Windows 8 preview popularity kicking Windows 7's butt

IT World ^ | 04/29/2012 | By Tim Greene,

[SeekAndFind]

Microsoft says that so far the Windows 8 Consumer Preview is twice as popular at this point than its predecessor Windows 7 was based on the number of downloads. The company didn't say how many downloads that is, but claimed it is used by millions of people per day.

Meanwhile, the next prerelease version of Windows 8 will be available in about six weeks, inching closer to a final product that is still expected to launch this fall.

Microsoft's Windows Chief Steven Sinofsky announced that the Windows 8 Release Preview version will be ready for download the first week of June, with no date specified, according to a tweet on the Building Windows 8 @BuildWindows8 Twitter account.

Sinofsky gave no details about what the difference will be between the Consumer Preview and the Release Preview. He also made no mention of when or if there will be a preview of Windows RT, the version of Windows 8 that will be sold only in combination with hardware that is based on ARM processors.

Is it a toaster? Is it a refrigerator?

Apple CEO Tim Cook came up with a zinger that will have staying power among critics of attempts to put Windows 8 on both laptops and tablets. "Anything can be forced to converge," Cook says, "but the problem is that products are about tradeoffs, and you begin to make tradeoffs to the point where what you have left doesn't please anyone. You can converge a toaster and a refrigerator, but those things are probably not going be pleasing to the user."

He was responding to a question about whether Apple would converge its laptops and tablets, but added a little hip check that seemed aimed at Microsoft: "We are not going to that party, but others might from a defensive point of view."

BYOD less expensive with Windows 8

Windows 8 licensing will charge for non-Windows devices to access Windows devices on corporate networks. If workers use their own Windows laptops and tablets, no extra charge. The arrangement seems like it would penalize BYOD users of, say, iPads, but that's not what Microsoft has in mind, the company's Vice President of Worldwide Partner Sales and Marketing Jon Roskill tells Customer Relationship News.

Running Microsoft applications on non-Windows devices is a problem for businesses, he is quoted as saying: "This is a direct way to help actually solve that business problem." And that kind of help doesn't come free. "We want to be paid and monetized for our value-add."

Send your apps

Microsoft plans to set up sites in 38 countries for submitting Metro-style apps to Windows Store, the online market for applications that cater to the Windows 8 platform. Along with the 33 new sites comes a further segmenting of categories of applications, from five to 26. The Microsoft blog announcing the changes doesn't specify the locations or the new categories.

Factoid

No saying whether this is statistically significant, but advertising site Chitika posts an article that says 0.13% of computers that access its ad network are Windows 8 machines and 99.63% of all the hits the network got were from Windows machines of one type or another. The company doesn't break out the number for Apple's OS X Mountain Lion, but says it's about half what Windows 8 tallied. The study was based on hundreds of millions of ad impressions, Chitika says.

Self-selecting poll

PC Advisor asked its readers whether the will upgrade their current PCs to Windows 8 and 44% say no, 30% say yes. The rest will only upgrade when they buy a new PC. Some 18% say when they buy a new PC, it won't be Windows.

Anyone who comes can fill out the publications poll questionnaire.

Rumor

Windows 8 Beta posts a rumor that Huawei, the Chinese maker of networking and telecom gear, is working on a Windows 8 tablet. That's it for details. The company already makes some tablets, and a lot of other vendors are rumored to be prepping Windows 8 tablets as well, based on the standard Windows 8 desktop version or on Windows RT, the version for ARM processors.

[SeekAndFind]

For techies only... TEST YOURSELF, THE WINDOWS 8 QUIZ:

http://www.networkworld.com/slideshows/2012/022212-windows8-quiz.html

[KC_Lion]

Windows are Structural Weaknesses, Geth do not use them.

[SeekAndFind]

RE: Windows are Structural Weaknesses, Geth do not use them.

I guess that’s the reason why they only have 95% of the OS market...

[rbg81]

Vista was a disaster, which probably explains why there weren’t a lot of Windows 7 downloads. However I like Windows 7 just fine. Its a lot better than XP (which was perfectly fine for its time).

Never liked Macs or the MacOS. And, no, I’m not a MSFT employee.

[SeekAndFind]

I have always wondered why MSFT is HATED while Apple is well loved...

[Last Dakotan]

Your name is Geth?

[TomGuy]

When I finally upgraded from W98 to XP, I had to replace most of the peripherals — scanner, printer, etc. — because new drivers were not available for the equipment.

When I finally upgraded to Win7 last fall, I lost a b/w laser printer because new drivers were never made for Win7-64.

Windows upgrades become expensive — because of software and hardware upgrading. For home use, the upgrade costs do not justify upgrading.

[Psycho_Bunny]

Thus far, 8 is a tightened up version of 7 with a half-assed shell plopped on it.

They could have slapped Windows Home Media into the shell line of the registry and had a better GUI, that wouldn’t have been a copy of Android Ice Cream Sandwich.

[central_va]

Windows is based on inferior technology marketed by geniuses. Apple OS X is superior technology marketed by fools.

[shadeaud]

So it’s advise time. I’m getting a new laptop tomorrow. Should I have Window 8 installed?

[rbg81]

Because Steve Jobs was COOL and Bill Gates is a geek. Same theme reinforced in those famous “MAC/PC” commercials.

BTW—I don’t take anything away from Jobs or Apple. He did an miraculous job bringing Apple back from near death. Its just that I’ve never been comfortable with either the Applie interface or the cult-like adherence to its products. Maybe my expectations are low—my first computer experience was on a PDP-8 and my first “PC” was an Atari 800.

[KC_Lion]

Did either one of you click the link?

Those Organics would never try the "Windows" thing twice

[rbg81]

I would wait a little longer. About 2 months or so before the release, they may offer you a free Win8 upgrade.

[KC Burke]

OEM installations of 8 for new machines are not yet available. You will have to get an OS upgrade later.

[Poser]

99.63% of all the hits the network got were from Windows machines of one type or another.

That is stunning. I thought Apple was gaining market share. This stat would tend to disprove that claim. Perhaps the overseas Apple markets are more heavily Windows based because of economic concerns.

[catfish1957]

So when does this RAM sucking exercise end? /s

[Azeem]

Does this unit have a soul?

[rbg81]

So when does this RAM sucking exercise end? /s

---

Uh, it doesn’t end—ever. And what’s the problem? As long as you keep getting more RAM for the buck. Or more computer capability for that matter.

Or maybe you long for those bygone days of 64K memory?

[KC_Lion]

Error, Copying Code is insufficient, direct Personality dissemination required.

Azeem-Commander, I must go to them.......I'm.....I'm sorry. It's the Only way.

The Answer to your Question is Yes.

Keelah Se'lai

[FrankR]

I'm fine with most of Windows 7, but I'm not crazy about the "Libraries"; having learned file/directory structure the old way, I find it harder to locate files in the libraries...everything is everywhere.

My main wish is they would get rid of the "ribbon menues" in MS Office, and go back to the standard menu system.

Microsoft sometimes forgets that their operating system has been in place for years, and people have to slow down production for the sake of learning curves of the new stuff. That is why many companies are reluctant to upgrade.

As the programmers seem to live just to wow each other with their new "creations", the rest of computing world has to suffer the lost time, as least those who use the computer as a business/production tool.