Sorry, Microsoft, but consumers just don't like you

[nsane.forums]

With PC sales falling, and Windows Phone still struggling, Microsoft's consumer strategy is stalling even as overall revenues grow. Consumers, it seems, just don't like Microsoft. But why?

“So, what do you think of Windows 8?” If I had a dollar for every time that question has been asked of me, I’d be a rich man. Sadly, those who ask for my opinion in that regard rarely do me the courtesy of paying for my time, but invariably, once they’ve heard my thoughts on Microsoft’s latest operating system, they see fit to return the favour by sharing their own opinions with me.

In my professional and social activities, I get to hear these musings from a pretty broad range of individuals – from the Trend Micro reps I chatted with at Mobile World Congress, to the Huawei executive I bumped into at the airport, to the staffer from The Telegraph that I drunkenly tried (and failed) to chat up on a night bus, to friends and family.

I hear from those who have bought shiny new Windows 8 notebooks; those who have upgraded their older PCs to the latest Windows version; those who are wondering if they should upgrade; and those who use Macs and despise Windows. Everyone, it seems, has an opinion.

With few exceptions, those opinions are far from positive. Those who have used Windows 8 express frustration; the dichotomy between the Desktop and Metro is confusing, the Start button is missing, the apps are lacking. Those who are on the fence express apprehension; they’ve heard less than glowing reviews about Windows 8 from friends and in the media, and are nervous about taking the plunge. Those who have no intention of ever using Windows 8 express satisfaction; what better vindication of their own choice, after all, than to know that the path not taken leads only to woe?

Whomever I speak with, the common factor in almost all of the conversations that I have about Windows 8 is the impression of negativity that seems to have pervaded consumer consciousness. There is no love, no affection, no emotional attachment whatsoever, it seems, among the overwhelming majority of consumers for Windows.

New Windows devices will keep on emerging - but are they what consumers want?

Of course, my anecdotal ramblings can hardly be used to declare universal consumer antipathy towards Windows 8 across the entire market. There is, you’ll no doubt be relieved to hear, more to it than that.

Earlier this month, research firms Gartner and IDC released figures which pointed to a significant fall in global PC shipments of between 11.2% and 13.9% over the last quarter. This drop was far higher than expected; IDC had previously predicted a decrease of 7.7%. But, I hear you say, but, but, but… Microsoft just posted record revenues of $20.49bn for Q1, and – and – the Windows division reported an increase in revenues of 23%! So Windows revenues were up even as PC shipments were down – Microsoft is obviously doing something right, right?

The story is more complex than those figures suggest. As Charles Arthur, technology editor at The Guardian, explains, $1.1bn of the $5.7bn revenue for the Windows division was deferred from revenues generated by the pre-launch $15 Windows 8 upgrade offer given to those purchasing Windows 7 PCs in mid-2012. Business sales of Windows 7 licences to companies migrating from Windows XP - reacting to the final death knell of its demise next year - also gave things a boost, as did sales of Microsoft’s Surface tablets, which also come under the Windows division.

Revenues from this mid-2012 promotion contributed to Windows division revenues in Q1 2013

That Windows division revenues have been propped up by a pre-launch promotion, Windows 7 enterprise sales and Surface hardware sales doesn't exactly point to Windows 8 being a runaway success among consumers since its launch. Whichever way you spin the numbers, Surface - with Windows RT and Windows 8 Pro - hasn’t exactly taken the market by storm. While Surface sales helped to top up Windows division revenues, it’s widely believed that Microsoft has sold fewer than 1.5m of its tablets since launch last year.

In the last quarter of 2012, Apple sold 22.9m iPads. This is an unfair comparison like-for-like, of course, as the Surface launched halfway through that quarter, in far fewer markets than those in which the iPad is sold – but it puts into perspective just how large the gap is between sales of Microsoft’s tablets and those of its fiercest rival.

