tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post1763460238769789833..comments2024-03-25T21:41:06.801-07:00Comments on Mobile Opportunity: Windows 8: The Beginning of the End of WindowsMichael Macehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17966107280587843091noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-54171117635219992822012-06-10T16:32:12.070-07:002012-06-10T16:32:12.070-07:00How fortunate we are that computers are now so che...How fortunate we are that computers are now so cheap. I can now have an iPad, a mac desktop and a pc for much less than my first autocad running pc back in 1989<br />All have their merits and I intend to continue having them all in the future.<br />Wast of time arguing about relative merits. Get everything you need and enjoy!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-19704136621595340732011-10-24T09:20:06.295-07:002011-10-24T09:20:06.295-07:00To me this increased optimization is borrowed from...To me this increased optimization is borrowed from the positive fedback they got from doing the same approach with Windows Phone 7. Now the whole Mac vs PC debate just got even fiercer because Windows 8 devices will be optimized just as Macs are.Hakanhttp://finance.varolmak.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-86814599450565881192011-10-14T08:16:12.460-07:002011-10-14T08:16:12.460-07:00The author seems to have a blindspot for the mobil...The author seems to have a blindspot for the mobile and touch interface. but he forgets that PC is not dying off anytime soon, at least not for the next decade and the current touch interface is so deficient when it comes to true productive work that it is really a joke. So MS is doing the right thing in a sense ... by supporting the mouse and keyboard interface while incorporating the touch interface. What I rue is that they are support the touch interface but has make it so MUCH MUCH harder to work with when using the keyboard and mouse, increase the number of steps needed to do a simple task, which always has been the bane of touch interface.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-82553702610226825132011-09-18T21:25:38.473-07:002011-09-18T21:25:38.473-07:00Awesome Review.Awesome Review.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-41918907431794635032011-09-16T11:20:31.067-07:002011-09-16T11:20:31.067-07:00Sorry optimistic folks, but from the standpoint of...Sorry optimistic folks, but from the standpoint of an ordinary consumers, all I can see is a snowball's chance in hell for Windows 8 to succeed, at least in the tablet competition, the platform for which the OS offers the best user experience and probably the main reason for its development.<br /><br />Certainly you guys and I have seen the tablet running the Windows 8 os. To be honest, I thought the whole thing looked clean, clear and decent enough, and if I really have to admit, it appeared to be a bit intriguing as well. But that's it.<br /><br />In my humble opinion, it might be wrong to, well, define the ipad as a tablet. What's a tablet again? Is it supposed to be the touch-screen, portable replacement of a pc, or at least a laptop, in certain task, like the Ipad? I don't know. All I know is that it might not be right to call the iPad a tablet, but on the other hand, the iPad totally defines what a tablet is, at least up to now. MS is clearly trying to promote windows 8 by stuffing it into the very narrow gap left between the Ipad-defined tablet market (Androids included, of course!) and bona fide laptop's. Basically it's an attempt for users to be able to experience the much more interactive, familiar and much less restricted Windows environment on the fluid, responsive, beautiful...whatever multi-touchscreen. And that's where the real problems come in. As a rational customer, I can't see myself paying for something along the lines of an Ipad's to get an Ipad-killer or whichever way they like to call it. In short, if I want a tablet, it means I want an Ipad. Same thing happens with customers who're looking for something that allows them to perform much more elaborate task than what they can do on an Ipad. A laptop from the same price range brings you much more storage, processing power, better gaming controls,etc... and please admit it, you can't ignore the safe, secure feelings of using the traditional keyboard for typing and other objectives rather than taking four or five times that amount of time to diligently tapping on you W8 tablet while running a high risk of messing the whole thing up. And for people whose brains actually pop out this question:" What if I got a laptop already?". Well, I believe you wouldn't pay to experience the same OS twice, with the only exception of a touchscreen. An ipad or any android tablets out there would be a much safer and refreshing bet.<br />My guess is that while the W8 might interest some here and there, it would fare no better than its mobile counterpart WP7, at least on a tablet.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-26333084939363606062011-09-16T06:32:53.807-07:002011-09-16T06:32:53.807-07:00"I don't care about the underlying OS ker..."I don't care about the underlying OS kernel; that's just plumbing."<br /><br />Actually you do care. Try living in a house with bad plumbing for a month and you'll discover that plumbing is more important than almost everything else.