Microsoft spectacularly fails: Early look at Windows 8 baffles consumers [View all]

[Poll_Blind]

[div class="excerpt" style="border: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-bottom: none; border-radius: 0.3846em 0.3846em 0em 0em; box-shadow: 2px 2px 6px #bfbfbf;"]Early look at Windows 8 baffles consumers[div class="excerpt" style="border: 1px solid #bfbfbf; border-top: none; border-radius: 0em 0em 0.3846em 0.3846em; background-color: #f4f4f4; box-shadow: 2px 2px 6px #bfbfbf;"]NEW YORK (AP) — The release of Microsoft's Windows 8 operating system is a week away, and consumers are in for a shock. Windows, used in one form or another for a generation, is getting a completely different look that will force users to learn new ways to get things done.

Microsoft is making a radical break with the past to stay relevant in a world where smartphones and tablets have eroded the three-decade dominance of the personal computer. Windows 8 is supposed to tie together Microsoft's PC, tablet and phone software with one look. But judging by the reactions of some people who have tried the PC version, it's a move that risks confusing and alienating customers.

Tony Roos, an American missionary in Paris, installed a free preview version of Windows 8 on his aging laptop to see if Microsoft's new operating system would make the PC faster and more responsive. It didn't, he said, and he quickly learned that working with the new software requires tossing out a lot of what he knows about Windows.

"It was very difficult to get used to," he said. "I have an 8-year-old and a 10-year-old, and they never got used to it. They were like, 'We're just going to use Mom's computer.'"

Much more at the link- and actually interesting stuff too! It was difficult to prune it down to 4 paragraphs so I just punted and went with the first four.

Oh, and of course it's going to be the new standard forced on just about all non-Mac PC purchases.

Trying to make an OS that both plays well on a smartphone and a desktop, IMO, is a losing proposition. It's a matter of scope and focus.

BTW, although I don't use it as much as my family does, the new interface Ubuntu's been using for the last few years is superb. The kids and the little lady picked it up almost immediately. That shit just...works. I could see that being shrunk down to a smartphone with only a few changes and pulling it off so much better than Microsoft.

PB