Things aren’t much better for Microsoft in mobile, which has largely been a consumer story so far, although businesses are starting to adopt Windows Phone, albeit slowly. Fans of the Windows Phone platform may point to the success that Nokia recently announced, in revealing that sales of its Lumia handsets jumped 27% over the previous quarter to 5.6m units. But to put that figure into context, the AdDuplex advertising network revealed earlier this month that Nokia represents 80% of Windows Phone sales, which points to total sales across the platform of around 7m for the first three months of the year. This might sound like a lot, until you consider that Samsung sold 10m Galaxy S III handsets in the two months up to January 14 this year, with total sales now in the region of 50m.

Windows Phone is growing, but not fast enough. It hasn’t helped Microsoft’s cause that it hit the reset button on its mobile platform when it dead-ended Windows Phone 7. Many people – especially those who bought the then-new Lumia 900 just a few months before being told that it, like other WP7 handsets, wouldn’t be upgraded to Windows Phone 8 – were furious over that debacle. Many who had previously sung Windows Phone’s praises turned to badmouthing the product to anyone who would listen. Much of the good will that Microsoft had built up among early adopters was quickly incinerated; Microsoft naysayers had a field day.

Microsoft's great hope for Windows Phone lies in emerging markets, with billions of potential sales up for grabs, particularly at the lower end of the market. But in these price-sensitive markets, cheaper Android handsets and well-featured 'semi-smart' devices like the Nokia Asha range may well present a more appealing prospect. There have been some successes in more mature markets; countries such as Italy and Finland have seen Windows Phone soar into double-digit market shares, but in North America, Nokia Lumia sales fell to a pitiful 400,000 devices - a shocking 42.8% drop over the previous quarter's sales across the continent.

The less said about this, the better...

The problem that Microsoft faces in trying to market its products to consumers is that people are undeniably willing, almost to the point of being eager, to believe the worst about it.

Look at Google, for example, which has faced plenty of accusations over privacy concerns in recent years, and is now dealing with numerous investigations over possible anti-competitive behaviour. Consider Apple too, which had to deal with the iPhone 4 ‘Antennagate’ furore, and the embarrassingly poor quality of its Maps app. Yet in these instances, and others, consumers have quickly moved beyond these companies’ controversies, and returned to faithfully buying their products in the millions.

But consumers seem to have curiously long memories when it comes to Microsoft. The company’s frequent brushes with antitrust regulators, and its monolithic and often arrogant reputation, remain etched in the broader consumer consciousness as an affirmation that Microsoft is the big, evil conglomerate attempting to control and manipulate its way to the top. It’s perhaps fair to say that few consumers would articulate their impressions of Microsoft with specific reference to its anti-competitive actions of yesteryear, but fewer still would have kind words to say about what the company has since become if ‘antitrust’ and ‘Microsoft’ were uttered in the same sentence.

To put it simply, people don’t really like Microsoft. For the most part, they have no reason to. When commentators write about the “post-PC era” and the imminent death of Microsoft, others leap to the company’s defence by pointing to its immense strength in business and enterprise. But from a consumer viewpoint, this in itself represents a significant part of the problem.

Hundreds of millions of people use Windows operating systems at work; it’s a functional medium for them to perform the tasks that need to be completed. But workers who use Windows don’t like Windows; they don’t love using Office. For the most part, they’re completely indifferent to it; when it goes wrong, they get annoyed by it. Windows and Office may be a key part of keeping the world turning with its presence in just about every industry and sector in the world, but for the most part, the only emotional responses it elicits are negative ones.

It may not be fair, but for many, this is the first thing that comes to mind when they think of Windows.

Once we accept this simple truth, the problem that Microsoft faces in winning over consumers becomes easier to understand, though no easier to address. Consumers hear about how their friends and family love their iPads; but when the persistent impression that they retain of Windows is tainted by the Blue Screen of Death and having to call the IT department to resolve a problem on their workstation, the prospect of choosing a Windows tablet over an iPad becomes far less appealing.