<br /><br />It's the same with the OS and the kernel level. Nothing above that can ever be faster, more fluid, more efficient, less resource-hungry, more flexible, etc. than what it is built on top of.<br /><br />High level problems and the design decisions made to work around them are often rooted in the very low-level architecture and capabilities.<br /><br />Two examples: fast sleep/wake, and the ability to quit applications instantly. High-level, user-faceing behavior wholly dependent on the integrity of low-level architecture.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-81434106477515017552011-09-13T23:35:40.825-07:002011-09-13T23:35:40.825-07:00This is a great blog post. I like your statement &...This is a great blog post. I like your statement "Windows was our past, the web was our future." Yes, web and mobile applications are our futureBobhttp://makemoneytofree.blogspot.com/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-80660863885662965352011-08-08T09:34:39.613-07:002011-08-08T09:34:39.613-07:00Thoroughly enjoyed reading this article.Thoroughly enjoyed reading this article.Brennanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09252498914551109227noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-14523544693039760562011-07-22T10:53:45.057-07:002011-07-22T10:53:45.057-07:00the windows 8 they have not said it you will beabl...the windows 8 they have not said it you will beable to play games and not the ones that come with windows <br />and with what i have seen of the ad's for windows 8 it is going to SUCK sorry but that is what i think they say it is going to run on old computers but i do not think so and a lot of games are having trouble installing pc games in windows 7 and we know windows 7 is vista so windows 8 is vista 3Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-74217939420089111522011-06-10T14:55:31.233-07:002011-06-10T14:55:31.233-07:00This is really a great idea. This will be a boost ...This is really a great idea. This will be a boost to Microsoft Windows and this will be fun.Plumbinghttp://www.bes.co.uknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-75745298722466394992011-06-09T12:16:18.554-07:002011-06-09T12:16:18.554-07:00Surprised nobody mentioned the value of multiple d...Surprised nobody mentioned the value of multiple displays in a workplace. Windows 8 Desk based machines will likely want a touch display to complement the existing displays and input devices. There is a question of replacing or complementing the mouse and connecting via USB3 or LAN. The new 'touch what you see" interface should be ideal for many applications and most routine office tasks. Today's multiple veritcally mounted displays become more exclusively the home of work product: documents, images, video, spreadsheets, software ...Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-69912493120158943782011-06-08T04:20:56.551-07:002011-06-08T04:20:56.551-07:00Lets not forget that for millions of people comput...Lets not forget that for millions of people computer is something more then a toy. We use computers to WORK! Can you imagine an accountant moving her arms all around for 8 hours instead of simply using keyboard? Can you imagine a touch driven software development environment? Sure touch devices are great. But some applications must relay on keyboard and pointing device of some sort.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-70398684914390981402011-06-07T10:53:09.911-07:002011-06-07T10:53:09.911-07:00I'm beginning to get the distinct impression t...I'm beginning to get the distinct impression that with Windows 8 we are finally going to see the full potential of the .NET framework unleashed.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03071382390278680540noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-84548587017712656852011-06-07T10:26:03.079-07:002011-06-07T10:26:03.079-07:00>>I think they're absolutely right to ma...<i>>>I think they're absolutely right to maintain compatibility in their new product. It's really their only choice.</i><br /><br />THANK YOU! I have been waiting for someone else to make this point. I think a lot of bloggers (Gruber and others) seem to pick on MSFT b/c they are an easy target, but they dont really understand MSFT's business model. They see everything through apple-tinted glasses...Thank you for objective, spot-on analysis :)Darin Nnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-66574990726428740542011-06-06T23:45:23.567-07:002011-06-06T23:45:23.567-07:00I agree with dheeraj. It really sounds funnyI agree with dheeraj. It really sounds funnyCommerce Departmenthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18216637402631206832noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-84379436720443251142011-06-06T23:44:49.570-07:002011-06-06T23:44:49.570-07:00It really sounds funny. But the silent death of Wi...It really sounds funny. But the silent death of Windows is never possible. Because there is no other alternative of Windows like High end user interface for non tech peopleDheerajhttp://techreuters.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-28704845265467160422011-06-06T23:43:08.478-07:002011-06-06T23:43:08.478-07:00Great, the human race will evolve into people with...Great, the human race will evolve into people with fat buts, skinny legs and over developed fore arm muscles used for flipping stuff around on the monitor. You know the top of the monitor has to be at eye level if it is to be ergonomically safe.