October 7, 2013

Windows 8, How Are You Doing?

Filed under: Main — Tags: — admin @ 12:01 am

windows-live-favorites I must enjoy raging upon how truly awful Windows 8 is. As proof, I looked up how Windows 8 is doing. The results actually surprised me.

Granted, I grabbed the chart in Figure 1 is Wikipedia, which isn’t the world’s most reliable source of information. But it’s what I have so, I’ll use it for my regularly scheduled Windows 8 rant.

Figure 1. Windows 8 market share according to Wikipedia.

Figure 1. Windows 8 market share according to Wikipedia.

Sales numbers can lie, which is how I judge the information in Figure 1 to be probably accurate. It’s culled from a variety of sources, according to the article. As long as some Linux fanatic isn’t hacking the Wikipedia page, I’d say the figures are close to reality.

The reason sales figures can lie is that Microsoft would measure Windows 8’s success based on units sold. The problem is that Microsoft’s vendor contract may require each PC sold to have a Windows 8 license whether Windows 8 is actually installed or not. If such a thing is true (and it once was) that skews their figures.

But on the whole, Windows 8 is basically dead wood in the Microsoft software forest. I mean, Windows XP, which is over 12 years old, has nearly 5 times its installed base. That’s pretty disappointing.

Windows 7 is obviously still the best-selling version of Windows, hands down.

Based on the chart, Windows Vista was pathetic. That’s odd because I actually liked Windows Vista. I didn’t detest it as much as many of my colleagues did. (Well, actually, I complained about its response on a laptop.) Windows 7 was an improvement, and the chart in Figure 1 proves it.

Yet, once again, I have to scratch my head and wonder what the heck Microsoft was thinking with Windows 8? It may actually go down as the worst version of Windows ever, right down there with Windows ME.

Anyone remember Windows ME?

At this point, I believe Windows 8 is beyond salvaging. Hopefully with Steve Ballmer moving on (and that was overdue), some Microsoft genius can recover Windows reputation and restore its brand name: Make the Start Screen a special operating mode or app, and then bring back the Start button and the desktop. Such a move won’t rescue Windows 8 sales, but it would show that Microsoft is actually listening to their customers.

4 Comments

  1. I was all ready to build a new PC this year I bought windows 8 when it was cheap so £25 in the UK. But after seeing reviews of it I just can’t seem to be bothered to build a new computer, I can’t get excited about using Windows 8 even using mods to make it look like XP or Windows 7. I seem to be content just using my nearly 5 year old windows 7 desktop for the time being.

    Comment by chiefnoobie — October 13, 2013 @ 6:42 am

  2. My prediction is that Windows 7 becomes the new Windows XP, which is still going strong. Microsoft may try to “fix” Windows 8 with version 8.1, but the stink cannot leave the room.

    Maybe Windows will become like the old Star Trek movies, where every other release is just awful.

    Comment by admin — October 13, 2013 @ 8:06 am

  3. 8.1 looks a bit better but it does seem stupid to use windows 8 on a normal desktop PC you have to try and make it act like an older version of Windows by installing the classic shell start menu that doesn’t make sense

    Comment by chiefnoobie — October 13, 2013 @ 2:05 pm

  4. My guess is that Ballmer was too eager to get everyone to switch to Windows phone and Windows tablet.

    It. Didn’t. Work.

    Comment by admin — October 13, 2013 @ 4:59 pm

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