Consumers love their phones; they’re incredibly personal devices with which many of us form an almost irrational connection, feeling discombobulated when we lose them or run out of battery – but when the underlying impression of Windows is far from positive, why, oh why, would consumers want to have Windows on their phones? Hell, people even like using Google, as illogical as that sounds - I've heard far more non-techy users sing the praises of Google Search, Maps, Shopping or Gmail than those who have tried using equivalent services from Microsoft.

Perhaps the only major Microsoft brand that consumers have any strong, positive emotional connection with is Xbox. For years, the company kept it at arm’s length from the rest of its operations, with only limited references to its Microsoft lineage, evidently recognising that drawing a connection between the two might do more harm than good. More recently, Microsoft has seen the value of the equity it has built in the Xbox brand, giving the console’s dashboard a Metro-style update, and rebranding and integrating its entertainment services into its phone and PC offerings.

Metro – or whatever the hell Microsoft wants to call it these days – is the glue that binds its consumer offerings together: Windows Phone, Windows 8, Windows RT and Xbox, along with its various online services, such as Outlook.com and SkyDrive. The unprecedented integration of all of these services, working harmoniously together with a unified visual experience is key to winning over the hearts and minds of consumers.

The imminent launch of the next-generation Xbox – along with devices that are less focused on gaming, and more on consumption of content, such as the ‘Xbox Surface’ tablet and ‘Xbox TV’ set-top box – will help to strengthen the company’s consumer credentials. But up against its more established and entrenched rivals (particularly the iPad and Apple TV), it remains to be seen just how great the impact of these products will be in winning over consumers to Microsoft’s other complementary products.

Is Xbox Microsoft's last great hope at winning over the hearts and minds of consumers?

Microsoft is also working tirelessly to revolutionise its overall approach to development of its customer-facing products. Neowin’s senior editor, Brad Sams, has been closely following the company’s efforts in this respect, as it focuses on a more regular and frequent cycle of updates to ensure that it doesn’t fall behind in its efforts to stay competitive with its rivals.

There’s evidence too that the company is paying closer attention to user feedback; the Start button may soon return in Windows 8.1 in a significant gesture to users (albeit an almost entirely superficial one, since the restored button will simply perform the same function as the ‘invisible’ button at the bottom left hot corner: launching the Metro-style Start screen). Users may even be able to bypass the Metro environment almost completely by booting their PCs directly to the Desktop.

But will this make any difference to consumers?

Start, again - the greatly missed button looks set to make a comeback in Windows 8.1

The way that we use devices is changing rapidly. Getting the most from the web no longer requires a PC with a home internet connection; being productive no longer requires a computer with Microsoft Office. The iPad – and the legions of Android tablets on the market – are all selling just fine without Office to boost their productivity credentials, and while there are certainly those that prefer to work on a full-size notebook, plenty of others have acclimatised to getting work done on an tablet. Microsoft's rival smartphone platforms, meanwhile, perform most of the essential roles that users demand on a day-to-day basis, with many thousands of apps not yet available on Windows Phone.

To paint this picture in broader strokes, users are becoming increasingly accustomed to life beyond Microsoft.

In greater and greater numbers, users are discovering that they no longer need PCs to do what they need to do, as the substantial fall in PC shipments shows. While Windows remains an essential tool in the workplace, the draw to Windows for individuals spending their own money isn’t so powerful. When other devices that perform all the same tasks and run all the same apps – and more – are available with iOS and Android, the prospect of owning a Windows tablet just isn’t that appealing; the idea of owning a Windows Phone even less so.

Many of the apps seen here don't exist yet - and that... that's a problem.