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-65294872531096744632011-06-06T23:17:17.645-07:002011-06-06T23:17:17.645-07:00Is there going to be a cost associated with runnin...Is there going to be a cost associated with running the old Windows environment in the background? Windows as it stands, requires more diskspace, more memory, more powerful CPU and larger battery to feed them all. This will probably make Win8 machines thicker, heavier and more expensive than iPads, Kindles or Android tablets. Accurate touch screens will make netbook class computers more expensive unless Microsoft makes touch screen optional. That about limits the target market to people who would buy a regular laptop anyways, who may not need a tablet if Win8 is good enough. That is a shrinking market at the moment. <br /><br />Windows with touch screen capabilities is better than one without, but it will not be revolutionary. Fantasizing about a laptop that can be a real laptop and a decent tablet will not make one happen. If Microsoft could make the footprint of the current Windows less demanding, it would have done it already. I see Win8 machines to make either lousy tablets or underpowered laptops.Tatilnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-57880326772353381842011-06-06T22:36:17.061-07:002011-06-06T22:36:17.061-07:00Anonymous wrote:
>>You web/mobile people ar...<b>Anonymous wrote:</b><br /><br /><i>>>You web/mobile people are laughable. </i><br /><br />Wow. I've hit some sort of personal milestone here. For the whole time I worked at Palm, people thought I was a PC guy because I had worked at Apple for a decade. Now I've been away from Palm for years, and finally someone thinks I am a web/mobile guy. Thanks!<br /><br />To set aside the sarcasm for a second, I actually agree with most of what you said. Tablets and other mobile devices are mostly about media consumption rather than creation. PCs are optimized for information creation.<br /><br />But having said that, I don't think the mouse/windows UI is necessarily the ultimate way to control a PC. At some point we'll discover something better, and I think maybe we have hit that point. Anytime you take an existing app and try to force it into a new UI it looks hopelessly messed up. But if you re-imagine the app for the new interface, sometimes you get startling gains in productivity.<br /><br />I think we have that sort of opportunity with Windows 8.<br /><br />Some of the criticisms I'm hearing of the Windows 8 interface sound remarkably like the things that DOS users said about the Macintosh UI when it first shipped. I know, I was there. They said, "Yes, it's easier to use and it looks nicer, but it doesn't give me the same power and control that I get from the command line." Then they'd go on to demo some incredible feat of file management or document formatting that they could do with a dozen keystrokes that would take 30 mouse clicks on a Mac.<br /><br />They were right; any new UI always causes productivity losses in some areas. But on balance, the good interfaces create more productivity than they destroy. That will be the basis on which we should judge Windows 8, when we can finally play with it.Michael Macehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17966107280587843091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-33875922137032330392011-06-06T21:09:34.787-07:002011-06-06T21:09:34.787-07:00The problem is the Win7 running underneath Win8 to...The problem is the Win7 running underneath Win8 touch screen environment. I just cannot see it running very efficiently on battery power. If you only need a touch screen environment on your laptop occasionally, this might be good enough, especially if the screens swivel to hide the keyboard. However, that would not quite capture the attraction of iPads (to those who find them attractive.) <br /><br />By the way, what is with the whining about touch screen not being useful for enterprise? In a typical company, most people view data put together by servers, type up relatively short emails or click on little boxes, buttons and menus that form the heart of ERM or accounting software. They are all very amenable to touch interface, with an occasional use of a cordless keyboard. Of course, that does not necessarily make these apps more user friendly, but it may still present an opening to new competitors.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-21477804695632613832011-06-06T21:02:23.635-07:002011-06-06T21:02:23.635-07:00Backward compatibility is ultra important (unless ...Backward compatibility is ultra important (unless you use pirated software :-) I am not willing to pay for my applications again !<br /><br />A dekstop PC is different from a mobile device. Touch screen is not new ! HP sold PC's with touch screen in the 80' (yes I am old) They use the film character of the ET to promote the device !<br /><br />The challenge for Microsoft (and I do not see why they can not be successful please note that I do not love MS) is to have a properly layered system to accomodate different GUI's.<br /><br />The real isue has always been numbers and profits. Most of the public use a PC just to play, browse the web, send e-mails and every once in a while put together a CV, or school work. You can do the former activities with a multiplicity of devices today !