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, lets 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 isnt attributed to any executive or other person who works for or represents Microsoft in any official capacity. That is, Microsoft didnt 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 ...
I tried Win8 and hated it. I’ve switched my laptops to Linux and when I’ve figured it out I’ll change my main desktop over, too.
Microsoft can’t leave well enough alone for several reasons:
Number ONE:They want to sell lots of software,and forcing users to upgrade keps the money rolling in!
Number Two:Programmers always want to show they could have done it better or differently or more cleverly,and having access to the latest hardware,they disdain average users who simply want the computer on the desk to keep doing the job it has been doing satisfactorily.Many of us RESENT the periodic abandonemt of our systems forcing us to buy new just to do the same tasks.What actual new capabilities have been made available to users with each iteration of Windows? Did we not have email,internet,networking,spreadsheets,wordprocessing,desktop publishing, photo,music, and video capabilities in Win 95! I had those things on my Win95.And my use has not been made easier by the huge bloated programs that succeeded that era.The only difference I see is that the average user’s internet connection now can deliver fullscreen movies whereas my Win 95 or Mac OS9 was limited by the availavable internet connection speed of 56k.But I’d rather watch a movie on a bigger screen anyway.For an experiment I may dig out an old PC and try it on DSL;I know Win98SE did DSL,don’t remember if Win95 could.
Number Three:There is a huge industry of people making very good money “supporting” Microsoft products;i.e. retraining users how to use the new program they really didn’t want,need, or ask for.I have a huge stack of books explaining the various MS products;of course it is all obsolete in a very few years.
I think the computer people are like the man with only a hammer and they insist every task is best done by using a hammer,although it may require the “new,improved” hammer.
FINALLY, I posit that the Electronics Industry of post -1990 is the most successful group ever at implementing,selling, and profiting from planned obsolescence.The landfills are piled with perfectly functional,serviceable electronics whilst the consumers’ pockets are emptied to buy the latest because last years’ item is no longer supported!
I used to be a go-along, MS fit and did it's job rather well. the past 3 years have transformed me into one of those irritating MS haters. We are doing everything in our power to eliminate Ms products from our corporate setting. It's difficult to do, but in most cases, it's possible.
One thing is a plus: the new versions of windows will be able to run on ARM platforms. Let's hope this gives the industry the shove it needs to start migrating away from intel architecture and get some real and efficient instruction into the mainstream.
I’m both a Windows 7 and Linux user as well as a developer and I have one piece of advice for you when Windows 8 launches - get your hands on some Apple stock. Windows 8 is such a usability nightmare for a desktop operating system it should drive people to the Apple Store in droves.
No way will I install Windows 8. Think about this:
Windows 3.1 - stable
Windows 95 - turd
Windows 98 - stable
Windows Millenium Edition - turd
Windows XP - stable
Windows Vista - turd
Windows 7 - stable
Windows 8 - turd (projected)
That’s all you need to know.
I’m all about having things work. I still have one XP machine at home and a few at my office. They do the job just fine for what is needed. I have a pretty substantial Win7 machine at home that I use for Blu-Ray quality home video projects, multi-track music mixdown and other horsepower related projects. When I just want to surf the web I grab my iPad 1. You can get one for $200 on eBay now. I got a used Macbook Pro for mobile audio purposes; it does great things with digital audio and my Presonus equipment. Different tools for different jobs.
I was also an XP die hard, until the last of my old dinosaur computers died on me. I went out and bought a new e-machines computer with Windows 7 pre-installed, and have been pleasantly surprised by it.
For what it's worth, I find it to be as stable and reliable as XP, although Microsoft's whiz kids 'fixed' a few things that didn't need fixing. Overall, though, I have no real complaints. I'm becoming accustomed to the new layout, and breaking it in like a new E-Z Boy lounger.
Simple and it worked
Gotta agree with that. It's one of my chief beefs with Windows 7. The search function sucks raw eggs.
My favorite days are the ones when I hit the button on my KV switch and get to use my Linux workstation all day. :)
I was once told that opera singers sucked raw eggs before performances.
Keep in mind the old truth applicable to any such products, including your beloved iPads: once you have bought it you own an obsolete piece of technology - the new improved next generation is coming sooner than you can say Jack Robinson!
I would suggest they are also in cahoots with the hardware manufacturers. I have one newer desktop that has Win 7 on it and I'm happy with it. I also have older boxes and laptops that still have XP. These do not have the RAM and CPUs to let them work with Win 7, let alone Win 8, but they work perfectly well with XP. When MS stops supporting XP, my options will be
1)buy new computers
2) upgrade the motherboards, RAM and CPUs so they will work with Win 7
3) switch to Linux
4) toss perfectly good computers.
You can bet Dell, HP, etc. hope I and all the others in my boat choose option 1).
While I can't be sure, I think I'm seeing a pattern in your list. :=) Excellent summary of previous MS releases.
Before you make the plunge and get further immeshed in the Windows world, check out the web page below and watch the short video tutorials that give you an overview of what switching to a Mac can do for you:
http://www.apple.com/findouthow/mac/
As an alternative, visit an Apple Store for a hands-on demonstration, if you live near one.
TY
I’ll give that a try.
I used Ubuntu for quite a while. I liked it. But the last version I downloaded had a messed up updater. I could not figure out the problem, so I wiped that drive. I do not know (as in “in person”) anyone else who uses Linux in any version, so there was no one I could ask questions, and forums were only helpful up to a point.
So that's where that came from!
I believe that Windows is striving to appeal to a user base that becomes less sophisticated by the year, while (at least my own Kubuntu desktop) just drops sophistication. :)
Another convert...
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