It’s hard to imagine how this situation might change. The consumer tech industry is engaged in a battle of ecosystems, and in addition to the problem of antipathy that Microsoft faces, it also has to deal with the continuing reality that its ecosystem is still lagging far behind those of its principal rivals. Important apps – the ones that matter to users – are either still missing on Microsoft’s platforms, or arriving weeks and months behind their launch on iOS and Android. This sad state of affairs only reinforces the perception problem that Microsoft is up against.

Microsoft is in no danger of going away any time soon, and its new focus on software-as-a-service and extensive efforts to establish a world-leading cloud solution through Windows Azure will ensure its continued relevance to organisations for many years to come. But in the consumer space, Microsoft faces a hostile audience that has become accustomed to a brave new world of ecosystems that have so far offered far more than it has been able to deliver.

One small step into a brave new world of computing? Or one giant leap backwards?

It’s hard to not feel sorry for Microsoft – or at least as sorry as one can feel for a company that’s announced record multi-billion dollar revenues. There’s still much to criticise in their approach, of course. One has to wonder whether Windows Phone, for example, might be doing better if it wasn’t burdened with Windows branding; and there are oddities and annoyances like the appallingly tardy arrival of the updated online calendar, which was hardly worth the wait, or the sad state of the Mail and Xbox Music apps on Windows 8.

But the company is evidently working hard to change its ways, and the speed at which it’s been able to effect those changes has been, frankly, stunning for a multinational corporation of its size, particularly one that had become so bloated, lazy and complacent for too many years. Things are improving, across the board, and at a far greater pace than ever before. The improvements in Online Services and Office 365 especially are huge, and Microsoft is already implementing an incredible, ambitious strategy to ensure that those products don't stagnate, but rapidly improve even further over time.

But no matter how quickly things get better, it feels like Microsoft will be playing catch-up in the consumer space for a long, long time to come. The Blue wave of updates to Windows 8/RT and Windows Phone already sound outstanding, but we're still months away from seeing them finalised and released to all end-users. While a considerable improvement on previous Windows releases, this speed of delivering improvements is far too lethargic when the products are in great need of more, regular enhancements to match fast-moving competitors.

The tragedy, such as it is, is that consumers have no sympathy for Microsoft's plight, no appetite to give it the benefit of the doubt, no patience to wait for things to improve. Can Microsoft pull off the impossible, and accelerate its pace of change and the scale of its improvement even more? Can it improve so quickly and so significantly that it actually comes to exceed the expectations of consumers? Paul Thurrott probably put it best: "As Microsoft has shown again and again, you can't count out a firm that does its best work when under fire."

Perhaps, one day, things will be different and Microsoft will have caught up, convinced the world that’s it not so big, bad and evil after all, and finally be ready to win over the hearts and minds of consumers. But when Microsoft's rivals keep on showing us amazing new devices and features every couple of months, it's far more likely, of course, that by then we’ll have all moved on to bigger and better things.

We consumers are such a fickle bunch.

View: Original Article

[bigcid10]

The Problem with Microsoft is they have to deal with humans.People love to complain,it's human nature and when they're forced to use something because there's nothing that is really better

they will complain till the cows come home and for no other reason.I say nothing "better" because Macs are not better,just different,and linux is really not an option because when a person has been using

windows all their life ,to use Linux is like learning Russian,so like I said there is really nothing "better",so they'll stick with what they know and complain

I have been using windows 8 Pro since august 2012 and as far as I'm concerned,windows 7 sucks to me now,windows 8 blows win7 away . It's the little thing on the inside that makes it better.

The stupid lack of a start menu if the least of my worries.The fact that People complain about that just shows how narrow they are.

Just my opinion,thank you

[DKT27]

People complain about that just shows how narrow they are.

Keeping just one option, or adjusting or accepting only one option is also part of narrowness, just saying.

[insanedown58]

This feels like Windows 3.1 to Windows 95 all over again. They are the kids/adults/young geeks/old geeks today who hated and b****ed about the Metro interface and tomorrow they will probably be the same people saying things like "Thank Windows 8." "This Metro UI is the biggest leap in software technology" "The Start Button was great but the Start Screen is even better.". I have friends who went on and on about how Windows 8 sucked but once they learned how to use it, they loved the hell out of it.

