1 Month of Windows 8: Pass or Fail?

[nsane.forums]

My, how time flies when you're swiping through live tiles. Microsoft's new-look Windows 8 launched exactly one month and one day ago, bringing the modern UI and mobile-style apps to the desktop masses on October 26th. So how has the system actually fared during its honeymoon period? Read on for the full synopsis of Windows 8 wins and losses.

It can't be all bad. Or can it?

Stephen Sinofsky: the gorilla no longer in the room

Many eyebrows were raised on November 12 when Microsoft announced that Stephen Sinofsky—the president of the Windows division, a driving force behind Windows 8, and a long-time leader at Microsoft—was leaving his post, effective immediately. The odd timing and abrupt announcement led to a rash of speculation. Was Sinofsky fired or did he quit? Was it planned? Are Windows 8 sales that bad?

Neither Microsoft nor Sinofsky will talk about their divorce, but many analysts believe Sinofsky's penchant for secretiveness and territorial mindset alienated external and internal partners alike, which proved troublesome in the new, cross-departmental world of Windows 8. It's hard to believe Microsoft would dump Sinofsky over two weeks of (possibly) poor OS sales. Regardless of the reason behind the split, Sinofsky's exit was badly timed and led to a fresh wave of media focus on the negative aspects of Windows 8.

"I think it was unwise to fire the head of the unit during the launch cycle and during the critical 4th quarter," says Rob Enderle, the president and principal analyst of the Enderle Group. "It was a dangerous distraction."

Sinofsky's departure may have been a dangerous distraction, but headlines alone don't make or break an operating system. Indeed, sales figures define the bottom line, and Sinofksy has never been a household name. Nonetheless, the unceremonious exit of the Windows boss adds up to a net fail for Microsoft in the executive comings-and-goings department.

Windows Store: growing, but still unimpressive

Windows 8 has a lot of games, but few standout apps.

As the Windows Store goes, so goes Windows 8. The fancy-schmancy modern UI and its glittering live tiles are all powered by new-style Windows 8 apps, and the only way to get these apps is through the Windows Store itself. Our pre-launch examination of Microsoft's digital wares revealed a worrisome dearth of apps, along with a serious paucity of blockbuster apps, to boot.

One month in, the Windows Store is looking a bit better. Wes Miller, an independent Microsoft analyst at Directions on Microsoft and the curator of the WinAppUpdate website, recently announced that the Windows Store finally cracked the 20,000 app barrier, with new apps showing up at a clip of roughly 500 per day, post-launch. Only around 13,000 of these titles are available in the United States, however, and Microsoft still has a long way to go before it nears the 700,000-plus app selection of the entrenched Android and Apple markets. Still, the Windows Store is growing nicely.

The quality level of those apps is still a concern, however. The last post on Miller's website is titled, "Windows Store: I'm holding out for a hero app," in which he bemoans the lack of exclusive Windows 8 apps and says flat-out, "There aren’t a ton of stellar apps. It's an observation that mirrors our own. Most of the available apps are ho-hum web wrappers, uninspired utilities or lackluster games.

Sure, a few big-name apps have already reared their heads on Microsoft's platform. You'll find apps from Netflix, Hulu Plus, ESPN, Slacker, Kindle, SugarSync, Skype, Evernote, Amazon, Newegg, Angry Birds and more. Dropbox and Twitter apps are in the works, albeit with no announced release dates. However, you won't find apps from big names like Facebook, YouTube, Gmail, IMDB, CNN, Pandora, Spotify and hosts of others.

Nevertheless, many user needs are now covered if you look hard enough, as evidenced by our Best Windows 8 Business Apps and Best Windows 8 Gaming Apps roundups. That need to dig deep, however, highlights another early woe for the Windows Store. Despite its nifty spotlight section, Microsoft simply doesn't do a great job of steering users toward standout apps, which will become a bigger and bigger problem as the Windows Store becomes more packed.

"I think they need to do a better job of profiling so that they present apps they know I will like, similar to what Amazon does in their online store," Enderle says. "It amazes me how much better Amazon is than any of the app stores at this."

While the Windows Store hasn't impressed anyone with either its inventory quantity or quality, it does deserve kudos for remaining on a steady, uphill climb. We'll refrain from issuing a failing grade in this category, and simply give the Windows Store an "incomplete."

