The Menu was an option which was rarely used by the majority of people; but it’s still available in the new UI, which is just a more graphical representation of the old START menu.
The desktop didn’t go away, and it’s still there, looking and working like before. Whatever applications worked on the old desktop mode, still work the same.
Microsoft still “owns” the desktop/laptop world with Windows 8. There is nothing out there to replace it. The fact that there have been fewer PCs being sold for the last 3 years cannot be blamed on Windows 8, since it’s been around for just about a year, and the slowdown in sales has been ongoing for more than 3 years.
Windows 7 was great. But, Windows 7 is still available in Windows 8, but to get there, it just requires a simple click or touch of a button to get there; alternately, just open up an application that worked on the old desktop mode, and voila!!!, instant desktop mode. That ain’t that difficult to do, and people are just looking for excuses to bash Windows and/or Microsoft.
Your attack on me for “defending” Windows and/or Microsoft, is completely unwarranted. All that I did was to try to correct the record as reported by the articles attacking Windows 8. The sales records are not mine, and I quote, just like everybody else, what others put out, including Microsoft and other companies that do the sales studies. Fact is that by now, Windows 8 is being used in a lot more than 100 million PCs or tablet-PCs, and more are being sold as we speak, and with the ceasing of support for XP, Windows 8 will be in more than 200 million PCs/tablets by next year.
That idea that “licenses sold” is not the same as Windows instances installed, is completely wrong. Licenses sold into the distribution channels all eventually become sold and installed and used. Even if they are held on shelves by the OEMs for eventual installation and sales, they are on the way towards usage. “Licenses sold” works the same for all PCs and tablets and smartphones. The only way to get at the true usage numbers, is to go out and do a survey of every home and consumer and business.
BTW, most internet traffic still shows IE and Windows to be the biggest sources of that traffic. Smartphones and tablets are still way behind, by a lot, and Linux and Mac OS hardly even register.
So, you couldn’t be more wrong on all your points and comments. Facts are way different from what you believe or perceive or have been led to believe.
When MS creates an OS and within a few months of release needs a 300 plus MB upgrade {cough cough repair} someone screwed up or didn't listen to it's customers which seems to be the major W-8 issue at hand. The screw up was trying to make a Tablet OS into a desktop OS. Windows 8 may be great for Tablets etc but not for PC unless one is a geek loving to play hide and seek. Some persons thrive on the thrill of it but many more simply don't.
You'll not hear MS talk about lost man hours and production time when businesses including health care used XP and all the staff had to learn W-8. There is no sense in playing games with the menus and making users play button button who's got the button to find program, function, or files. Improvements can be made without doing this and that is the parts MS can not comprehend. They are doing these type of changes simply in the name of a {bling} change and people get angry.
MS does screw up. I started out on WEB TV which was good for what it was designed to do. I went then to W/98. Within a few minutes I was able to navigate it OK. Next came Windows ME Upgrade. The piece of crap OS would not stop writing to the HD long enough to even Defrag even in Safe Mode with only primitive system running it so I uninstalled it. When XP came up I bought a new computer. I've bought three actually since XP's release. XP is a stable system and the jump from 98/SE to XP only took minutes to figure out. Now as I understand it VISTA was garbage and W-7 is great except for again messing with where things were especially in the area of Documents.
Going on the previous MS track record W-8 is likely the dog many say it is and I'm not wasting good money to find out. I'll do a W-7 upgrade soon instead and hope W-9 is a lessons learned OS for MS.
Were you around when Vista was about a couple years old, and Microsoft was panicking because nobody wanted Vista? When MS was strong-arming computer vendors to drop XP and only provide Vista, and the public and businesses revolted?
Do you not remember how consumers and business buyers refused to purchase new PCs unless XP was installed, or at least available on a CD with the computer? Do you not remember how vendors did an about-face, installed XP on the new computers and provided Vista as a CD?
Why on a CD? Because Microsoft forced them to take a Vista license, or else no more Windows for them.
Well, if you had been around, you would remember that Microsoft continued to tout the Vista "license sales" because they didn't care whether people installed it or used it -- they only wanted "the numbers", that is, license sales.
Huge numbers of Vista licenses sold. But how many Vista installations in actual use? Big difference.
That's what's happening with Windows 8, albeit not as dramatically. Instead of revolting, people are just saying, "Screw Windows 8 on a PC, I'll get an iPad or an Android, or a Mac, or maybe I'll just keep using my Win7 machine another year."
If Win 8 was so damn compelling -- on a desktop PC -- people would be flocking to it. Right?
Fact is, it's a fine mobile OS. But on a desktop, it has no discernible advantage to the user over Win7. (Yeah, I know, it's a little faster and cleaner under the hood. But these days, users by and large don't care any more about incremental speed increases.)
> most internet traffic still shows IE and Windows to be the biggest sources of that traffic. Smartphones and tablets are still way behind, by a lot, and Linux and Mac OS hardly even register.
Please provide your sources (two would be nice, but one that's not a Microsoft shill house would be okay). Of course Windows, all versions combined, is still the single largest segment. That's not what we're arguing here. We're talking Win8. Hello?
Like they say on the interwebs, "Pics or it didn't happen". Okay? Source, or it's just a forum comment.
> you couldn’t be more wrong on all your points and comments.
We shall see. Let's revisit the actual usage numbers, as published by the reputable sources, in a year, shall we?