordes of enablers that have ruined Windows, Microsoft itself, and other companies with their own ruined products. The ability to listen to criticism ( not a chance ) and learn from it ( impossible ) is your problem. Enjoy this fail, you have earned it. Lots of us are going to have fun rubbing your noses into it.

EDIT: next installment is now up: Fixing Windows 8, Part 3: Start Screen

This post has been edited by CharlotteTheHarlot: 24 December 2012 - 04:44 AM

[jaclaz]

CharlotteTheHarlot, on 22 December 2012 - 07:25 AM, said:

Quote

Arrogant Uber-Fanboy ... I understand the desire for this, but I disagree. The future is Metro, both on traditional machines and desktop.

Right.

So, in the future, i.e. WHEN (after it will be profoundly modified in such ways that) it will actually work, we will use the NCI (hoping that in the meantime the geniuses will come out at least with a name for it ).

NOW, it's the present, and we are going to use what we see fit NOW (the desktop).

jaclaz

[ricktendo]

Dunno about Metro but Windows on ARM was before the ipad http://www.istarteds...e-ipad-release/

[jaclaz]

ricktendo64, on 22 December 2012 - 10:01 AM, said:

Dunno about Metro but Windows on ARM was before the ipad http://www.istarteds...e-ipad-release/

Sure, it was additionally before the iPad RELEASE:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPad

Quote

The first iPad was released on April 3, 2010

but I doubt that the good Apple guys managed to get the idea on the 22 January 2010 and released a finished product (including BOTH hardware and software) in the millions in two an and a half months .
Specifically the iPad has been one of the most talked about before release products in the history of electronic devices:
http://billpetro.com...ory-of-the-iPad
This is from September 2009:
http://www.ilounge.c...e-apple-tablet/
three months later at MS they tested a Windows NT OS on a touch screen device, I mean WOW, original idea, they forecasted that their competitors already had ready for the market a kick a** device and did some tests about possibly doing the same? (and then it took them almost two years to actually release a product)

Prototypes and tests should be compared to prototypes and to tests, as well released products should be compared to released products.

jaclaz

[MagicAndre1981]

This post has been edited by MagicAndre1981: 22 December 2012 - 11:54 PM

[bphlpt]

LMAO One of the best reviews and explanations of the problems with Win 8 I've ever seen!

Cheers and Regards

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

ricktendo64, on 22 December 2012 - 10:01 AM, said:

Dunno about Metro but Windows on ARM was before the ipad http://www.istarteds...e-ipad-release/

I remember that article. Leaving aside the oxymoron in that article title: Photo EXIF evidence points to Windows on ARM before iPad release ( oh yeah, I would bet the farm on those EXIF bytes in an image file surviving the endless assault of harmless photo viewers ), but I still think the same now as I did then and that is: so what's the point? ( not directed at you Rick but at MicroZombies like those in the article that think Metro and Windows 8 is in some way new and thus the feel they must herald this news far and wide ).

Anyhow, "Windows" has been on other platforms for ages ( ARM, Alpha, MIPs, PowerPC, Itanium etc ) in its various flavors and families ( NT, CE, Pocket, Mobile ). I mean WP itself is obviously ARM and has been around for a few years. All that hype of WoA was ridiculous. "Hey, we've started something, Windows on ARM!" Really? From what I remember it was on ARM during the Windows 95 era. I guess I just don't get the point of this meme with these Microsoft people like Julie making this iPad comparison ( I also don't get them calling it "Windows" in these ports either, but that's for another discussion). They're like little children: "Look what I did mommy!". It's as if the world has gone crazy.

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

MagicAndre1981, on 22 December 2012 - 11:54 PM, said:

Windows 8: The Animated Evaluation

I like that. Nicely done. Although heads on pikes would be the more traditional punishment rather than ID badges ( more effective too ).

If I am reading this right, it was posted on YouTube just 3 days ago and it already has 67,746 views and get this, 1,059 Comments. Wow. Looks obvious that the astroturf brigade is out in force.

Anyone know what he used for the animation? A newer version of Powerpoint 2010 or 2013 maybe?