The new interface: charming or chilling?

Swiping from the right, as it turns out, doesn't work like a charm.

Aside from the app selection, many early criticisms targeted the modern UI itself, which throws everything you know about navigating Windows, well, out the window. Early adopters—especially non-techie types—have reported running into issues with the overhauled interface, which is made worse by Windows 8's near-complete lack of instructions when you boot it up for the first time.

The complaints led us to question interface experts, who universally panned the dual-natured design of Windows 8. The complaints came to a head when usability guru Jakob Nielsen published a scathing blog post deriding almost every aspect of Windows 8's design. His brutal examination was then re-blogged far and wide.

Nielsen blasted the flat, non-intuitive look and "low information density" of the modern UI. He derided the way Windows hides commands in off-screen menus, and its too-shifty live tiles. He ripped into overly similar gesture controls, and Microsoft's decision to display just a single Windows 8 app at a time. "The product ought to be renamed 'Microsoft Window,'" he quipped.

The dual desktop and modern UI in particular create cognitive problems for everyday users, Nielsen says. In his opinion, Microsoft made a big mistake in attempting to create a single operating for desktops and tablets alike, as the two have very different uses and form factors.

"Windows 8 on mobile devices and tablets is akin to Dr. Jekyll: a tortured soul hoping for redemption," he wrote. "On a regular PC, Windows 8 is Mr. Hyde: a monster that terrorizes poor office workers and strangles their productivity." Ouch. We also found the Windows 8 UI a bit non-intuitive, though navigating the operating system quickly becomes second nature, especially if you only use Windows 8 as a touch-only OS. It's just different. (Really different.)

Nonetheless, our one-month report card must focus on widespread public reception, and, without a doubt, pre-launch gripes about Windows 8 have only gotten louder since the system's actual release. The new U.I. receives a failing grade (mostly for its muddled desktop implementation) though that could change as more and more people learn to live with Windows 8, and all its clumsy behaviors become the new normal

Sales: the unknown factor

Why didn't we start off with hard sales numbers? Simple: Microsoft hasn't been forthcoming with hard sales numbers, and the company declined to comment for this article. That institutional reticence makes it hard to divine just how well Windows 8 is actually selling on the streets.

All that said, sporadic leaks, whispers, and data from third-party channels help us paint a partial picture of Windows 8's sales success—and what we've gleaned suggests the OS is stumbling out of the gate.

Windows 8's start had Steve Ballmer smiling, but he soon hushed up.

The company's one on-the-record comment came during the developer-focused BUILD conference, which kicked off on October 30, just four days after the official launch of Windows 8. There, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said the company sold four million upgrade licenses over opening weekend, along with "tens of millions of units to our corporate customers who can upgrade when they want to."

Since then, silence.

Four million system sales in three days is certainly nothing to sneeze at, but auxiliary evidence suggests that the blistering pace set by early enthusiasts soon tapered off. Data from the Web measurement firm Net Applications showed that at the end of October, only 0.45 percent of computers were running Windows 8. Windows 7's hit a 2.33 percent adoption during the same time frame in its life cycle—a five-fold-plus difference. On the plus side, Windows 8's 0.45 percent slice of the pie more than doubles the measly 0.19 percent stake Windows Vista managed to snag during its opening month.

Merle McIntosh, SVP of product development for Newegg—a popular electronics e-tailer with billions in annual sales—recently told ReadWrite that Windows 8 software sales have been "slow going," paired with "slow but steady increases" in hardware sales. "(Windows 8) did not explode, as I think you know, coming out of the gate," McIntosh said. He went on to say that Windows 8's launch "doesn't even come close" to Windows 7's numbers.

Consumer confusion over the differences between Windows 8 and the more feature-limited Windows RT have been a slight issue, but not nearly as big of a concern as some analysts predicted it would be. "The Microsoft stores are doing the best job of positioning the two products and have the lowest return rates as a result," Enderle says. "Other stores have been mixed. Those that didn’t invest in training are having the biggest problems with returns."

So what's it going to be, a pass or a fail in terms of sales? Again, we don't have enough data to make a decisive call. But you can look at it this way: Considering how many tech pundits and long-time Windows users openly mock Windows 8, beating the early adoption numbers of Windows Vista is actually a win—bittersweet and poignant, but still something that passes as a measure of success.

