Linked by Thom Holwerda on Mon 9th Jul 2012 21:44 UTC
Jeff Atwood: "In the post PC era, Microsoft is betting the company on Windows 8, desperately trying to serve two masters with one operating system. The traditional mouse and keyboard desktop is no longer the default; it is still there, but slightly hidden from view, as the realm of computer nuts, power users, and geeks. For everyone else, the Metro UI puts an all new, highly visual touch and tablet friendly face on the old beige Wintel box. Will Microsoft succeed? I'm not sure yet. But based on what I've seen so far of Windows 8, its pricing, and the new Surface hardware - I'm cautiously optimistic." So am I. However, a lot - and I mean a lot as in 'everything' - will depend on the quality of the Metro applications. So far, the quality has been utterly abysmal, both for first and third party ones. Microsoft is promising Metro application goodness for RTM, but I'll believe it when I see it.
Thread beginning with comment 526135
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
To view parent comment, click here.
To read all comments associated with this story, please click here.
Member since:2006-02-15
As I've said before, I believe that Average Joe and his peers will possibly whine a little at first, but eventually they'll just settle in to Windows 8. And that's actually a good thing: with Windows Store being now an integral part of the OS Average Joe and his peers will quite likely start looking there for apps first and only then on the Internet, meaning that they're much less likely to catch malware or viruses.
Overall I do not see a huge "I want that!!" - reaction from the crowds like they mostly have for the iPhone, for example, but no "I definitely do NOT want that!!" either.
Member since:2006-02-22
As I've said before, I believe that Average Joe and his peers will possibly whine a little at first, but eventually they'll just settle in to Windows 8. And that's actually a good thing: with Windows Store being now an integral part of the OS Average Joe and his peers will quite likely start looking there for apps first and only then on the Internet, meaning that they're much less likely to catch malware or viruses.
Agreed and MS's dominant position on the desktop will give them a way into the new mobile technologies smart phones, tablets etc, or so they hope. The Average Joe will be used to Metro and will want his phone / tablet to work in the same way. Developers will develop for Metro - because it's the dominant desktop platform and these apps will be ported to Metro mobile giving MS the advantage it needs to catch up in this area.
Using your dominance or monopoly in one are to leverage dominance in another is the Microsoft way.
A lot is riding on this for MS and Nokia, if it's a disaster like Vista, MS may be in a terminal spiral of decline.
different small groups pulling things in different directions and no coherent long-time plan whatsoever.
This I disagree with Canonical does seem to have a vision and a plan, whether it work I don't know, but I hope so. This would be good for not only Canonical but Linux and Open-source.
Member since:2012-06-22
As I've said before, I believe that Average Joe and his peers will possibly whine a little at first, but eventually they'll just settle in to Windows 8.
So you seem to think that they won't like it right away. Now there's a fucking great business strategy. Release an OS that the majority doesn't like and try to make everyone get used to it.
Why should we not assume that this will be another vista? Why???? I'm just not seeing the logic. The polls say NO THANK YOU. Why should we assume that average joe is going to like invisible buttons and two explorers? Oh and don't forget the TUTORIAL.
Windows, now with a tutorial and invisible buttons. And it now pisses off enterprise.
This is going to be studied by flopologists in the future.
Member since:2012-06-22
But anything that worked in Windows 7 should still work in Windows 8, and it's not SUPPOSED to be any slower. And it's not like you have to use Metro...
You probably should have tried windows 8 before writing about it.
The start menu isn't there and neither are the gadgets.
You are forced to boot into metro and use it when you want to search or launch a program from the start menu.
If you think metro is a functional equivalent to the start menu then you don't use that many programs. It really is as simple as that.
Windows 8 will fail and Jeff will be one of the few Windows bloggers who didn't call Windows 8 a piece of crap.
Member since:2005-11-13
Member since:2005-11-29
Features
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/24/13 17:26 UTC
So, the Xbox One disaster continues. Microsoft's policy for dealing with the used games market has reportedly leaked - and it's a clear and direct attack to destroy the used games market. Prices for used games will be set at the retail value of a new game, and retailers have to hook into Microsoft's computer systems and comply with Microsoft's terms and conditions.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/21/13 21:38 UTC
At an event earlier today, Microsoft unveiled the next Xbox - the third model, but confusingly named Xbox One. The big focus was TV, integrated Kinect, and all the other stuff we all expected to be forced down our throats. I think it took them 25 minutes to actually come to what should be the core of the story: gaming. Nothing groundbreaking in the gaming department, except for how Microsoft intends to handle the used games market and borrowing games from friends: pay up, buddy!