[PrEzi]

Well, I won't give them the productivity I get from using Win7 so easly... Nor millions of other users who grew up on Win 3.11/95/95+/98/98SE/2000/XP/Vista and then adopted to Win7.

I sincerely don't give a damn about a non-productive start screen which covers my entire area. This is clearly counter-productive.

I won't give a damn about an OS which has non-coherent UI (on time I need to be in Metro/Modern to do something, then I switch back to Desktop to to my daily job).

I am not interested in Metro UI on Desktop - Counter productive. Also an inability (without third-party apps) to resize ModernUI appz - they just need to take a goddamn fullscreen !

I don't like the lack of customizability - I liked Aero, why cut it out ? leave an option for Desktop users. Also leave the tens of other options for them (like boot to Desktop, disabling Metro, Disabling Start Screen/switching to Start Menu etc.).

I just wanted an OS that I can customize to achieve my full productivity - with this %$#$%@ I cannot.

I would need to hack the heck out of it to bring the productivity to Win7-levels.

That's my Opinion.

@Also Beta testers are starting to abandon MS. Seems like from Win8 they changed the Beta-Testing procedure so that the Beta Testers don't have a saying anymore (just for bug-hunting purposes there).

[Nedal0]

If Windows 8 was FREE, maybe people would just Adjust or Accept. When you pay for something, you want to be able to enjoy it too. A lot of people really forget the basic principles of LIFE !

When People do, it is acceptable. But when BIG FAT companies do, that's just taking consumers for GRANTED.

I believe only about 20% of PC's and Laptops are Touchscreen capable as at April 2013 so why release an OS that is so much Touchscreen oriented ? Does anyone really want to be smudging their computer screens with fingerprint anyway ? I don't think so. Microsoft got this wrong and have to admit and change.

The old saying still goes ...... IF IT AIN'T BROKEN, DON'T FIX IT

[demoneye]

The old saying still goes ...... IF IT AIN'T BROKEN, DON'T FIX IT

100% agree ... MICROSOFT !!!!!!!!! :angry: :angry: :angry: => :wtf:

[bigcid10]

Well, I won't give them the productivity I get from using Win7 so easly... Nor millions of other users who grew up on Win 3.11/95/95+/98/98SE/2000/XP/Vista and then adopted to Win7.

I sincerely don't give a damn about a non-productive start screen which covers my entire area. This is clearly counter-productive.

I won't give a damn about an OS which has non-coherent UI (on time I need to be in Metro/Modern to do something, then I switch back to Desktop to to my daily job).

I am not interested in Metro UI on Desktop - Counter productive. Also an inability (without third-party apps) to resize ModernUI appz - they just need to take a goddamn fullscreen !

I don't like the lack of customizability - I liked Aero, why cut it out ? leave an option for Desktop users. Also leave the tens of other options for them (like boot to Desktop, disabling Metro, Disabling Start Screen/switching to Start Menu etc.).

I just wanted an OS that I can customize to achieve my full productivity - with this %$#$%@ I cannot.

I would need to hack the heck out of it to bring the productivity to Win7-levels.

That's my Opinion.

@Also Beta testers are starting to abandon MS. Seems like from Win8 they changed the Beta-Testing procedure so that the Beta Testers don't have a saying anymore (just for bug-hunting purposes there).

I t took 1 service packs and 4 years before you could really use windows 7 ,let alone customize it

[MidnightDistortions]

Technology only changes when people allow it. When PC's first came out both consumers and companies wanted them. I didn't have the internet in 95.. never got it until 96 or 97. The jump from Win 3.1 to Win 95 was just fine. I don't think anything was really lost but i was just getting used to Win 3.1 then using Win 95 which i didn't see any lost functionality. It wasn't at all confusing or really all that different. It was just an actual desktop.

