Windows 8 - Deeper Impressions

[CoffeeFiend]

MS also censors here.

That doesn't surprise me at all, even if it's wrong.

my email accounts where blocked. I had to use a new email. So MS now blocks users who have different opinions to test the preview builds

That's a pretty scumbag move of them...

They chose not to listen to customers. Unfortunately for them they won't be able to disregard their sales figures. The sooner Ballmer & Sinofsky are gone the better. Then perhaps we can regain a decent desktop OS and everything else. They can afford a "Vista 2" with Win8 but they just can't screw up Win9 so badly.

[JorgeA]

MS now blocks users who have different opinions to test the preview builds

They chose not to listen to customers. Unfortunately for them they won't be able to disregard their sales figures. The sooner Ballmer & Sinofsky are gone the better.

If I had any computer artist skills, I'd paste faces of those two gentlemen and Julie Larson-Green on something like this image:

Microsoft Executives React

To Windows 8 Criticism

(Thanks @xpclient for the reference to the third culprit in the group.)

--JorgeA

Edited July 22, 2012 by JorgeA

[JorgeA]

User choice only decreases with every new build of Windows 8. Now you can't even make the Taskbar a different color than the window borders!

--JorgeA

[jaclaz]

They chose not to listen to customers.

The real issue, as I see it, is NOT that they chose not to listen to their customers, that's part of their freedom , what really makes me upset is that while NOT listening to them, the declare they ARE listening .

I mean, if Sinofsky (or any of the MS "top managers") had some guts, they would say the truth:

Look, we are MS, we are the leading OS maker since what, 1993, we do know better than you do and we developed a new OS the way we know it's better.

Then, I would still personally disagree with their vision , and I would still think that they are a bunch of arrogant morons but I would admire them for the courage they show and for the tenacity with which they progress with their (flawed) project.

If you think about it, the current stance is that of cowards: "we didn't make it because we think it is right and believe in our vision, we conducted surveys, we listened and we did what you asked" is very little different form "Officer, the Devil made me do it.".

OT , but not much ,

http://brandednoise.tumblr.com/post/19884819335/marmite-mouthwash-and-microsoft

jaclaz

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

As we close in on the RTM the nightmare only gets worse and worse. Recapping the latest drivel ...

Windows 8 Tip: Use Airplane Mode (Thurrott 2012-07-20)

Windows 8 RTM on the way (WinUnleaked 2012-07-22)

Windows 8 RTM build 8518 screenshots appear (Fanboy Central 2012-07-22)

More RTM Screenshots : Credit: Paul Thurrott (WinUnleaked 2012-07-22)

Additional Windows 8 RTM UI screenshots hit the web (Fanboy Central 2012-07-23)

And then there are these laughers (move your coffee away from your screen). The first is from Sinofsky's team of children ...

Hardware accelerating everything: Windows 8 graphics (The Official Destroying Windows Blog 2012-07-23)

And this is how Fanboy Central laps it up and spreads the propaganda ...

Windows 8 brings massive gains in the graphics department (Fanboy Central 2012-07-23)

How bad is it? Well this interface is exactly what I would expect to receive if I purchased Windows 'Starter Edition' on a cheap bargain-bin netbook. I mean really. Of course that is sarcasm because Win7 Starter Edition is now looking very professional. Perhaps it should be called Windows DNR (Do Not Resuscitate Edition). To describe this as an insult to the eyes is an understatement. It is also an unbelievable insult to modern hardware. Can anyone imagine putting together an Ivy Bridge i7 with 16 GB and SSD and blazing GPU with a nice 27" LED and then installing this OS abortion? This is not minimalist, this is childish. It is the interface I expect when I customize some forum preferences that has rudimentary skin selection, scratch that, even those canned themes demonstrate more creativity. Twitter is more elaborate. Basically we are seeing Microsoft turn Windows into a bare-bones budget interface like those found in the firmware on TV's and cameras, and DVD players and myriad other consumer devices. Barf! (Images originate from Thurrott and WinUnleaked) ...

