Windows 8’s uptake falls behind Vista’s pace

Computer World ^ | December 27, 2012 10:55 AM ET | Gregg Keizer

[Olog-hai]

With just a week left in the month, Windows 8’s usage uptake has slipped behind Vista’s at the same point in its release, data from a Web measurement company showed.

According to Net Applications, Windows 8’s online usage share through Dec. 22 was 1.6% of all Windows PCs, an uptick from 1.2% of November. Windows 8 publicly launched on Oct. 26. At the same two-month mark in Vista’s release timetable, that OS accounted for 2.2% of all Windows systems, double the month prior. …

The slowdown in uptake of Windows 8 and its poor performance compared to Vista is a troubling sign for the new operating system. Vista has been labeled a rare Microsoft failure, in part because it was adopted by far fewer customers than either its predecessor, Windows XP, or its successor, Windows 7. …

[meyer]

Also makes me wonder if there are any Win 3.1 former users that miss the Program Manager . . . ?

I remember program manager. Not too fond of it, but I was pretty fond of Dos Shell. Functionally, it was superior.

[JoeFromSidney]

Could it be that having been suckered by Microsoft on Vista, people are not going to make that mistake a second time?

[Texas Tea]

bmp

[Calvin Locke]

I get the feeling that 8 is made for touch screens.

From early articles on 8, it's MS' attempt to merge the interfaces of both the desktop & handhelds.

I'm still on XP. I recently upgraded a hard drive, and migrated the old system partition to the new drive with fewer miles, er, hours, on it.

I also added or replaced other things, so it phoned home to Seattle. MS took the opportunity to not recognize the OS as legit (Same cpu, mobo, and old disk still installed), and tried to sell me 7, my mobo setup not up to the 8 minimum.

I had to pull out the XP install disk and license, but fortunately, the self repair feature worked, for the most part.

[donozark]

What were the specific reasons you dumped WIN-8?

The UI seems to be the major one. Others on CNET stated WIN-8 does not play well with FIREFOX.

Beginning to feel MS blew it big on this one...

[Thebaddog]

“It’s WinME that you can poke!

[bring back 2000 Pro]”

Dang, I still have NT disks. Let’s go for it!

[avenir]

I feel as you do about my desktop, but have fallen in love with the combo of my iPad and a stylus. The screen stays much cleaner and the navigation works smoothly.

Windows 8 scares me. I’ve just gotten 7 to where I like it and the $20 upgrade to Win 8 Pro (new computer promo) does not allow a dual boot install. I think I’m going to pass.

But just in case I’ve already downloaded a tweak to get rid of that hideous new Start Page. I WANT MY TASKBARRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!

[SamAdams76]

Windows 8 is the best Microsoft OS so far. Many people have automatically decided they don't like it because it is so much different than previous Microsoft OS's.

People just don't like change and will complain about anything that is new. Even 20 years later, you have a bunch of grouches out there who are still missing the command line interface that MS-DOS provided.

As good as Windows 8 is however, it is still not anywhere near as good as the Mac OSX operation system. When Apple acquired NeXT computer in the late 1990s and adopted their OS, it was all uphill for Apple from that point on. It will take another 60-80 years, but eventually the Apple OS will surpass Microsoft OS in market share. However, there will be strong competition from the Google and Tcer6x platforms over the next few decades (BTW, Tcer6x has not yet formed as a company but they will be a major player as we head into the middle part of the 21st century.

[Olog-hai]

The old saying “if it ain’t broken, don’t fix it” still applies.

[Salamander]

Best OS’s the idjits ever made.

Rock solid and stable.

I have a couple laptops and 1 desktop that have been running 2000 since it was new and they’ve *never* been reformatted.

A Toughbook is still running Win98 without a hitch.

They just keep on keeping on.

XP was usually good for about a year until the DLLs started flying loose and 7 lasts about 6 months, max.

[Loud Mime]

Your post to me led to some solutions. I stopped the login and got a new menu system (pokki) off the Internet.

[donozark]

How then do you account for so much anger over this new UI? Prof Greenspun of MIT says, "Give it as a Christmas gift to someone you hate."

I've brought up many reviews where people just pound on it, and not mere "users" but people actually in the field. Developers,etc.

As I said above, going to hold off on purchasing this puppy for awhile. Some are suggesting a Service Pack will come out that will "detour" the WIN8 UI. Who knows. But MS sure upset the apple cart with this one...

[Woodman]

OK, but it was my understanding that you could turn off METRO and revert to a “normal” Start menu structure. Have you gone to microsoft.com and searched technical support?

[Loud Mime]

I’ll do that, but am happy with the menu I installed.

Thanks very much for your help!

[daniel1212]

See post 22. I use it and it is good.

[daniel1212]

I have an older PC., a 2005 VGC-RA840G (Asus P5LP-VX mobo), 2.8ghz Intel 945p dual core cpu, 3gb ram (total cap. 4gb), and which i only found realized recently was 64 bit.

XP 32bit home would use up most of the ram after a while (i do lots of research etc. and regularly seem to end up with 80+ tabs i want to back to, and over a dozen large documents open), and i heard W8 was better on older PCs than Vista and even W/7.

http://www.techspot.com/review/561-windows8-vs-windows7/page2.html

http://www.hardcoreware.net/windows-7-vs-windows-8-performance/8/

And since 64bit can handle more ramand i could try it for free, i installed the W/8 preview/evaluation off a USB (using the MS W/7 USB installer).

W/8 Preview: http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-US/evalcenter/jj554510.aspx?wt.mc_id=MEC_132_1_4

W/7 Trial: http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/evalcenter/cc442495.aspx

Also helpful,

How the new Windows 8 license terms affect you:
http://www.zdnet.com/how-the-new-windows-8-license-terms-affect-you-7000003028/

http://www.zdnet.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-windows-8-upgrades-faq-part-2-7000008775/

The short review is that W/8 does well on an old PC as this (and should enable me to use more ram), and is more stable than XP (though i managed to freeze it up once under a heavy load, requiring a hard restart, but which XP did more often under such) and also fairly responsive, if not as quick as XP for basic tasks on this box. But it boots to usability quicker (it puts the kernel in hibernation) and seems to launch apps quicker. Ram use seems about the same (or less after some tweaking).

I see its value not as being that of looking for a better social networking helps or a better interface, as i have longed use hot keys (or shortcuts) to get to where i regularly go or to launch main programs/apps, and do not follow many of Windows defaults for things like documents, pictures, graphics. Instead of this being the attraction, it is because it has some improvements and it is not bloated and unduly interrogative (Vista), and with the help of 3rd party apps you can option out of the defaults and customize it to fit your needs.

And for me, as i have no real use for the Metro, primary among these 3rd party apps is Classic Shell: http://sourceforge.net/projects/classicshell/

Use Windows key and E to get access to drives in Metro (Esc or Alt and F4 to get out of that and Windows key and tap i for settings) Use Windows key and Pause/Break as another shortcut for some things.

Because of W/8 qualities i sent away for the upgrade DVD (30.00 at NewEgg last week (not now), with the 40.00 Visa reward card rebate), as well as a 1gb stick of memory, though the latter has not arrived yet. MS also offers a W/8 upgrade 42.00 download till Jan 31. http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/buy?ocid=GA8_O_WOL_Hero_ShopHP_FPP_Null

Thank God for enabling good buys, so it may it be used for His work.