The biggest problem with Windows is it never changed much. Things were tweaked and changed around a bit but nothing substantial like a lost start menu or the control panel went missing. Heck, even system folders and the main hard drive (in my Computer) has been the same. Then some MS employee dreamed up Windows 8 got rid of the start menu all for favor for touch? modern apps?

Ok come on the start screen UI is something MS has never done before, they took something away and replaced it with something else. Win 95 didn't take anything away (or at least anything that i have seen) there was no DOS start bar or something that made Win 95 a problem. Of course there might have been program incompatibilities (MS's trademark) and a few little things here and there that probably would have made Win 95 imperfect for some. Back then it was vital to upgrade your OS/hardware. New things like USB ports, better graphics, higher capacity Hard Disks, and other various things that old hardware couldn't handle. Ever since XP came out that was probably the first Windows OS that works, then nothing else really improved. Users got what they needed and while some feel like it's necessary to upgrade it isn't mandatory that you have to. PC's have reached a point where nothing else is really improved. People want to future-proof their hardware so they get the best hardware for their money and they don't need to worry about getting a new PC.

Windows 7 replaced Vista and even encouraged Xp users to upgrade to 7. But now i think we've reached the point where users are only replacing their systems when something goes wrong with it. They aren't buying new computers, they are happy with Win 7. It's easier and less stress to stay with your existing hardware/software then it is to upgrade to the latest. Even if Windows 8 was a huge success and it looked appealing i wouldn't get it.. i would try it out and if there was a sale on it i'd probably get it (especially if i needed it for something) then but otherwise i'd probably just wait around until my existing OS were to expire before getting a new/latest version.

Things do change though and since MS is doing whatever they want, with Windows 8 it's really hard to tell what the future will bring. 8 is certainly not proven to be the future of PCs yet. It's just a product that so far hasn't been doing as good as MS had hoped for. Win 8 adoption rates are pretty slow for a number of factors one of them is the different UI that automatically turn users away and work with what they have. In the end, Windows UI isn't working out for some. It's pointless to try to shove it on users if they are not willing to deal with it. I like Win 7's UI more than Win 8's, you can argue all you want and try to force your point on that but the bottom line is i am not budging from Windows 7 and depending on MS's direction i might forget Windows all together.

[nIGHT]

This sounds like an article for the fanboys. tsk tsk!

I'm not a fan boy of anything but which is popular I can make tons of money from using it.

:P

[DKT27]

This feels like Windows 3.1 to Windows 95 all over again. They are the kids/adults/young geeks/old geeks today who hated and b****ed about the Metro interface and tomorrow they will probably be the same people saying things like "Thank Windows 8." "This Metro UI is the biggest leap in software technology" "The Start Button was great but the Start Screen is even better.". I have friends who went on and on about how Windows 8 sucked but once they learned how to use it, they loved the hell out of it.

Nonsense. Windows 95 might be hated but it was adapted widely:

Accompanied by an extensive marketing campaign, Windows 95 was a major success in the marketplace at launch and shortly became the most popular desktop operating system. It also introduced numerous functions and features that were featured in later Windows versions, such as the taskbar, the 'Start' button, and the way the user navigates. It was also suggested that Windows 95 had an effect of driving other major players (including OS/2) out of business, something which would later be used in court against Microsoft.

Source.

And Windows 8, some people don't even want to spit on the OS:

Microsoft says that 4 million users upgraded to Windows 8 over the weekend after its release which CNET says was well below Microsoft's internal projections and have been described inside the company as disappointing.

