The National Security Agency’s snooping practices may be costing American companies a lot of money. German publication Zeit Online has obtained leaked documents that purportedly show that IT experts within the German government believe that Windows 8 contains back doors that the NSA could use to remotely control any computers that have it installed.
Wow.
Gene Steinberg:
Microsoft earns most of its keep selling software licenses to OEMs, who bundle Windows with a new PC, any PC. So, yes, I suppose it’s possible that Microsoft has booked 100 million sales into its ledgers. But that doesn’t mean that 100 million copies of Windows 8, or anything close to that number, are in the hands of end users. It may also be true that there are tens of millions of unsold PCs in the channel. But that doesn’t matter to Microsoft, since a sale is a sale even if nobody is actually using the product.
That puts a whole different spin on things.
Jun Dong-soo, president of Samsung’s memory chip division:
“The global PC industry is steadily shrinking despite the launch of Windows 8,” Jun said. “I think the Windows 8 system is no better than the previous Windows Vista platform.”
And, as if that wasn’t enough:
“[Microsoft’s] rollout of its Windows Surface tablet is seeing lackluster demand,” he said. “Meanwhile, previous vigorous pitches by Intel and MS for thinner ultra-books simply failed and I believe that’s mostly because of the less-competitive Windows platform.”
But the Surface makes you dance.
Microsoft only sells Windows 8 as an upgrade at retailers in Australia, but the boxes aren’t marked that way. The complaint received the support of a consumer group as well.
Bloatware is a result of companies not giving a shit about their users. It’s alive and well in Windows 8.
Here’s a summary of Jakob Nielsen’s study on Windows 8:
Hidden features, reduced discoverability, cognitive overhead from dual environments, and reduced power from a single-window UI and low information density. Too bad.
To say that the study is not favorable would be a huge understatement. It’s also worthwhile to read Gruber’s comments on the study, especially the last sentence.
Ballmer last night during an interview with Reid Hoffman: Ballmer called the Android ecosystem “wild,” “uncontrolled” and susceptible to malware. This coming from the man that’s in charge of the most virus- and malware-infected operating system in the world. Perhaps … Continued
MG Siegler takes a look at what happened at Microsoft and the company’s “no compromise” approach to Windows 8.
Microsoft said the head of its flagship Windows division and the driving force behind Windows 8, Steven Sinofsky, will be leaving the company with immediate effect, shortly after the software giant launched the Surface tablet.
This seems odd to me. It doesn’t have the feel of a planned departure.
This week I spoke to Jason Bonfig, merchant vice president for computing at Best Buy. Bonfig told me that Best Buy has invested 50,000 hours worth of training to bring employees up to speed.
Very smart move by Microsoft and Best Buy. Microsoft must have known that people would be confused by the new interface, so to combat that they have experts on hand to make it all seem very simple.
So apps in Windows 8 have built-in advertisements. Wow. Microsoft is totally thinking about the user experience in its new operating system.
Windows 8 crashes 55 percent less and is 84 percent less frustrating than Windows 7, according to a new report.
It’s good to have goals.
The sentiment around Windows 8 was overwhelmingly negative during our trip as the supply chain is experiencing little life ahead of the October 26 launch.
Uh oh.
John Moltz:
How many times can we sarcastically say “No compromises” before it’s not funny anymore? I know we’re not there yet, I’m just asking for future reference.
I think there will be a lot of disappointed people when these Windows 8 devices are released.
I agree with MG on this one — it wasn’t ready to begin with.
“We have not announced any tablets, but I think the opportunity is very clear,” Nokia CEO Stephen Elop told ABC News. “People today increasingly are looking for a common digital experience between their smartphone and tablet, with a PC, and with their gaming platform, and so there’s clearly an opportunity across there. This is something that we’re looking at very closely.”
Not a huge surprise, really. Maybe a bigger surprise that it’s not more of a priority.
Ross Miller from The Verge talking about the final version of Windows RT on a Samsung tablet. The video is funny. Microsoft is screwed.