( originals: 1, 2, 3, 4 )

Microsoft Windows 8 : Metrosexual Edition (embrace your inner pastels)

EDIT: updated image URLs, and again

Edited May 7, 2013 by CharlotteTheHarlot

[MagicAndre1981]

what really makes me upset is that while NOT listening to them, the declare they ARE listening .

yes, this is the real issue

[JorgeA]

Charlotte,

What a fantastic rundown!!

For those who haven't made their way through all of the links, here's one of the best comments in the MSDN blog:

The reason for the "blurry" font rendering is that Clearype is no more as I understand it, as it didn't work well when rotated, which is an issue with tablets.

And yes, I agree - I find the text rendering on 8 to be a significant step backwards from even XP. So yet another downgrade because MS has to chase the tablet ghost.

--JorgeA

P.S. Are those really the taskbar icons MS is proposing for Office programs? OMG. Wonder if I'd still be able to squish the Taskbar so that I could get word labels instead of hieroglyphics...

Edited July 24, 2012 by JorgeA

[Fredledingue]

Yes, this is unacceptable.

Their design is getting worse and worse day after day.

These new Office icons are designed to be as less recognizable as possible.

Moving to the Windows 8 Metro esthetic would give me headaches. Not for me thanks.

I want an interface which is relaxing to the eyes and ergonomic at the same time. Not someting that is opposite in both.

[MagicAndre1981]

I want an interface which is relaxing to the eyes and ergonomic at the same time. Not someting that is opposite in both.

do you also have this issues with IE9, metro, Office 2013 and VS2012? This font rendering is a personal injury

[JorgeA]

I want an interface which is relaxing to the eyes and ergonomic at the same time. Not someting that is opposite in both.

do you also have this issues with IE9, metro, Office 2013 and VS2012? This font rendering is a personal injury

Now that Office 2007 has (I think) received its final updates package, and considering the way that Office 2013 is shaping up , I'm thinking of buying a copy of Office 2010 before the '13 version goes retail. It will give me several more years of full Office support in an interface that I can tolerate.

--JorgeA

[CharlotteTheHarlot]

Valve’s Gabe Newell on the Future of Games, Wearable Computers, Windows 8 and More (allthingsd 2012-07-25)

Gabe Newell: “I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space.” (PCGamer 2012-07-25)

Valve co-founder: Windows 8 is a "catastrophe" (Fanboy Central 2012-07-25)

Valve Boss Gabe Newell Says ''Windows 8 is a Catastrophe'' (Tom's Hardware 2012-07-26)

Valve Hedging Bets on Linux to Avoid Windows 8 "Catastrophe" (Maximum PC 2012-07-26)

Gabe Newell expressing exactly what I was trying to say in a rant upthread ...

Perhaps most interesting of all were Newell’s comments on the PC as an open platform and harsh criticism of Windows 8.

“Valve wouldn’t exist today without the PC,” he insisted, “or Epic, or Zynga, or Google. They all wouldn’t have existed without the openness of the platform. There’s a strong temptation to close the platform, because they look at what they can accomplish when they limit the competitors’ access to the platform, and they say, ‘That’s really exciting.’

“We are looking at the platform and saying, ‘We’ve been a free rider, and we’ve been able to benefit from everything that went into PCs and the Internet, and we have to continue to figure out how there will be open platforms.”

Newell even went as far as to say that a change of operating systems may be necessary in the future to preserve the open platform, so get those boot CDs ready.

“We want to make it as easy as possible for the 2,500 games on Steam to run on Linux as well. It’s a hedging strategy,” he said. “I think Windows 8 is a catastrophe for everyone in the PC space. I think we’ll lose some of the top-tier PC/OEMs, who will exit the market. I think margins will be destroyed for a bunch of people.”