On November 27, 2012, Microsoft announced that it has sold 40 million licenses of Windows 8 in the first month, surpassing the pace of Windows 7. However, according to research firm NPD, sales of devices running Windows in the United States have declined 21 percent compared to the same time period last year. As the holiday shopping season wrapped up, Windows 8 sales continued to lag, even as Apple reported brisk sales. The market research firm IDC reported an overall drop in PC sales for the quarter, and said the drop may have been partly due to consumer reluctance to embrace the new features of the OS and poor support from OEM for these features. This capped the first year of declining PC sales to the Asia Pacific region, as consumers bought more mobile products from Apple and Android than PCs with Microsoft's OS. As of February 2013, Windows 8 has 2.6% market penetration as compared with 8.2% for Windows 7 and 3.3% for Windows Vista at the same point in their sales cycles, and a 44.5% current market share for Windows 7 and 39.5% for Windows XP respectively according to Net Applications research.

The start of 2013 saw more signs of a trend away from Windows on the desktop, with more enterprise application development for mobile platforms than desktops for the first time. In spite of Windows 8's redesigned interface for use with tablets, its sales in that form factor have been modest while Android has claimed the majority of the tablet market unit share and the iPads have maintained healthy margins. Microsoft is reported to have lowered the price charged tablet OEMs for its software in response to the slow sales in that form factor. In March 2013, Microsoft also amended its certification requirements to allow tablets to use the 1024x768 resolution as a minimum; this change is expected to allow the production of certified Windows 8 tablets in smaller form factors.

In 2013, IDC reported a double digit decline in the PC market, and indicated the release of Windows 8 as one of the contributing factors. Dr Dobbs has described Windows 8 as "a fiasco". The Economist has speculated that Microsoft's moves to drop support for previous versions of its software may be intended to force users to upgrade to Windows 8, but that this might backfire and see even more users flee the Windows platform entirely. Vendors have started to develop notebooks that run Android in response to the poor sales of Windows 8.

Source

[wkt37211]

The thing that gets me about M$ and especially any version of window$ is that in reality, when the final product is released and you purchase (or obtain it ;) it), you have entered into the next phase of testing after beta. I suppose you could call it "Charley testing". Let's go with that. I remember purchasing XP in October of 2000 and going home, installing and then immediately having to download 80MB of updates --- on dialup. And then.....all the continual updates, hotfixes and service packs to go along with it. And with XP, don't forget the :wtf: you mean my printer, scanner and other hardware is not compatible and no one is going to write drivers for them. I've been gun shy of all new windows OS"s since then. Windows Phone 7, no difference! Out of the box and waiting for the Mango update. What company with any common sense would release a "smart phone" that doesn't allow you to pick your own ring tones? My dumb phone did. But wait, there's more! The Tango update that AT&T never released and the fact that the phone OS has to be corrupted by the phone carrier before you get your update......if you are going to get an update. But wait there's even more with this special offer! You can't backup your info from the phone and you MUST install the hideous Zune application to even communicate with the phone and control your media. And if you loved Norton a few years ago you will really love Zune. Yes, that's right. It takes over your entire computer and the only real way to totally get rid of it is to do a clean install.

And people don't like Micro$oft? Enjoy your "Charley" testing with Windows 8. But wait, there's more, Windows 8.1 :angry:

It just keeps getting curiouser and curiouser :duh:

[eurobyn]

just don't like ? or not want to change? i buy a new car and the lights button is moved from the left to the right ! do you want the car or not (just don't like). use it or leave it.

buy it or stay with the old one.

[tontainas]

For desktop computers metro sucks, that simple. Why don't they get it?

[nuthut]

The old saying still goes ...... IF IT AIN'T BROKEN, DON'T FIX IT

100% agree ... MICROSOFT !!!!!!!!! :angry: :angry: :angry: => :wtf:

OK... go back to the days of DOS 6.2 then... That means you can not use any kind of GUI to use your computer. You can not play any advanced 3D games because of the limitations of DOS 6.2. Drop back down to 2 Gig of usable memory with a maximum of 2 GB of hard drive space.

Forget about using Blu-ray because that runs on Java, which really didn't play too well with DOS.

So, please explain to me again how change is bad?

