Acer: Windows 8 still not successful

1/28/2013 7:41 PM EST

It seems to me that Windows 8 is destined to be a "minor" release. Looking at Windows versions (dates are release to manufacturing) I see:

Windows 3.1 (1992)
Windows '95 (1995)
Windows '98 (1998)
Windows 2000 (1999)
Windows ME (2000)
Windows XP (2001)
Windows Vista (2006)
Windows 7 (2009)
Windows 8 (2012)

Successful reliable versions (XP) overshadow subsequent releases (Vista) - if the new versions are not solid. People need a compelling reason to learn a new operating system. With Windows 7 settling in, I wonder whether people are ready to relearn computing on Windows 8.

1/29/2013 1:57 PM EST

Windows 8 is actually a pretty good release. I hated it for 2 weeks, but finally figured it out.

Here is Windows 8 in a nutshell:

(1) Start button is now Start Screen.
(2) Access Start Screen by pressing Windows key on keyboard.
(3) Programs are now called "Apps".
(4) Right click any blank space in the Start Screen to see all apps.
(5) Desktop is the same desktop as in Windows 7.
(6) You can still close most programs in Desktop with the small X.
(7) Some programs, without the X, will remain open in a sleep state for a while, then close automatically if there is no activity.

That's it.

And may I add, Windows 8 is F-A-S-T!!!

1/29/2013 5:04 PM EST

I maintain that simply giving an option to mimic the Windows 7 desktop would quell the vast majority of the criticism. That's not giving up on the new UI. It's not bowing to pressure. It's simply giving users a choice while the new UI is improved and has a chance to become more familiar.

There is plenty of precedent for such a choice. Most, if not all, versions of Windows since 95 have had a setting to make the UI look like that of the prior version.

The traditional "desktop" is there in Win8, but not fully there. It looks hacked in after the fact. The functionality of the Win7 UI is there. It's just been moved, altered and made (in my opinion) to look and work differently enough to discourage its use.

1/29/2013 10:33 PM EST

WIN8 does not make it any easier to produce things on the computer. It seems ever more oriented to "stateless" usage where we have to use and repeat GUI sequences for everything.

Perhaps MS is insensitive to user productivity because MS has lots of people and money.

Even so MS had to move testing to India to keep doing it the same way. That tells me they are very stubborn about keeping the GUI supreme.

I think this bodes well for Linux in the future.

1/30/2013 12:39 PM EST

Google chrome book is 199$ and only Acer and Samsung is sellng them at almost 0% margins. Average win 8 notebook will be ~500$ and competition from all other vendors. So Acer president's comparison doesnt make sense