Posted on 04/28/2012 7:46:30 AM PDT by SmokingJoe
Microsoft revealed late last week that usage of the Windows 8 Consumer Preview has doubled that of Windows 7 during the same pre-release timeframe for that version. “Millions” of people are already using Windows 8 every day, the company claimed.
Because this is literally all the information that Microsoft communicated about this incredible milestone, let’s read between the lines a bit. I have two thoughts about this issue, one of which has been bothering me for some time.
First, this announcement is an attempt by Microsoft to remind people of how popular Windows really is. While the mainstream media is busy trying to bury Windows by constantly reporting on the “surge” of sales of iPads and other tablets (and rewrite history in the process), the truth is a lot less dramatic. In fact, as I pointed out last week in Good News and Bad News for the Future of Computing, even in a worst-case scenario in which tablet sales really do surge and actual PC sales fall by 35 percent, Windows still dominates the iPad and Android-based tablets as far into the future as 2016, the last year for which any estimates are available.
Second, and more alarming, the delivery of this little news tidbit represents just another step in an ongoing trend at Microsoft in which the responsibility for delivering a statement to the press and thus the outside world isn’t attributed to any executive or other person who works for or represents Microsoft in any official capacity. That is, Microsoft didn’t announce this information via a press release or have an actual human being working at the company utter the words that triggered this story.
No, Microsoft delivered this news via Twitter.
(Excerpt) Read more at windowsitpro.com ...
Bump for later
XP forever! I had Vista on a laptop and through it out. I have Windows 7 on my new laptop and while it is better than Vista, it is still not as user friendly as XP. Why can’t Micostuff leave well enough alone and invest, merge, or takeover other companies if Gates needs another gazillion dollars?
How shocking.
Totally computer illiterate. Was quite hapy with XP and OE, then my ‘puter fried. Now I’m stuck with 7 and Live Mail (which I hate!)
All I want is internet access, a place to store pictures, e-mail capability and printability. Any suggestions for when my Windows 7 goes south?
(Aside from the photos and its lack of speed, WebTV was just fine for me until MS took it over....then NOTHING worked right)
I read the review on MaximumPC magazine. Due to the graphical interface changes, some are having trouble figuring out how to merely close a program. Microsoft is trying to come up with one operating system that will span PC, phone and tablet. I look for Google to take advantage of Microsoft’s stumble in this area.
I've been a hard-core PC user since 1984. The only Apple devices to enter my house have been two iPod touch devices that both my son's have, an iPod Shuttle that I received as a gift 5 years ago, and an iPad that I received for Fathers Day a few years ago.
As I've been looking to replace my now long-in-the-tooth small form factor PC running Windows 7, I downloaded and tried the Windows 8 Developer, then Consumer preview.
I bought my first MAC computer the other day. I don't like the UI direction Microsoft is going in. I don't want the same UI that's on my kid's XBOX 360 on my PC. The same scrolling interface that works well with a joystick does NOT work well with a keyboard/mouse interface. Simply put, it's AWFUL. I tried getting used to it for a week and just couldn't stand it.
In just two short days and approximately 8 hours with my new Mac, I can do anything with it. All the Amateur Radio software I used on my pc runs on my Mac just fine and is somehow more stable (go figure.)
I can also RDP into work and work remotely just like I was in my office on my PC, doing everything I otherwise would've done.
After 28 years of being a hardcore PC user, Microsoft can kiss my a**. You don't so dramatically change a UI and try forcing people to change how they work without them looking for suitable alternatives.
Love my 'mac, my Shuttle SG31/G2 with Windows 7 is my new doorstop.
I thought XP was great, too, and had a great run with it.
About a month ago, I bought and installed Windows 7. I have no complaints. [All I do is Internet access (Firefox), store pix and music, and email (Thunderbird). Everything works just fine.]
Roccus: If you don’t like Live Mail, why do you use it?
Every new OS from MS is a consumer release/beta test.
I am still getting used to Win7, which leaves much to be desired.
I luckily found that I could recover some programs from XP and finagle them into working under Win7. Much of the Win7 stuff is crap.
Whoever though the ribbon bar was brilliant idea should be banned from ever touching computer code again. They are the atrocious to try to use. Bring back the old buttons and pull-down menus.
The only real ‘advantage’ to Win7 is its ability to use greater memory. However, even that creates problems, as it leaves artifacts on the screen and makes menus more sluggish.
Newer is not always better. More often than not, the newer version fixes some things, but breaks others.
Don't know how to change it. Tried a few times to go to G-mail, but never could get it to work. Each time I tried, it would somehow screw up my e-mail acct with my server, Suddenlink. (Sullenstink) Something to do with "pop-3" which I also don't understand.
Windows 7 while better than Vista still blows
I want my search back!!!! In XP you hit control F and up came the silly dog but all you had to do was enter the file name you wanted to find on one line or the text in the file contents on another line.
Simple and it worked
In Windows 7 (and #^*@ Vista) there’s only one spot to enter your text so you don’t know if it’s searching the file name or contents and only God knows where and what it actually searches because it never seems to find anything.
I just got Win 7 with a new laptop. What I want to know is if Win 8 will let me get XP’s task bar back. For about a day and a half, my big question would have been what is Win 8 going to do about dropping off the internet. I solved that problem. Delete the unnecessary bloteware they load on. Clean up the start menu, and don’t give the computer permission to turn off wifi. I also had to reset my dual channel wifi to broadcast on different channels than my neighbors are using. It was never a problem with XP.
“Why can’t Microsoft leave well enough alone?”
Ditto that for the Office Suite. Office 2010 ruined a great UI that had been honed for 15 years. Now it is a giant mess. And they keep tinkering with it to no real benefit for the user.
With Google Docs, no reason now to need Office.
Actually Win7’s search functionality is astronomically better than XP. Win7 uses indexing to make searching faster. You just click the Start button and start typing in the “Search programs and files” line, et voila! It’s the exact same search functionality as XP but better results.
As far as Win8, I’m calling BS on this article. People DLed Win7 beta because they despised Vista. Most people I know now are very happy and comfortable with Win7. Win7 will be the next XP.
If you’re still on XP, I would suggest that you either disconnect yourself from the Internet or upgrade to a Linux distro. Linux has options for look and feel like XP, and it’s enormously more secure than XP. XP is going to start getting buggier and less secure since Micro$oft isn’t supporting it anymore. Eventually you won’t get updates, and thus security exploits will become more prevalent. Just my $0.02.
When I got my Win7 laptop, I immediately changed the desktop theme back to Windows Classic. That helped some.
I found a program called Classic Shell, which restores some of the XP-like functions:
http://classicshell.sourceforge.net/
Hmmm. I think you just need some help filling in boxes with the right info.
Your Suddenlink account is a POP mail account. You will need to fill in your username and password, and for incoming server, you fill in “pop.suddenlink.net” and for outgoing mail you fill in “smtp.suddenlink.net” (minus the quotation marks).
I think that’s all you need to connect to your suddenlink mail.
I trust Google as far as I can throw it.
I downloaded Open Office. It can open anything created in MS Office.
could it have something to do with more people having fast internet, so a 4gb download is not as difficult?
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