Windows 8 adoption rate reportedly worse than Vista

[narv]

one of the reasons I also feel that windows 8 isn't "doing well" is because back in the vista time, there weren't as many blogs and google searching vista and seeing reviews and all that jazz.. now anyone types into google news and they'll see all these anti-win8 blogs about people who either didn't use the OS, or people that just want to bash Microsoft.

there are many advantages to windows 8, but not everyone needs them no. However it does have a bit of a learning curve and people aren't very patient these days when it comes to tech. "I want it now, not in 2 seconds".. they want to boot into the desktop mode, instead of clicking desktop button which can be moved to the top corner of the start menu for easy access. Or hitting any of the applications you need that are pinned on the start menu that will launch the desktop mode.

What is the desktop really? If you think about it.. it's a place to store a series of icons to access programs right? does the modern UI start menu not do just that? except with live tiles? You can pin anything to the start menu, as well as organize it into columns. Plus in the start menu you can just start typing and everything from programs / apps, system settings, search your apps, etc all happen right away.

how to access all the menus is pretty easy too in the apps (right click is a menu, and putting your mouse in any corner will bring up one of the menus). You are used to putting your mouse in the corner to access the start button anyway, so just got a bit further and hit the actual corner.

The whole app system seems dumb at first.. why do you need apps on your desktop? especially if you don't have a touchscreen (like me). But go a bit futher than that and think of the utility of having the side-by-side apps. Running your chat app while playing a desktop game in full screen or browsing the web while skyping in another screen. both up at once. Also there are many apps on the store for productivity, information, and fun. You used to have to go to various websites for many of the services or buy software that now you can get apps for, many of which are free.

Yes some of this has been done by 3rd party software you could buy or download but now it's built into the OS. Another such feature is the windows defender. in windows 7 and before it was anti-spyware detector. however the windows 8 version is a fully functional anti-virus software. There are many other free and paid versions however now you have one pre-built into the OS. This one also gets updated what seems to be daily really.

Yes, nothing is perfect. They all have their hiccups and bumps in the road but I feel that there is nothing wrong with windows 8 at all. and it has many benefits to upgrading (especially for $40!!! seriously... cannot beat that price...) And it integrates well with other windows devices like the tablets and phones (skydrive yay).

But many people are just too lazy or impatient or afraid of change. They hear one bad thing like "they changed the start menu" and everyone is out calling up the Mayans because **** is freezing over. You may not want to upgrade right now because you don't feel you need to update anything, but that doesn't mean the OS is bad.

 

[cashcar1979]

Cool. We can exchange anecdotes all day. I don't know a single person using Windows 8. There, another anecdote.
The fact is, no matter which polling company, analyst, or computer producer you ask (with the exception of Dell), they'll all tell you Windows 8 has flopped.

I know more than a few people who have upgraded to Windows 8. However, I also live outside the Apple media box.

You see most of that rubbish from Fujitsu (who is bust due to being so Euro centric, not Windows 8), and Acer who got their panties in a bunch over the Surface tablet. Comparing Win8 to legacy OS adoption is a tricky thing. When XP, Vista, etc launched there really wasnt a true compete - the tablet craze hadnt kicked in yet. You are seeing solid Win8 adoption in mid to high priced systems, especially Touch. On the low end the battle is fierce due tablets. I am not sure how MSFT solves the $199 to $399 tablet issue unless they discount the Surface (like they should have to being with).

 

[TonyDedrick]

I'm playing devils advocate. You said there is no reason to upgrade. I am saying there are plenty of reasons - especially Touch. Win8 + Touch on a laptop or convertible is very compelling.

Compelling for whom?

 

[Reflexx]

I don't know many people who have upgraded their existing computers to Windows 8. But I know a few who bought new PCs or convertibles even when they didn't really NEED one, just because they wanted Windows 8. And these were regular people. Not big techies. But they did have disposable income.

If you don't have a touch screen on your current machine, then you probably don't feel a need to upgrade. Even if you really like and want Windows 8, it seems more like a luxury than necessity because 5 yr old PCs and 3 yr old laptops still could run everything fine.

 

[cashcar1979]

Agree...Touch is the key sales driver for Win8. Its too bad their Xbox Music/Vid experience is poor. That could have been another great selling point.

 

[joeynox]

I know vista was considered a failure but my wife has it since launch on her PC and she lives it. She has never has an issue with it .

The problem with windows 8 in my opinion is that its 2 operating systems in 1. It has no identity . In the commercials you see the metro side but windows 7 is still there and most people will be using that side of the os. Also this 3-4 year os life cycle is really annoying to people/ corporations.
installing a new os , backing up files and such and redownloading stuff is a choir to most people,kinda like taking out the garbage. Just patch the existing os and leave it at that.