[demoneye]

The old saying still goes ...... IF IT AIN'T BROKEN, DON'T FIX IT

100% agree ... MICROSOFT !!!!!!!!! :angry: :angry: :angry: => :wtf:

OK... go back to the days of DOS 6.2 then... That means you can not use any kind of GUI to use your computer. You can not play any advanced 3D games because of the limitations of DOS 6.2. Drop back down to 2 Gig of usable memory with a maximum of 2 GB of hard drive space.

Forget about using Blu-ray because that runs on Java, which really didn't play too well with DOS.

So, please explain to me again how change is bad?

Bad change is bad , simple as that :)

[Whoopenstein]

When Windows 95 came out, I don't remember anyone complaining about it. Everyone I knew loved it. The Windows 3.1 interface kinda sucked and I stuck with DOS until about 1996.

It seems like Microsoft doesn't listen to its customers. When Windows 8 beta came out, I'm sure there was a lot of complaints. They chose to ignore them. Splitting the OS into two different flavors or having an option on 1st startup (Desktop or Metro interface) would have made more sense.

[Bizarre™]

If Windows 8 was free, I'll probably try it. Although, I'd like it better if there are tools similar to nLite to take out unnecessary stuff :tehe:

[dcs18]

Sorry, Microsoft, but consumers just don't like you

Well, I don't like Microsoft, myself - however, everybody just take a quick look at the system you're using right now to read my post (get the point - despite the fact that Windows is a shareware which does not come cheap.) :coolwink:

[PrEzi]

I t took 1 service packs and 4 years before you could really use windows 7 ,let alone customize it

LOL...

Either you mix up Win7 and Vista or you're Trolling...

If this ain't joke then - please extend your knowledge a little bit more, or read more carefully next time you're replying...

Win7 was usable since Beta, and was perfected near RC.

Of course there were some areas for improvements, but performance and customizability-wise it was near perfect (compared e.g. to Vista which needed A LOT of tweaking to work in a similar fashion).

Later on there were patches released which improved even more both - performance and compatibility.

[tezza]

[bigcid10]

When Windows 95 came out, I don't remember anyone complaining about it. Everyone I knew loved it. The Windows 3.1 interface kinda sucked and I stuck with DOS until about 1996.

It seems like Microsoft doesn't listen to its customers. When Windows 8 beta came out, I'm sure there was a lot of complaints. They chose to ignore them. Splitting the OS into two different flavors or having an option on 1st startup (Desktop or Metro interface) would have made more sense.

I beg to differ.when win95 came out ,it was a total disaster,not functionally wise but stability wise .M$ didn't get that OS straightened out till almost 2000 with osr2 ,then

it was finally stable

It might have been popular ,but it was a mess

[DKT27]

I beg to differ.when win95 came out ,it was a total disaster,not functionally wise but stability wise .M$ didn't get that OS straightened out till almost 2000 with osr2 ,then

it was finally stable

It might have been popular ,but it was a mess

Till Windows 2000? I used 95, which was fine, then 98, which still remains the most awesome OS I've used (not the best, but awesome).

Infact, I'll go on to say that people who have effectively used Windows in the 95 and 98 days, will never find a PC problem that he/she can't solve. Just because they weren't the most stable out there, didn't mean there were bad. They were the perfect advertisement for the brand "Windows", unlike Windows 8.

[Nedal0]

just don't like ? or not want to change? i buy a new car and the lights button is moved from the left to the right ! do you want the car or not (just don't like). use it or leave it.

buy it or stay with the old one.

You are probably a BIKER :D. Only BIKERS use a car analogy for everything.

[eurobyn]

no, nope , not a biker

just a old user of old software and using more new software. as it comes.

just don't like ? or not want to change? i buy a new car and the lights button is moved from the left to the right ! do you want the car or not (just don't like). use it or leave it.

buy it or stay with the old one.

You are probably a BIKER :D. Only BIKERS use a car analogy for everything.