Microsoft needs to fix Windows 8 to make it easier for the average user

[riso]

After four months of tepid Windows 8 PC sales, maybe it's time for Microsoft to make a few changes.

During a conversation I had this week with IDC analyst Bob O'Donnell, he volunteered the following statement, which sounded strangely like my experience.

    There were certain decisions that Microsoft made that were in retrospect flawed. Notably not allowing people to boot into desktop mode and taking away the start button. Those two things have come up consistently. We've done some research and people miss that.

    And there are a lot of people that as soon as they boot into Windows 8, they go to desktop mode and do most their work there and occasionally back to Metro. But the point being they're much more comfortable with desktop mode.

Bingo.

I understand that this issue has been around since Windows 8 beta. And, yes, there are ways to boot to desktop mode and apps for getting the Windows Start button back. I'm not writing this to whine about how hard Windows 8 is to use. It's not -- for me.

But Windows 8 PC sales are "horribly stalled," as O'Donnell put it. So maybe Microsoft should rethink the design, as IDC -- whose business it is to get input from PC makers -- thinks the company may be doing.

"It's possible [Microsoft] is making changes to the OS [to allow a boot to desktop mode]. There's a lot of debate about it. Certainly if you talk to PC vendors, they'd like to see Microsoft do that. Because they recognize some of the challenges that consumers are facing."

And that's the point. I'm guessing a lot of consumers don't get (understand) Metro. And I'm guessing that a lot of consumers aren't that savvy about using a PC and don't know about workarounds to boot to desktop mode or get the Start button back. Even though that may vastly improve their experience.

There's a place for Metro of course. It's not a bad place to start when using Microsoft's Surface tablet. And if there were more Metro apps, there would be more reasons to spend time there. But if you're doing productivity stuff (hey, isn't that what Windows is for?) it's not a big factor in day-to-day use.

Microsoft may "stick to its guns" and leave everything pretty much as is, O'Donnell added. Pride goes before the fall.

Addendum: Note that Redmond is considering Windows 8 price cuts for PC makers to boost PC sales.

Source cnet.
Tags: Start button, Surface Pro, desktop mode, Metro, Dell Adamo, Windows 8

[Snuffy]

 
Junk is junk no matter what the cost....
Even FREE many have left to go back to Windows 7.
abandoned

[thenanoguy]

 I think that whenever Microsoft unleashes the full power of ModernUI (along with improved design), people will understand why they dont need the desktop and the start menu any more. As I see it, Microsoft will unify the interface . Unfortunately, users are too used to the old cluttered interface that they now have great difficulties in accepting a cleaner, crome-less, more simplified interface. Sure it is in its infancy, and has some flaws, but I think that by the time Windows 9 comes out, people will be more able to resonate with Microsoft's vision. Sometimes the desktop just feels like an unneeded extra to me , so the news that Microsoft metrofies the desktop explorer is a dream come true for me. I like big tiles instead of tiny icons, I like big typography instead of small text, I like chrome-less, flat, and hidden menus instead of the dirty looking classic interface, etc etc.

Microsoft needs to work faster if they want people to adopt the new interface. So far WinRT api is limited, but with time, we'll probably see apps like Photoshop, 3dsMax, etc. Hopefully Microsoft will make the transition process a bit easier, because I can't wait to see them in ModernUI flavour.

[littlemax9]

i see it ..... Vista was crap yes but brought computers to higher spec like bigger HDD, more RAM ect and Windows 7 too over.
Windows 8 brings touch screen to laptops / desktops and Windows 9 will take over.

[javajolt]

Contrary to the beliefs of some Windows 8 is far from "Junk" and people in the Tech Field be they in San Francisco, Kansas, or Beijing should not be so closed minded and out spoken. It just happens Windows 8 is exemplary in so many ways.  Speed, Security, Functionality, Privacy, and to some big degree Appearance just to name a few areas.

As a rule of thumb humans don't like change with many people not accepting change even if it is for the better, and it is fact that as we age change is a lot harder to accept. As we start changing at some point we realize the change we made was actually good and can't understand why we complained in the first place.

The Tech media is making Windows 8 out to be worse that it actually is comparing it to Windows Vista, and the lack of the Start Button (Orb) and Start menu from Windows 7.  Since the Modern UI is the Start Menu replacement a Start Button is not necessary. Derogatory comments like "Can Windows 8 be Saved", "What will it take to fix Windows 8" do not help the cause at all.  I would venture to say a lot of the media that writes this drivel have not used Windows 8 for more than a few hours or days and decided it is bad, therefore it must be.

The learning curve to Win 8 is approximately 2 weeks and once that has been accomplished it is smooth sailing.  If everybody will stop and think back to Windows 95 when the Start Button made its first appearance.  Win 95 was an extreme departure from Windows 3.1 and Yes Windows 95 was slammed terribly by the media as it turns out it was the best OS ever written until Windows XP sp2.

Perhaps if the media got behind Windows 8 gave it a chance and wrote some positive articles the perception the consuming public won't say it is bad  before trying it.

Windows 7 has been dynamic from the start, and I would have paid money for the first beta it was that good.  But we all know Win7 was not written with touch in mind and with several updates and a Service Pack has not made it any better for touch enabled devices.

We are rapidly going mobile with our Smartphones, & Tablets that will come close in Speed and raw Power to replacing the desktop.  Windows 8 has brought us closer to true mobile and Windows 8.1, Windows 9 will get us even closer.  By the time Windows 10 arrives (Yes Windows 10 I am already getting snippets about it) there will be One Windows and this calling Windows 8 "Junk" will be forgotten and once again we will think why did I ever say those things.

[thenanoguy]

I absolutely agree. Windows 8 is well crafted with a few exceptions, and in time, people will learn to appreciate the changes. For me the start screen in the leaked build of Windows Blue seems even more powerful, and I have embraced it as a good redesign of the start menu since the Developer Preview of Windows 8. Even my sister (11 years old) was able to tell how much better Windows 8 was compared to Windows 7. And she learned it in a few days, without me teaching her anything. Windows 8 is a big change, but I believe it's for the better. I don't think cluttered desktop interfaces will survive much more (probably 5-6 years until the majority of people have dumped them for metro apps with an easy interface and fullscreen content).
Out of a million people using Office (for example) I think maybe a few hundred really use more than 25% of the features. The same goes with other software as well. For example, even an experienced engineer -who also teaches at the university where I study- recommended a software package named Microwave Office (for antennas, wave guides etc simulation) for use in the laboratory. While working on a project for a company, I discussed with him about the features , and at some point I asked how many features did he use more frequently. He told me, and I checked online on AWR's website, only to find out that a PROFESSIONAL has never used 2/3 of the features, but had to pay a big price for them, and had to accept a cluttered interface that needed lots of steps to get something very simple done. ModernUI design guidelines really sound like the future of software design, and I think people will soon realise that the days of the desktop clutter are over. Add the fact that tablets and smartphones have a great rate of adoption a great ecosystem of apps, cloud storage and cloud computing grid, and mix. What you get is tablets , smartphones streaming virtual machines to big displays or small displays, giving you the capability to either touch, or give voice commands, gesture commands (kinect), or bring in a keyboard and use it in conjuction with Leap Motion to do some serious things. But you won't be able to enjoy those interfaces as much if they don't have a chrome-less interface with big controls and big tiles. Try to achieve all these things with small icons and text and all sorts of chrome and menus and submenus and submenus and etc. We are going to do with gestures what we're used to doing with navigating through complicated menus. We'll do more with less, whch is one of my guiding mottos.