I was reading this article over on ZDNet and, while its a pretty scathing article about Windows 8, the author does make a couple of valid points. It isn’t a secret that I am not the biggest fan of Windows 8. I do run a Windows box at home and I’m quite content with Windows 7. I also have a Mac and a Linux box so my allegiance belongs to nobody.
At any rate, here is the biggest point the author makes, which I believe is the reason Windows 8 is a total flop: “This isn’t a matter of judging a book by its cover; the user interface (UI) is everything for computer users. If the UI alienates users, you lose them. It’s as simple as that.” This is exactly what has happened to Microsoft with Windows 8. The “tiled” desktop is the cause of the out of control, downward spiral of the Windows 8 OS. I said that would be its downfall since the first time I tried it out. You can’t make a dramatic change to the UI and just expect the users to be OK with that. It’s as if Microsoft forgot what their target market was.
Perhaps Microsoft was trying to create some kind of cohesion between their tablets and the desktop, and I get that. However, you can’t take a tablet interface and slap it on a desktop and expect the experience to remain the same. These allegations that not enough touch-capable PCs exist is laughable. It shows that not only is Microsoft out of touch with its users, they are also out of touch with the industry. You have to coordinate a paradigm shift between hardware and software, you can’t brute force such a change.
I feel like Microsoft has become the proverbial unyielding, crotchety old man in the corner talking about how things use to be in the old days. Microsoft’s whole business strategy is archaic. If they want to survive in today’s constantly evolving technology they need to adopt a more collaborative strategy and focus less on brute force. They’re not the top dog anymore.
/cheers