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Windows 8 - Deeper Impressions


JorgeA

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The solution to everyone's troubles would be use the Windows editions to differentiate more on advanced-ness of feature set. Windows 8 for dumb people and grandmas. Windows 8 Pro for professionals who want every possible tweak and setting and can't tolerate any lack of customization. Now will the morons in the User Experience team ever get this? It might take a few more releases of Windows to fail before the idiots possibly realize that dumbing down is not good for everyone. As long as current dumb and arrogant management is in charge, I don't see it happening. Sadly, XP or even Windows 7 support may not last that long by the time the idiots realize that computers shouldn't be all about grandmas and less intelligent people who only play Cut the Rope and Farmville.

ROFL -- I loved the way you highlighted your points with the strategic use of illustrations! :lol::D

--JorgeA

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Microsoft: Tablets to outsell PC desktops in 2013

"Could the sales of tablets surpass desktop PCs by the end of 2013? That's the prediction from Antoine Leblond, the head of Windows Web Services at Microsoft. Speaking during the keynote address at Microsoft's annual TechEd Europe conference, Leblond said, "Everything used to be desktops, now 60 percent of PCs sold are laptops. Next year, tablets will outsell desktops.""

I'd like to know what they're smoking over at Redmond, must be some really good stuff. It seems to have enhanced the, umm, "imaginative" powers of most of the MS top brass.

--JorgeA

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Pretty good article from Tom's Hardware on the known current information about Windows 8 pricing. It also details the pricing for the last four Windows releases, WinME, WinXP, Vista, and Win7. Near as I can tell this $14.99 cost is the lowest one ever offered since at least the Win3.x era ...

This is totally wrong. This isn't the same as previous versions of Windows Upgrade Version, which is cheaper than buying the full OS. The cheapest one was when MS did this for people buying XP prior to Vista RTM, where people got a little card/voucher for a FREE upgrade. So that one takes the cake. :rolleyes:

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This is totally wrong. This isn't the same as previous versions of Windows Upgrade Version, which is cheaper than buying the full OS. The cheapest one was when MS did this for people buying XP prior to Vista RTM, where people got a little card/voucher for a FREE upgrade. So that one takes the cake. :rolleyes:

Yeah, it was the same when Windows 7 came out. When I bought my Vista laptop in September '09, I had the option to send for discs from HP to upgrade the OS to Win7. I could be wrong, but I don't remember being asked to pay anything for the upgrade. (I got the discs, but I decided not to install Win7 on the laptop when I saw how plain-vanilla the new OS looked in comparison to Vista.)

--JorgeA

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Microsoft killed the start button because it wasn't used - NeoWin

Microsoft: You Are the Reason Why We Killed the Start Menu - Tom's Hardware

Microsoft employee explains decision to scrap the Start button - TechSpot

"Chaitanya Sareen, principal program manager at Microsoft, said that "We’d seen the trend in Windows 7" that users were no longer using the start button but instead pinning applications to the task bar:

" When we evolved the taskbar we saw awesome adoption of pinning [applications] on the taskbar. We are seeing people pin like crazy. And so we saw the Start menu usage dramatically dropping, and that gave us an option. We’re saying 'look, Start menu usage is dropping, what can we do about it? What can we do with the Start menu to revive it, to give it some new identity, give it some new power?""

Meanwhile in other breaking news, Ford, Mercedes, Audi and Porsche have noted declining usage of the space-wasting included spare tire thanks to data collected from their Customer Experience Improvement Program. Spokesmen for the companies say that most users have never even touched the spare tire and many do not even know that it is there or could even find it if they wanted to. 'Our research indicates that we can vastly improve their fast and fluid experience by removing this useless legacy application'. No word if other auto manufacturers will follow suit. :D

All kidding aside, Microsoft is flat out lying again as usual. This was an arrogant design decision with a feeble attempt later to disguise that fact with numbers and no-one should ever believe Microsoft when they cite numbers. For one simple proof that their usage statistics are bogus just consider that the only people being tracked are those that are too stup er inexperienced to opt-out, so the experts and power users are not even present in the sample in any numbers.

