Windows 8 demand higher than Win 7's, says Microsoft's Steve Ballmer

NBC News ^ | 10/31/2012 | Devin Coldewey , NBC News

[SeekAndFind]

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer has a rosy outlook for their new Windows 8 operating system, saying Monday that "we're seeing preliminary demand well above where we were with Windows 7." But other measures indicate that this statement may be somewhat misleading.

Ballmer was speaking at a San Francisco event where Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 hardware were being showcased. Windows 8 itself officially launched last Friday, but has been available in preview form for more than a year.

Comparing the new OS to its predecessor is natural, but could Windows 8, which has been intensely polarizing in the tech community, really be more in demand than the incredibly popular Windows 7, which famously fixed what Windows Vista had broken?

To find out, I spoke with Jay Chou, senior research analyst at IDC's Worldwide PC Tracker.

While he cautioned that Ballmer may be privy to some statistics not yet publicized, Chou suggested that Windows 8 probably isn't going to move PCs the way Windows 7 did — but that this has as much to do with the broader PC market as it does with the desirability of the OS.

"Our outlook on Windows 8 is that it will bring somewhat of a boost on the consumer side, but really, its full impact won't be felt till much later. We don't see it as a significant factor that will help the hardware business to recover."

He compared the circumstances of the release to those in 2009, when Windows 7 launched. At the time, millions of consumers and businesses were waiting eagerly for a chance to upgrade, having skipped the poorly received Windows Vista. Not only that, but netbooks were still selling at high rates, and Windows 7 was a great fit for that type of PC.

[Psycho_Bunny]

Hmmmm. I have trouble believing that.

[Signalman]

Maybe Ballmer meant that Windows 8 puts a higher demand on computer hardware resources than does Windows 7.

[circlecity]

I even LIKE windows and I think this is pure BS. I don’t know anyone in the business world who is even considering looking at Windows 8.

[I cannot think of a name]

Hey Steve, here’s your real problem - ME, and millions more like me.

If all you do with a computer is business work, (Word, Excel, Visio, Project, etc), and when you’ve finished work the LAST thing you want to see is a computer, Microsoft already created the final operating system. It’s called XP. I have a desktop running XP, and a laptop running 7 (because it came with 7). And if you GAVE me 7, or 8 for that matter, I wouldn’t install it on my desktop. Between XP and 7, I cannot find ONE thing of sufficient value to justify the disruption and hassle of a system upgrade, even if the upgrade were free.

Now in the interest of full disclosure, I don’t have a Twitter or Facebook account, don’t really own any computer games, and have never used either computer to watch a movie (posting on FreeRepublic is the only thing I do that even remotely resembles ‘Social Media’). I realize that if you mess around with the newer social media, the features of the newer systems probably appeal to you. But for those of us like me that use computers for business and little more, I will probably go to my grave using XP.

[FastCoyote]

[for those of us like me that use computers for business and little more, I will probably go to my grave using XP.]

Exactly. I work all day every day on my computer. I repeat, work! If a new operating system doesn’t reduce the number of clicks I need to make and all it offers is a learning curve, I’m outta there. I’ll move to Linux if I have to, it keeps getting friendlier.

[RegulatorCountry]

Ballmer was speaking at a San Francisco event where Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 hardware were being showcased.

A Ballmer phone, keep Obama in President, you know?

That explains the GUI looking like a cash register in McDonalds.

[RegulatorCountry]

Ballmer was speaking at a San Francisco event where Windows 8 and Windows Phone 8 hardware were being showcased.

A Ballmer phone, keep Obama in President, you know?

That explains the GUI looking like a cash register in McDonalds.

[Army Air Corps]

I haven’t had any issues with Win7 and like it a bit better than XP (that instant search function is jolly handy), but I cannot stand the tacky Tablet View used in Win8.

[Joe Brower]

"That explains the GUI looking like a cash register in McDonalds."

That's the funniest thing I've heard yet on Win 8.

[Yasmar]

Here is what Steve Ballmer said about the Apple iPhone when it was first announced.

“There’s no chance that the iPhone is going to get any significant market share. No chance. It’s a $500 subsidized item.”

Steve Ballmer is a bit goofy.

[isthisnickcool]

He means that instead of the 10 people who wanted WIN7 11 wanted WIN8.

I use the best OS ever:

[the anti-liberal]

Win8 does take some getting used to, but it does load more quickly and runs just fine on my pc, which is about 5 yrs old.

It'll definitely be nice for touchscreens.

[DAC21]

Any new PC / Lappy bought in the last six months is eligible for a $15 (or free after rebate) Windows 8 Pro download upgrade. For the first three days after release there was a work around to upgrade an even older PC. Now you know why sales are so brisk.