Enterprise adoption: What enterprise adoption?

The Surface tablet seems made for the workplace, but IT ain't biting.

Things don't look much brighter on the business side of the sales story, despite the big numbers Ballmer bounced around at BUILD.

"Windows 8 is seeing roughly half of the interest from IT hardware decision-makers that Windows 7 saw at the same point in its release cycle," Forrester's David Johnson reports. The numbers get even scarier for Microsoft once you dig into the details. Only 4 percent of the companies Forrester surveyed plan to switch to Windows 8 in the next year, with another 5 percent planning to migrate sometime after that. An even larger total—10 percent—replied that they plan to skip Windows 8 entirely.

A torrent of other reports echo Forrester's sentiment. It's safe to say that one month in, Windows 8 is a complete non-starter in the enterprise realm. That was expected, however, considering that many businesses only recently upgraded to Windows 7, and many more are hesitant to take on the training hurdles associated with Windows 8's modern UI.

Grade: Fail.

Don't panic!

Of course, while Microsoft no doubt hoped Windows 8 would be immediately embraced by a loving public, we can't judge the success of an operating system by its first month on the market. Grizzled Windows veterans often refuse to buy in to a new version before the first service pack is released, and Enderle notes that Windows 8 is still an early release experiencing "typical initial teething issues."

Directions on Microsoft analyst Wes Miller also cautions against reading too much into Windows 8 adoption rates this early in the operating system's lifetime.

"This holiday season is critically important to the success of Windows RT in particular, as well as the lower-end market for Windows 8 tablets," he said via email. "We won’t really know until the new year how well those have done in the marketplace."

Along those lines (and despite his less-than-optimistic talk over at ReadWrite), Newegg SVP Merle McIntosh told us via email that "Sales have met our expectations so far. Currently, the majority of our Windows 8 assortment consists of desktops and notebooks so, naturally, those categories are the strongest right now. Tablets are also doing well, and we expect this category to continue to grow."

McIntosh acknowledges that Windows 8 sales are more likely to slowly build steam rather than explode out of the gate. "Windows 8 is a completely new OS, so it will take a bit of time for consumers and businesses to fully embrace it and move away from Windows 7," he says. "Windows 7 was a very successful product, so there will be some consumers who may prefer that OS for the time being."

That single statement may shed the most light on Windows 8's apparently lackluster adoption rates. People couldn't wait to upgrade away from Vista. Everybody loves Windows 7, which offers a damn near ideal desktop experience. Throwing that excellence out the window to focus on tablet functionality hasn't convinced laptop and desktop users that they need to switch to Windows 8 right now and learn a whole new, fairly unintuitive interface.

Windows 8: One month down, many to go

Microsoft is all in with the modern UI and Windows 8—just read the slide.

Newegg expects Windows 8 hardware sales to be a major growth factor for the OS as a whole, and therein lies Microsoft's strongest ace in the hole. Even if the operating system struggled a bit during its first month, the overwhelming majority of all laptops and desktops shipped henceforth will ship with Windows 8 installed. No early adopters? No problem. Windows 8 has legs in the long tail, with the IDC estimating 391.1 million PCs to ship in 2013. "It’s still very early to be calling out any definitive sales trends," McIntosh told us, and he's right.

Sure, Microsoft made some missteps with the roll-out of Windows 8, but few of the problems are deep-rooted. As adoption rates slowly grow, the apps are sure to come—and Microsoft is courting developers hard to make sure those apps do come. The Windows Store itself needs some usability tweaking, and that tweaking will have to be done under new management. Possible customer confusion issues should clear up as Windows 8 and Windows RT become more widespread, and businesses will be forced to integrate the operating system into their networks when employees start dragging in BYOD Windows 8 laptops and tablets, even if I.T. departments hesitate to roll them out whole-hog.

Windows 8 may—may—be struggling now, but sheer scale means it will be adopted by many more people. Eventually.

Just don't expect the modern UI to disappear anytime soon. Despite the deep-seated hatred that desktop enthusiasts and usability experts toss the interface's way, Microsoft spent a lot of money creating the cross-platform design in a bid to lure tablet shoppers away from Android and Apple alternatives. Remember that PC sales are sluggish and mobile sales are booming. What's a first-time tablet shopper more likely to buy: A tablet with a completely new operating system, or one that looks like and syncs with with the UI on their home computer?