Bingo. And as I was saying, Microsoft wouldn't exist except for the unlikely choice by IBM to embrace and literally force an open platform in the first place. It was one of the luckiest and stunningly benevolent things that any big business ever did for the public. And Microsoft was the luckiest group of all. They begged, borrowed and practically stole in a race against the clock to get DOS into IBM's hands in time for the PC launch. Their progression from then, to today also involved lots of luck and some more begging, borrowing and perhaps stealing as well. But here they are, today, in an unprecedented monopoly position regarding the x86 computer universe. It is today, at this stage where I believe the old saying 'with great power comes great responsibility' applies. Do you tread carefully and respect that giant user base who in large part did not choose specifically to become pawns in this game (their PC's were outfitted by OEMs that installed Windows largely because of behind the scenes deals) ... or ... do you make a cynical and selfish move, cashing in on them when they have practically no choice at all in selecting an Operating System, treating them like their personal herd of sheep or cattle?

This thing, Windows 8 is portrayed by fanboys as a nice incremental step towards 'unification' of devices and as 'progress' in general. I say bull. IMHO this is a thinly veiled attack on the very thing that made PC's and Microsoft itself a household name in the first place - the wild free-wheeling open architecture of the x86 computer world. Make no mistake, if they succeed with Metro and build a commercial walled garden and god forbid the thing starts generating real money, then you can guarantee that the desktop side will be targeted and eventually eliminated. They can't have scab independent authors out there selling software without getting their cut. They couldn't even tolerate something like Java stepping on their toes either. So let's hope for starters that there is someone out there developing a means to bypass the Microsoft Store completely, allowing independent Metro apps to be installed without ever passing through the Microsoft gatekeeping. That battle, should it occur should be a real hoot. But the best thing of all, and I am really hoping for this one, is that someone figures out a way to turn Metro into a windowed application that runs like Nemulator (link to an image, note that it is running in a Win7 Aero window just like Microsoft could have done, and here is the

once again).

Microsoft (and many other companies no doubt) would love to be the new AT&T and your computer to be the telephone you lease from them and getting a piece of every phone call. But they seem to have forgotten just how badly that monopoly ended. For the first time ever I am starting to think Microsoft should have been broken up, spinning off the OS side into a separate company.

EDIT: added a few more links.

Microsoft Windows 8 : What Monopoly? No-one's forcing you to buy it. (You have lots of choices

bwahahaha! )

Edited July 26, 2012 by CharlotteTheHarlot

[Tripredacus]

This thing, Windows 8 is portrayed by fanboys as a nice incremental step towards 'unification' of devices and as 'progress' in general.

I'm not sure where these fanboys are... The only ones I am seeing being "fanboyish" are official or affiliated sources. Surface reviews aside, since that actually seems like it is going to be a nice product.

[xpclient]

Well said CharlotteTheHarlot.

The fanboys are abundant at Fanboy Central aka Neowin.net.

[MagicAndre1981]

The fanboys are abundant at Fanboy Central aka Neowin.net.

or German site winfuture.de

Edited July 26, 2012 by MagicAndre1981

[JorgeA]

Charlotte,

Another FANTASTIC post, thank you!

Microsoft wouldn't exist except for the unlikely choice by IBM to embrace and literally force an open platform in the first place. It was one of the luckiest and stunningly benevolent things that any big business ever did for the public. And Microsoft was the luckiest group of all.

This was a crucial factor in the IBM PC's (and therefore Microsoft's) triumph over Apple back in 1980-83. Apple specializes in closed platforms, and although they were in the lead early on, they were quickly overtaken by the PC because customers wanted to be able to adapt their systems to their own needs, and not what Apple decided that they needed. Customization is king. As a result, Apple receded into the background and nearly disappeared. Even today, despite the new Apple chic, the Macintosh in its various flavors accounts for barely one-eighth of the OS market.

Apple's had better success recently with the iPad because no one takes a tablet seriously. How you run a toy and what goes inside it are not critical matters. But as tablet makers try to push their wares out into more serious markets, their popularity will run into the hard facts of tablets' physical and ergonomic limitations, as well as their nature as closed systems in terms of both hardware and software.

To repeat for the umpteenth time: A PC is not a tablet, and a tablet is not a PC.

--JorgeA