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Are you going to wait for Windows 9?
communityfair:
I have tried both. But serioulsy I like Windows7 as compare to Windows8. It is more easy to use and handle. If you are talking about Windows9, No I am not waiting for it because I am quite satisfied with the older version.
TaoPhoenix:
For the Win 9 thread I'll change my tone and remark that MS did "something" to polarize Win 8 like a
Make-or-Break. I'm waiting for Win 9. The suspense is basically killing me. By 3 years from now I guarantee *something* will have shaken loose.
Carol Haynes:
I suspect in 3 years MS are banking on 3 things:
1) 'Domestic' desktop and laptop computers will have become much more marginalised than they are now and so will be less interest to their bottom line. If things continue the way they are now most 'consumer' level users will have shifted to tablets in 3 years time and that is where MS's focus market will be - with the lock-in store and data model.
2) Business users will start to see things the MS way. Personally I have my doubts on this and I can see a lot of businesses still using XP and 7 and not making the move.
3) Domestic users who have bought new machines will have got used to Windows 8 and see the desktop mode as a quirky and old fashioned way of doing things because the app market will have matured to the point that toggling to the desktop for most users will be unnecessary.
So far I haven't met many people who have bought new laptops or desktops with Windows 8 preinstalled but those I have seen are confused. They have no idea what is going on but they can see that they can browse the internet and do their emails from the tiled interface. Given that many people only use their computer for that and typing the odd letter or the odd spreadsheet means that once Office 2013 becomes established many people will probably not even use the desktop.
Many people/blogs have suggested that by the time Win 8 SP1 is released MS will have seen the error of their ways and give desktop and laptop users the option to start on the desktop with a start menu option. I think the opposite is likely to be true. At the moment there are odd behaviours in Windows 8 that mean the system sometimes flips spontaneously to the desktop for certain tasks. My guess is that SP1 will tighten integration to the tiled interface and avoid random sorties to the desktop.
MS wants the average user to forget about traditional computing and desktop apps - they want users to get used to the new WinRT interface - that is where they see their profit both on hardware and in the cloud.
The only logical step is to integrate their flagship products (such as Office - which is already in the pipeline) into WinRT (as I perceive the not-Metro interface, irrespective of hardware platform) and persuade other developers to do the same so that one integrated WinRT interface common across all devices is most users' experience. Doubtless in time flagship software will be compiled to be also available on ARM based devices (even if they have reduced functionality) and for business integrate those apps across the internet with servers anywhere in the world. I'd be surprised if MS does not start offering cloud based server products for businesses to use just to allow seamless integration for users in the office and on the road).
Driving people to the WinRT approach addresses the issue of falling demand for desktop and laptop computers and not only protects their bottom line into the future but also provides a new and highly lucrative service and apps market that users can't avoid. They have also shown their thinking by the production of their own hardware in the form of tablets and hybrid tablet/ultrabooks coming soon.
I don't think I am being cynical here. Microsoft are doing what all large multinationals do - protecting their future profits and dividends and if it works it will prove to be a clever shrewd move. Once they iron out some of the oddities I think people will see this as a real challenge and great alternative to Apple's current dominance in the mobile market.
The people who lose out in all this will be the users - most won't realise what they are losing and so don't really count, it's the technically more savvy users who actually want to use their computers beyond browsing and email that will really lose out.
The businesses who will lose out are going to be large companies like Adobe who I have no doubt will face the challenge of porting their software to the new interface. It is a gamble on the part of MS - it would be very easy for Adobe to say 'they all work great on Mac' let's just dump windows and encourage our users to move to Macs. Given that they are the market leaders for design software it would be a compelling argument for some design companies - and I am seeing a lot of businesses looking at Microsoft suspiciously and wondering if there is longer term security with Apple.
40hz:
MS wants the average user to forget about traditional computing and desktop apps - they want users to get used to the new WinRT interface - that is where they see their profit both on hardware and in the cloud.-Carol Haynes (November 25, 2012, 06:59 AM)
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I am seeing a lot of businesses looking at Microsoft suspiciously and wondering if there is longer term security with Apple.
-Carol Haynes (November 25, 2012, 06:59 AM)
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Spot on! :Thmbsup:
But I personally don't see businesses looking any less askance at Apple than they do at Microsoft. At least from where I'm sitting. Both Apple and Microsoft are committed to 'single-sourcing' their customers. And that's a situation no savvy business allows itself to be willingly locked into.
There's a good article by Howard Fosdick over at OSNews that sums up much of how I feel about generic hardware and open source software.
Why I Use Generic Computers and Open Source Software
posted by Howard Fosdick on Sat 24th Nov 2012 17:52 UTC
IconDo you depend on your computer for your living? If so, I'm sure you've thought long and hard about which hardware and software to use. I'd like to explain why I use generic "white boxes" running open source software. These give me a platform I rely on for 100% availability. They also provide a low-cost solution with excellent security and privacy.
People's requirements vary, so what I use may not be the best choice for you. I'm a support person for databases and operating systems. I also do consulting that involves research, presenting, and writing. I use my own computers and work from home. This article is about desktops and laptops, not handheld devices.
.
.
.
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Read the rest of the article here.
8)
TaoPhoenix:
...
1) 'Domestic' desktop and laptop computers will have become much more marginalised than they are now and so will be less interest to their bottom line. If things continue the way they are now most 'consumer' level users will have shifted to tablets in 3 years time and that is where MS's focus market will be - with the lock-in store and data model.
2) ("Maybe" - added by me) Business users will start to see things the MS way. Personally I have my doubts on this and I can see a lot of businesses still using XP and 7 and not making the move.
...
-Carol Haynes (November 25, 2012, 06:59 AM)
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I can see how this could become a class war among the "Consumer" and "Business & Expert" users.
(Notice the Consume part of Consumer. Not Customer! Consumer! :o )
The Consumers "want" (with corporate help!) to Consume as fast as possible. Give them their email, their Facebook, their Web browsing, and some Apps (Oh look, it's Shareware but now it's called an App.) So if you only use 8 programs sure, stick them all on a big starter screen. "It's Easy! Click/touch the big button and you don't have to mess with that Desktop thingie that's too hard for me..."
To me what this really is, is a program hardlocking all data it knows to some theoretical folder such as (making this up) Users/Me/Office2013/Data or something. Since it's "Hardlocked" of course the program knows where it is, "Yay, It's All Right There. (TM)" (Concept exercise: make one of our signature "snacks" that forces all programs to save all data in one folder each and block all attempts to save it to anywhere else on that pesky desktop thingie, plus a part that makes you pick you pick your "favorite Apps" and tiles them all over the screen and won't let you do anything else except add and delete more tiles.)
An argument to a strategy I haven't seen yet is if you hardlock all program data to one file tree you can amputate a colossal part of Explorer, maybe half or more. (Folders, viewing tools, file types, who needs all that jazz if you can just call it a "Web File" in one folder?) So then people get used to the idea that they can only access their data *from within the program* which is the ultimate antidote to "terrorist tools like Libre Office" (sarcasm mine) if it's mysteriously "just an Office 2013 file" plus the OS dev costs become like working for Fisher Price.
Then they can offload all that "hard stuff" onto the Business and Expert users, whereupon the end user prices will skyrocket.
Lots of Eew there.
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