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/20/13 11:29 UTC
The day has finally come! Jolla has finally announced the launch device for its Sailfish operating system - and by god this is a looker. It's decidedly different from other phones out there, but it has good specifications and carries a relatively reasonably price tag - EUR 399, and it's up for pre-order today, shipping in the fourth quarter of this year.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/18/13 21:33 UTC
Why does Google get so much credit in the technology industry? Why, despite the company's many obvious failings, do many geeks and enthusiasts still hold a somewhat positive view on the all-knowing technology giant? A specific talk at Google I/O this week provides the answer.
Linked by David Adams on 05/16/13 4:23 UTC
OSNews is a sponsor of this year's O'Reilly OSCON in Portland, Oregon, USA. A lucky OSNews reader will win a free three-day pass, including two tutorials days. To win the pass, post a comment on this story saying something about Open Source Software or OSCON. We'll pick a winner at random next week. If you don't have an OSNews account, you may email us your entry. Part of the conference is the 9th annual Open Source Awards, and today the 16th is the deadline for nominations. If you'd like to nominate an outstanding open source contributor, do it here. Read on for more information about OSCON. Update: The 20% discount code for OSNews readers is "OSN."
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/11/13 21:41 UTC
"Windows is indeed slower than other operating systems in many scenarios, and the gap is worsening." That's one way to start an insider explanation of why Windows' performance isn't up to snuff. Written by someone who actually contributes code to the Windows NT kernel, the comment on Hacker News, later deleted but reposted with permission on Marc Bevand's blog, paints a very dreary picture of the state of Windows development. The root issue? Think of how Linux is developed, and you'll know the answer.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/08/13 14:22 UTC
This is one of those news items that's fun to write, fun to read, fun to comment on, and where no one will be able to say anything unkind. It's all just one big ball of awesome fluffiness. TuneTracker, the BeOS radio automation software, has just released something very special: TuneTracker System 5, the first version designed entirely and specifically for Haiku. In fact, it actually includes Haiku in the software package. Better yet, TuneTracker also unveiled several system-in-a-box products - which have Haiku and TuneTracker pre-installed.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 05/02/13 15:28 UTC
Exactly twenty years ago, a document was published that played a huge role in establishing the web as we know it today. Twenty years later, and this simple and straightforward document is proof of an irrefutable fact: while closed technologies can change markets, open technologies can change the world.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/29/13 21:06 UTC
Oh multitasking. That staple of computing that got thrown out the window with many modern smartphones. We got some rudimentary thing in its place - but even as multitasking on phone and tablets improves, its user-visible side remains cumbersome. Windows 8 has a neat implementation, and now it's time Android follows in it footsteps.
Linked by Thom Holwerda on 04/24/13 22:24 UTC
They're here! Whether that excites you or not remains to be seen, but the Galaxy S4, which will most likely become the best selling Android smartphone of the year by a huge margin, has been reviewed by all the major sites, and there's lots of interesting conclusions in there - although I think most of you will get the gist.More Features »
Sponsored Links
Member since:
2005-11-13
Well, people might not be in line at launch day to buy Windows 8, but why would there be calls for rollbacks? Vista was pretty much broken out of the box, and a resource hog compared to XP. But anything that worked in Windows 7 should still work in Windows 8, and it's not SUPPOSED to be any slower. And it's not like you have to use Metro... just hit the 'Classic' icon and you're good to go. And there are still new features other than Metro:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Features_new_to_Windows_8
So I can't imagine anybody who gets it on a new PC is going to be pissed that they're not running Windows 7 still.
And there's still the possibility that Metro might catch on with the tech tards, who might prefer it over classic, if it can do all of the basics that tech tards normally want to do. Afterall, you don't need 8gb of RAM or 'true multitasking' to do your taxes or organize a photo album. Sure, it may seem a little far-fetched that ANYBODY would want to use Metro on the desktop, but considering people stood in long lines to buy the first iPhone before it could even run apps, I never underestimate the stupidity of the average consumer anymore. Truth is, us geeks are terrible at predicting what will catch on with the mainstream, so we'll just have to watch and see what happens.
Edited 2012-07-10 05:51 UTC