For an even more obvious proof just make a list of Windows accessories that are rarely used by those same users in their alleged sample. Backup, CharMap, Remote Assistance, Synchronize, all manner of Administrative Tools, the list is endless. For every click that these accessories receive, the Start Menu probably receives a hundred or a thousand or more. Following their logic almost everything shipped with Windows should disappear. What's next, maybe Windows will use the data in the ADD/Remove or Programs and Features and automatically delete the 'Rarely Used' items.

The real data would show a ranking from most used to least used with the bulk of Windows accessories near the bottom and the Start Menu of course above them. To remove the Start Menu but not all other less-used items proves the arrogance and willingness to lie from Team B&S.

EDIT: added two more links to main article.

Microsoft Windows 8 : Sesame Street Edition designed by children for children

Edited by CharlotteTheHarlot
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The real data would show a ranking from most used to least used with the bulk of Windows accessories near the bottom and the Start Menu of course above them. To remove the Start Menu but not all other less-used items proves the arrogance and willingness to lie from Team B&S.

Wonderful analysis!

The folks at MS seem to be confusing "frequency" with "importance." It does not follow from the fact that I use something rarely, that I am better off (or even just as well off) without it.

In any case, if the idea is to eliminate functions that are being used less, then supercharging the Start Menu into an aggressive, in-your-face Start Screen that supposedly does the same unimportant thing is the OPPOSITE of what the number-crunching would call for. The whole explanation is simply incoherent, and reeks of after-the-fact rationalization.

Bottom line: now I have no idea whether MS removed the Start Menu because metrics showed that it was losing importance and therefore few would miss it (as they'd said before), or because (as the new line goes) metrics showed that it was losing importance and they were trying to salvage it. I don't give a hoot what the reason is -- JUST BRING BACK THE START MENU.

--JorgeA

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Meanwhile in other breaking news, Ford, Mercedes, Audi and Porsche have noted declining usage of the space-wasting included spare tire thanks to data collected from their Customer Experience Improvement Program. Spokesmen for the companies say that most users have never even touched the spare tire and many do not even know that it is there or could even find it if they wanted to. 'Our research indicates that we can vastly improve their fast and fluid experience by removing this useless legacy application'. No word if other auto manufacturers will follow suit. :D

JFYI, it is MANY years that Porsche removed spare tires from the 911 and boxster, 2005 if I recall correctly, replacing it with a "repair kit" :whistle: .

I have never met a 911 or boxster owner actually upset about it.

So, sorry to say so :(, but this time your "meanwhile" has a lesser effect than what was intended/expected.

Meanwhile, in Ireland:

st-patricks-day-guiness_Ireland-demotivational.jpg

jaclaz

Edited by jaclaz
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Meanwhile in other breaking news, Ford, Mercedes, Audi and Porsche have noted declining usage of the space-wasting included spare tire thanks to data collected from their Customer Experience Improvement Program. Spokesmen for the companies say that most users have never even touched the spare tire and many do not even know that it is there or could even find it if they wanted to. 'Our research indicates that we can vastly improve their fast and fluid experience by removing this useless legacy application'. No word if other auto manufacturers will follow suit. :D

JFYI, it is MANY years that Porsche removed spare tires from the 911 and boxster, 2005 if I recall correctly, replacing it with a "repair kit" :whistle: .

I have never met a 911 or boxster owner actually upset about it.

So, sorry to say so :(, but this time your "meanwhile" has a lesser effect than what was intended/expected.

Well it depends.

If Porsche used data collected from a Customer Experience Improvement Program then it would seem to reinforce my humorous analogy. Right? :yes:

It would even be better if that Porsche repair kit was invisible and you had to move the pointer to the lower left hand corner of the windshield to make it appear. :lol:<--- (more humor!)

Edited by CharlotteTheHarlot
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Windows 8 upgrade paths 'leaked', XP, Vista and 7 supported - TechSpot

Windows 8 upgrade path leaked, XP fans rejoice - NeoWin (Fanboys :wub: )

Microsoft Details Windows 8 Upgrade Plans - Tom's Hardware

The NeoWin article speculates about WinXP upgrading ...