When you look at Windows 8 you're staring at the future of Microsoft, folks. So you might as well get used to it. In the present, however, Windows 8 still has a few kinks left to work out after a month on the market.

View: Original Article

[Ganxxta]

Fail

[j9ksf]

Sorry folks, but I like it and it will be even better when laptops become touch sensitive.

[DKT27]

As I've said, good or not, it has to fail. Because of Metro. Microsoft has to understand that Metro won't do on PCs.

[anuseems]

Plenty of other issues which interfere in normal computing ( like title bar text color )as compared to 7. In brief 8 is not a finished product , rather an experimental block. m looking forward to refund policy.

[november_ra1n]

Defiantly pass for me regardless all the people making fuss about.

[Marik]

fail in my book...thus far at least

and from the way I see it, Windows 8 is Vista's sister and Windows 7 is XP's brother

not too hard of a choice :smoke:

also the fact that they decided to slap the start menu and this 'metro' UI everybody keeps talking about doesn't help either.

but mostly the start menu is what upset me...removing something that's basically tradition is bound to piss everybody off...yet Microsh!t did it regardless while fapping to what they thought would be the greatest selling OS of all time.

[demoneye]

windows 8 pass big time when it consider tablets or mobile phone , it fail for the rest...(personal pc) .

[DKT27]

Windows 8, in real, is really great. But, it's weird and buggy. And Metro makes it shit.

Do this: Optional Metro, bug fixing. And Windows 8 will start selling like guns in a war.

[JCRUYFF]

Windows 8 pass for me...

It's the best O.S I've used.

I don't why people cry about Start Menu and Metro...

Evolution doesn't hurt anyone.

[mara-]

Except this is not evolution.

Cheers ;)

[ck_kent]

I think they could only redeem themselves if they release a service pack that would make metro optional and bring back the start menu for desktops. And an option for a desktop install (w/o metro and w/ start menu) and tablet (w/ metro) during installation.

Except this is not evolution.

Cheers ;)

Maybe a revolution would change M$ mind? :D

[mosaji]

Pass...with startisback or start8

[calguyhunk]

Let's see - it's a fail 'cuz it's not just the fininshed product yet - just like Vista. Not a bad product per se, but rushed out without taking the hardware vendors into confidence and hence running into multiple driver related issues - not to mention the buggy and laggy nature that took the final service pack to fix fully. And that service pack was named Windows 7 :P

Same with Win8 IMO - not bad, but rushed out prematurely to compete with Android and iOS :( It'll take a whole service pack called Win9 to fix :P When it does get fixed though, it will be stellar, methinks :yes: But it's still the beta version as of now ;)

[irefay]

Windows 8, in real, is really great. But, it's weird and buggy. And Metro makes it shit.

Do this: Optional Metro, bug fixing. And Windows 8 will start selling like guns in a war.

Ill agree with the bugginess.

The good thing is that MS didnt try and prevent developers from creating a way to bring the start menu back. I am currently using Startisback, which also allows you to skip the start screen on start up. I still use metro once in a great while, but not often. Most of the apps are no more helpful then a web page, but with a web page, I can multitask inside and outside the browser. Metro just doesn't allow me to work efficiently.

[Bizarre™]

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

M$ thought the Start Menu was broken... So they fixed it by removing it... :bag:

[Zeus_Hunt]

I have moved to good old Windows 7.

The only 2 good thing I liked in 8 was Ribbon in explorer and other apps and the only other was Picture lock Screen

Not a single thing other than that.

I disliked it a hell lot.. They forgot about people still using mouse.

When it started having stability issues .. that just sealed the deal.

[Notam]

Pass for me....although a bit buggy but still a great effort

[dcs18]

<deleted by self>

[hamslammer]

Total failure for me, removed it after two weeks of trying to get to like it!! I even bought a new high dollar SSD to use with it, what a waste of money. I'm only glad that I had my older drive saved back with Windows 7 there to simply plug in and forget the horrible mess of Windows 8.