Tim Edwards:
I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that Windows 8 is the worst computing experience I’ve ever had. As a desktop operating system, it’s annoying, frustrating, irritating, and baffling to use. I’ve tried on many occasions to explain exactly why it’s so awful to use day-to-day, and most of the time, smoke starts pouring out of my ears. I thought it would be better to get down exactly what the issues are and why you should avoid it.
And that was the nice thing he had to say.
But sources are telling us that this is coming to an abrupt end after the company’s Legal and Corporate Affairs team sent out a memo banning the word “Metro.” LCA’s memo reportedly says that Microsoft has been threatened with legal action for infringing on “Metro” trademarks held by German retailer Metro AG.From now on, the new terminology that Microsoft is using is “Windows 8-style UI” when talking about Windows 8 applications, and “New User Interface” when talking about the company’s full product line-up.
That’s totally going to catch on.
John Moltz:
But how far does my respect for Windows 8 go? Well, would it surprise you to know that I wrote this entire article on Windows 8? It should. Because I didn’t. I wrote most of it on my MacBook Pro and my iPad.
John is a funny guy.
Nathan Brookwood:
Android and iOS tablets do a yeoman’s job when it comes to consuming content, but lack the software tools and hardware features needed to create content. Windows-based tablets, which have been around since 2002, have always included the features needed for content creation, but lacked the easy to use interfaces needed for content consumption. The Metro User Interface in Windows 8 supplies these missing elements, and thus positions Win 8-based tablets as the only ones suitable for those who want to both create and consume content on a single device.
Bullshit.
Tim Bajarin:
This is a very important OS for PC vendors and most are betting their companies on it for any future growth. I am just not convinced that it will be a raging success out of the gate without the proper optimized alternate input that matches the touch input that is supposed to be the center of Metro’s real user value.
Windows 8, the new Vista.
Microsoft’s upcoming Windows 8 operating system might have a new look – but it certainly has something in common with previous versions of the operating system.During a demonstration of the new ‘Metro’ tablet control system, a demonstration unit ‘froze’.
Giving users a taste of what they’re in for.
Robert Scoble:
Windows still relevant? Of course it is. Earlier this week I said that even if Windows 8 is a total failure it would still sell hundreds of millions of units (which means expectations on Microsoft are still to sell many hundreds of millions of units if this is a success). That’s a long way from not being relevant.
I get what Robert’s talking about and agree that they will sell millions whether it sucks or not. Still, it’s a sad statement that its sales, not its abilities that make it relevant.
Shadoe Huard talking about Windows 8 Developer Preview: I could waste a few thousand words describing every bewildering detail of this clusterfuck but I can talk about one thing that will sum it all up for you: The Windows logo.
AppleInsider:
Microsoft’s Windows 8 is still a year away, but IDC is already predicting that the new release will be “largely irrelevant” to conventional PC users and that its ability to sell tablets will be “disappointing.”
You didn’t need a market research firm to tell you that, did you?
Microsoft last week unveiled Windows 8, the company’s new desktop and tablet operating. With the announcement, Microsoft joins Amazon as companies that are expected to enter the tablet market within the next 12 months. However, I don’t believe they will … Continued
John Gruber on getting developers to embrace Metro: The message could be, more or less, “Windows 8 supports an incredibly wide range of hardware, and Metro runs everywhere. But our most advanced mobile hardware designs are Metro only.” Transitions are … Continued
Last week during the introduction of Windows 8, Stephen Sinofsky, president of Microsoft Windows unit said that the “demos we are showing you today are equally at home on ARM or x86,” according to Informationweek. A Microsoft representative later clarified … Continued
Paul McDougall, InformationWeek We’ve been very clear since the very first CES demos and forward that the ARM product won’t run any x86 applications,” said Stephen Sinofsky, president of Microsoft Windows unit, during a meeting with financial analysts Wednesday. Windows … Continued