"Finally, if you are one of the many people who still uses Windows XP, the good news is that you can upgrade to Windows 8. The bad news is that only personal data will be maintained when the upgrade is complete."

However the TechSpot article offers a slightly different take ...

Upgrading From ----------- Rumored Paths ------------------------- You Can Keep

Windows XP SP3 ........... Windows 8 ............................. Files, Apps

Windows Vista ............ Windows 8 ............................. Files

Windows Vsta SP1+ ........ Windows 8 ............................. Files, Apps

Windows 7 Starter ........ Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro .............. Files, Apps, Settings

Windows 7 Home Basic ..... Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro .............. Files, Apps, Settings

Windows 7 Home Premium ... Windows 8, Windows 8 Pro .............. Files, Apps, Settings

Windows 7 Professional ... Windows 8 Pro, Windows 8 Enterprise ... Files, Apps, Settings

Windows 7 Ultimate ....... Windows 8 Pro, (Enterprise?) .......... Files, Apps, Settings

Windows 7 Enterprise ..... Windows 8 Enterprise .................. Files, Apps, Settings

Regardless of what finally occurs, the fact remains that Microsoft once again is just phoning it in. It is must be too darn complicated for them to untangle the mess they made with the switch from \Documents and Settings to \Users, the strange Wow64 and System32 implementation choice, and all the registry and NTFS links they used as ductape to hold the thing together. LoL! To be honest, Win2k and WinXP are looking like pillars of stability and simplicity nowadays. (though IMHO I do feel they should have done \Users from the beginning. But that would have been too logical. These were the same kind of dumb decisions that gave us \Program Files with all the potential LFN problems instead of simply using \Programs which fit so nicely in 8 characters. ~sigh~)

EDIT: added link to Tom's Hardware coverage... and a typo.

Microsoft Windows 8 : it's like Windows 7, only better! (if by 'better' you mean suckier)

Edited by CharlotteTheHarlot
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Regardless of what finally occurs, the fact remains that Microsoft once again is just phoning it in. It is must be too darn complicated for them to untangle the mess they made with the switch from \Documents and Settings to \Users, the strange Wow64 and System32 implementation choice, and all the registry and NTFS links they used as ductape to hold the thing together. LoL! To be honest, Win2k and WinXP are looking like pillars of stability and simplicity nowadays. (though IMHO I do feel they should have done \Users from the beginning. But that would have been too logical. These were the same kind of dumb decisions that gave us \Program Files with all the potential LFN problems instead of simply using \Programs which fit so nicely in 8 characters. ~sigh~)

Well, the good news are that in Italian the "Program Files" are "Programmi", so at least *somehere* they did one thing right.

Actually - and just for the record - the "right" approach since many years, just after the invention of partitionable hard disks :w00t:, would have been to make by default a "System" partition and a "Data" partition/volume, and possibly a single directory in either volume with all the settings for the programs. Doing backups/restores and upgrading would have become - instead of a nightmare - a simple, everyday task (as it should be).

It seems like Porsche actually made a survey asking to their customers whether they preferred the small German repair kit and the tiny compressor coming with it or the solution originally designed by MS, of which I have a couple rare images of early tests ;):

white-trash-repairs-how-to-cover-your-bald-spot.jpg

white-trash-repairs-aww-man-the-tire-pressures-low2.gif

and consensus - strangely enough - was almost entirely for the German design.

jaclaz

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Windows Vista ............ Windows 8 ............................. Files

What gives? :unsure: Why single out Vista RTM individually from SP1+? It's modern...ish. :ph34r:

There must be something changed with SP1. We all know that SP1 works a whole lot better than RTM.

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There must be something changed with SP1. We all know that SP1 works a whole lot better than RTM.

.. which should be read - in absolute terms instead of comparative ones - as almost, but not quite, right ;)

jaclaz

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Windows Vista ............ Windows 8 ............................. Files

What gives? :unsure: Why single out Vista RTM individually from SP1+? It's modern...ish. :ph34r:

Yeah, that caught my eye, too. Also was scratching my head over the fact that XP SP3 seems to have a fuller upgrade path than original Vista. :huh:

--JorgeA

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