[DKT27]

Let's see - it's a fail 'cuz it's not just the fininshed product yet - just like Vista. Not a bad product per se, but rushed out without taking the hardware vendors into confidence and hence running into multiple driver related issues - not to mention the buggy and laggy nature that took the final service pack to fix fully. And that service pack was named Windows 7 :P

Same with Win8 IMO - not bad, but rushed out prematurely to compete with Android and iOS :( It'll take a whole service pack called Win9 to fix :P When it does get fixed though, it will be stellar, methinks :yes: But it's still the beta version as of now ;)

On a side note:

XP: 3 Service Packs.

Vista: 2 Service Packs.

Windows 7: 1 Service Pack.

Windows 8: None? :mellow:

Windows 8, in real, is really great. But, it's weird and buggy. And Metro makes it shit.

Do this: Optional Metro, bug fixing. And Windows 8 will start selling like guns in a war.

Ill agree with the bugginess.

The good thing is that MS didnt try and prevent developers from creating a way to bring the start menu back. I am currently using Startisback, which also allows you to skip the start screen on start up. I still use metro once in a great while, but not often. Most of the apps are no more helpful then a web page, but with a web page, I can multitask inside and outside the browser. Metro just doesn't allow me to work efficiently.

Most of us use Startisback or Start8. Metro is almost nonexistent on the system. :)

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

M$ thought the Start Menu was broken... So they fixed it by removing it... :bag:

Now that you have mentioned, Microsoft already seemed idiotic about the start menu in Windows 8. If people remember the early leaked screenshots, the start menu was changed to black coloured, Windows 98'ish functionality. :(

It's 66.33% pass for me because I had the wherewithal to configure and overcome 2 of the 3 major hurdles:-

• Disable Metro, completely = pass (+33.33%)
• Incorporate Start Menu = pass (+33.33%)
• Aero is not yet been conquered officially = fail (-33.33%) This failure is however, temporary - WindowBlinds is releasing the latest compatible version that shall bring back Aero. Moreover, one of my Developer friends has also managed to overcome the Aero deficiency and shall be releasing the themes & skins shortly.

Overall it's a pass for me. :)

You forgot the 0.01% :tooth:

[calguyhunk]

Aero is not yet been conquered officially = fail (-33.33%) This failure is however, temporary - WindowBlinds is releasing the latest compatible version that shall bring back Aero. Moreover, one of my Developer friends has also managed to overcome the Aero deficiency and shall be releasing the themes & skins shortly.

Overall it's a pass for me. :)

Windows 8 has Aero out of the box. I think you're talking about one of the features of Aero - Aero Glass (translucency). Now that ain't available out the box or through any hack either in the RTM version :(

While that is a sore point, it really doesn't bother you as much after a while. The real bone of contention for me is that the thing is neither here nor there. Most of the features oscillate between the modern and traditional interfaces and that annoys the hell out of me. You cannot possibly guess or even remember which action is gonna take you away to the other UI :o Why the hell they couldn't implement the features fully this way or that is beyond me :angry:

Also, the number of clicks needed to do stuff has definitely increased significantly. Things that you could do with just a couple of clicks in Win7 now takes 3 to 4. And this happens across the spectrum :mad2:

But the strengths are obviously manifold. That's why I'm cautiously optimistic that MS will do that in their next version and make it a pleasure to work with both on traditional desktops/notebooks as well as on touch enabled devices :)

In short, I expect Win9 to do to Win8, what Win7 did to Vista. Be the better coded, less buggy, better thought out, feature packed version of MS's mistake release :P

[calguyhunk]

XP: 3 Service Packs.

Vista: 2 Service Packs.

Windows 7: 1 Service Pack.

Windows 8: None? :mellow:

Quite possibly! Doesn't have to be a joke, that. MS has said that they're gonna reduce the release cycle to two years, so it's not super likely that they're gonna worry too much for what now seems to be a DOA OS and instead concentrate on making the next version a success. I have no doubt that it'll also be tile based. It's just that, everything will (hopefully) be implemented better and in a less haphazard manner :)

[dcs18]

<deleted by self>

[calguyhunk]

It's 66.33% pass for me because ...

You forgot the 0.01% :tooth:

In fact, more major - I posted 66.33% instead of 66.66%

Neither one of you were taking your math lessons in school :spank: :P