 

[rwcrossman]

I beta tested win7 and win8. I put both on my machines on their respective launch days, what a lot of people don't realize is that 8 takes the solid foundation of 7 and builds on it via better memory usage and better multicore support. I remember when people had nothing but complaints about windows XP it wasn't until service pack 2 came out that people started to like it. I work in retail and sell computers I have seen a positive response to win 8 from consumers the only people that seem to have a problem with 8 are the so called "power users" which is kind of ironic since they are so "tech savvy" they should be able to adapt much faster then my 60 year old and up customers but that doesn't seem to be the case.

 

[pdch]

Serves no purpose? How about the purpose of creating an OS to cater to the changing landscape of input methods. People are increasingly demanding alternative methods to the standard mouse/keyboard - Touch, Voice, Motion, etc. MSFT has been trying to bring Touch around for years to larger devices and finally got there with Windows 8.

Also you can easily boot to the DT by using 3rd party apps like Start8. It even brings back the legacy Start button for those folks who fear change.

Shouldn't need a 3rd party app to do what your users want. That is the problem with win8, during all of the beta's, consumers kept telling Microsoft what they wanted and MS ignored them - which is quickly becoming Microsoft's MO in all aspects of their business. The ONLY reason to go to Win8 is Touch. If you don't have a touch enabled device, it is a pain in the a$$, so why upgrade if your Win7 works like you want and the new OS DOES NOT work like you want. Most Windows users have learned to AVOID third party plug-ins like start8 because of malware or other drawbacks such as memory leaks or CPU cycles. As a result, the normal Windows veteran does NOT see that as a viable option to do what they are already doing.

 

[pdch]

I know vista was considered a failure but my wife has it since launch on her PC and she lives it. She has never has an issue with it .

The problem with windows 8 in my opinion is that its 2 operating systems in 1. It has no identity . In the commercials you see the metro side but windows 7 is still there and most people will be using that side of the os. Also this 3-4 year os life cycle is really annoying to people/ corporations.
installing a new os , backing up files and such and redownloading stuff is a choir to most people,kinda like taking out the garbage. Just patch the existing os and leave it at that.

Vista is slow, slOW, SLOW - that is the problem. Same computer is 10x's faster with Win7.

Oh, it is also a blue screen magnet

 

[dba415]

This isn't surprising at all. I just hope Microsoft takes this as a lesson and changes back in windows 9 before they lose too much money.

 

[cashcar1979]

This isn't surprising at all. I just hope Microsoft takes this as a lesson and changes back in windows 9 before they lose too much money.

Why on Earth would they change back? The entire landscape is shifting towards alternative input methods like touch, voice, motion, etc? That is the reason for Win8 - to meld this together across devices via a unified OS core, regardless of form factor.

Once Touch screen capacity for laptops, AIOs, and new alternative form factors catches up, you will see solid win8 growth. Much of the delay now is around Touch capacity issues, and retailers having too much old Win7 inventory from Summer/Fall on their books.

 

[Reflexx]

I think that people who think that MS would be better served going back to the old UI are being short sighted, or don't see how the entire industry is moving.

It's understandable that people want to stay with what they know. But technology doesn't work that way. That's how tech companies die.

Windows 8 is awesome with touch, and adequate with a mouse. It's not even "bad" with a mouse. It's just different. But because it retains all the functionality of Windows 7, people want to access everything the same way that they're used to. And the change in the Start screen is making people who are resistant to change upset. But I believe that is a temporary problem.

Technology moves, whether you like it or not. And different individuals come to accept that reality at different times. Then they must move forward. Because if they don't, they'll become dinosaurs. Because you know what? All those young college kids, high school kids, elementary school kids, and even preschool kids are moving forward. My 4 yr old can navigate on my Surface with no problem. He knows how to read, but not really how to spell yet. But he's figured out that he can use Search and Autocomplete when using my Surface or Windows Phone. So he just has to figure out the first 2 or 3 letters of the word he wants, then choose from the list. He also can navigate my wife's Kindle and my sister's iPhone.

Learn. Adjust. Grow.

 

[Nataku4ca]

@Bold: I have a similar story. I was mainly an XP user and at first glance Windows 8 seemed unnecessarily foreign but I like it now. Its not perfect but it is much better. Within a few days I bought two more licenses. One computer with 7 was upgraded and the other wasn't.

are you sure you're not his father? :winktongue:

 

[Nataku4ca]

Yes, I do need more reasons. None of those are applicable to my usage patterns. Would some of them be nice? Sure. Do any of them matter enough to plunk down cash? **** no. I'm totally satisfied with my mid-2009 Macbook in 2013. I've upgraded to 8 gigs of RAM, replaced the battery once, and use bootcamp frequently, no need for anything more.

now this doesn't have anything to do with Win8, but I see one upgrade you may want (though I haven't seen the full spec of your machine) GET AN SSD!! :wink:

 

[Nataku4ca]

hmm, 3 post in a row... i should do this another way next time

just want to say in this last post that Win8 has been out for what? 2~3 month? it has not flopped like people are making it out to be, MS is in a new shorter cycle for releasing new Windows, this has to be accounted for when talking about sales figures, XP lived way too long and should have died a lot sooner, that is the only reason Vista had more traction than what it would have had if the duration was shorter, now i'll play the devil as well here, I've had Vista for a couple of years and since I was a retail tech back then this is what I observed

1 - Vista is not as bad as some people would have you think, it is actually very reliable once you have the right hardware
2 - Intel is to blame for the crappy reputation Vista received, they forced MS to put out a Vista Capable sticker, which are machines that just simply could not run Vista properly
3 - Microsoft is at fault for this part, they never gave OEM enough time to build drivers out before releasing Vista, that caused the initial incompatibility issue for almost all accessories and hardware, dumb strategy...
4 - Vista is resource heavy, but not by that much as what some are saying, XP is a resource hog too, Vista just added abit more to that, and in the end, it's the crap that OEMs put on their brandname PCs that slows the whole system down, do a clean install then you will see what I mean

Win 7 definitely trumps Vista (and walks all over it) I'm just saying that it wasn't as bad as what alot of people think, and Windows 8 just need a chance to prove itself, heck I've shown it to many many people and they like it after they understood what it is, our company is testing it out now too (but with our corporate speed... so it won't be another year or two before any deployment starts)

 

[ohgood]

I'm playing devils advocate. You said there is no reason to upgrade. I am saying there are plenty of reasons - especially Touch. Win8 + Touch on a laptop or convertible is very compelling.

What do you do with touch on a laptop that is so compelling ?

 

[Laura Knotek]

What do you do with touch on a laptop that is so compelling ?

Use it as a tablet.

 

[WinFan1]

i personally think that windows 8 is pretty good. Do i find myself going from metro to the desktop more frequently than not, sure. But that isnt to say the metro side of it is useless, for example universal search is probably my favorite aspect about windows 8. makes everything work much faster as opposed hitting start looking for the program. Another aspect about windows 8 thats just much better is the grouping of legacy applications to meet my needs. Creating a group of applications allows me to prioritize what i have to get done. For example set up office as one group of applications while bundling in bing, IE10 metro, and mail, this allows me to get work done quicker. Another group would be media consumption music videos youtube (site pinned) spotify. Another would be a group for social networking facebook twitter etc.. so it isnt entirely useless and every application lets me make use of the universal function that will automatically search within specific apps. Charms allow me to access settings for specific apps much easier. All in all, this coupled with the speed minimalism and hardware friendliness of the OS makes windows 8 a pleasing experience on the eyes and mind because i know that its secure. this is all imho take it as you will.

 

[WinFan1]

hmm, 3 post in a row... i should do this another way next time

just want to say in this last post that Win8 has been out for what? 2~3 month? it has not flopped like people are making it out to be, MS is in a new shorter cycle for releasing new Windows, this has to be accounted for when talking about sales figures, XP lived way too long and should have died a lot sooner, that is the only reason Vista had more traction than what it would have had if the duration was shorter, now i'll play the devil as well here, I've had Vista for a couple of years and since I was a retail tech back then this is what I observed

1 - Vista is not as bad as some people would have you think, it is actually very reliable once you have the right hardware
2 - Intel is to blame for the crappy reputation Vista received, they forced MS to put out a Vista Capable sticker, which are machines that just simply could not run Vista properly
3 - Microsoft is at fault for this part, they never gave OEM enough time to build drivers out before releasing Vista, that caused the initial incompatibility issue for almost all accessories and hardware, dumb strategy...
4 - Vista is resource heavy, but not by that much as what some are saying, XP is a resource hog too, Vista just added abit more to that, and in the end, it's the crap that OEMs put on their brandname PCs that slows the whole system down, do a clean install then you will see what I mean

Win 7 definitely trumps Vista (and walks all over it) I'm just saying that it wasn't as bad as what alot of people think, and Windows 8 just need a chance to prove itself, heck I've shown it to many many people and they like it after they understood what it is, our company is testing it out now too (but with our corporate speed... so it won't be another year or two before any deployment starts)

i agree vista was pretty reliable for me. needless to say i do agree with the notion that 7 and 8 murder it in terms of usability.

 

[WinFan1]

Shouldn't need a 3rd party app to do what your users want. That is the problem with win8, during all of the beta's, consumers kept telling Microsoft what they wanted and MS ignored them - which is quickly becoming Microsoft's MO in all aspects of their business. The ONLY reason to go to Win8 is Touch. If you don't have a touch enabled device, it is a pain in the a$$, so why upgrade if your Win7 works like you want and the new OS DOES NOT work like you want. Most Windows users have learned to AVOID third party plug-ins like start8 because of malware or other drawbacks such as memory leaks or CPU cycles. As a result, the normal Windows veteran does NOT see that as a viable option to do what they are already doing.

i use win8 on a desktop and its just as easy to use in that regard as it is in touch dude.