<br />The days of sweet profits are over.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-44721382967148782022011-06-06T18:02:12.708-07:002011-06-06T18:02:12.708-07:00I work in an educational environment with over a 1...I work in an educational environment with over a 1000 desktops, laptops and servers spread out on a dozen campuses that are in use by students, faculty and staff. Replacing most of those with portable tables just sounds like an administrative nightmare. And what about heavy-duty applications such as Creative Suite and AutoCAD? Are they stuck to run on Win7 or some Win8 compatibility mode? I think the need for a real desktop OS is still there, but now it will get less development and innovation.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-26830833531394025212011-06-06T16:12:29.886-07:002011-06-06T16:12:29.886-07:00You web/mobile people are laughable. Why? You thin...You web/mobile people are laughable. Why? You think the web is all there is, because that's all you do.<br /><br />To make it simple for you, the web is a BOOK with sound and moving images. It's not a CREATIVE TOOL. You can't DO anything with the web. Mail or calendar or blog or twitter is NOT doing. It's communication, and mail and calendar can be done without a browser. You can only PUBLISH and CONSUME on the web. <br /><br />There is a world of professional SOFTWARE that runs on OSes like Win/Mac/Linux that is used for WORK. There is nor can there be an alternative to it. Touching the screen isn't an alternative to mouse/trackball/trackpad.<br /><br />What you call immersive is just full screen. We've had that forever. I can remove the title bar, scrollbars, toolbars and all other junk, and have an immersive app. I access everything hidden using gestures and right click contextual menus.<br /><br />What is NOT being done is reducing the need for interaction with the applications and OS, through artificially intelligent, adaptive, learning automation. We still have to do just about the same amount of unnecessary work as we did 15 years ago.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-6958640231977666062011-06-06T15:40:58.479-07:002011-06-06T15:40:58.479-07:00Thanks for all the comments, folks. This is a rea...Thanks for all the comments, folks. This is a really interesting discussion.<br /><br />Several of you said that you see the new Windows 8 interface as just an addition, not a replacement for the current look of Windows. That's a sensible interpretation of the announcement, but it wasn't the message I thought I heard from Microsoft, and it's not what I'm hearing from people who know the company better than I do. Here's Mary Jo Foley of All About Microsoft (<a href="http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/microsoft-needs-to-tell-windows-8-developers-now-about-jupiter-and-silverlight/9608" rel="nofollow">link</a>):<br /><br />"Anything that’s not a new Windows 8 'immersive,' modern application, going forward, is now going to be considered 'legacy.'"<br /><br /><br /><b>DM wrote:</b><br /><br /><i>>> "I have a longstanding rule for evaluating new tech products: Don't judge anything by the demo."<br />What's unfortunate is that you cannot follow your own prescription.</i><br /><br />Actually, I was evaluating the strategy.<br /><br /><br /><b>Anonymous wrote:</b><br /><br /><i>>>You speak as if the desktop is gone and that everybody will use tablets from now on. </i><br /><br />Nah, that's not what I expect.<br /><br /><br /><i>>>Office (or any other productivity suite) will not become irrelavent, quite simply because people will continue to work using keyboards and a mouse. </i><br /><br />The keyboard I don't question. I am starting to wonder about the need for the mouse.<br /><br /><br /><i>>>I don't see myself typing at 180hits/minute on a touchscreen any time soon. </i><br /><br />Me neither.<br /><br /><br /><i>>>guys like you, who desperatly would like to see microsoft fail, are scared shitless. </i><br /><br />Did you actually read any part of the post other than the headline? I said I liked what Microsoft is doing and that I think it could succeed.<br /><br />I came here to praise Microsoft, not to bury it.<br /><br /><br /><i>>> "vaporware" is software that doesn't exist and can't be demonstrated. </i><br /><br />No, it means software (or hardware) that has been announced but not yet shipped (<a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vaporware" rel="nofollow">link</a>).<br /><br /><br /><b>gzost wrote:</b><br /><br /><i>>>As always when touch is being demonstrated for the desktop, I am skeptical. I spend a lot of my time tpying. Any interface that I can run on my desktop therefor needs to accomodate keyboard/mouse operation. Swipes are, generally, not something that this interface lends itself to. </i><br /><br />I don't expect the keyboard to go away until we have better speech recognition. But is the mouse really necessary? Previously I would have said yes, but now I am not so sure. <br /><br />A friend raised another interesting possibility the other day -- what if Microsoft combined the Windows 8 interface with the Kinect gesture recognition technology? Then you wouldn't have to actually touch the screen, at least for certain classes of gestures (swipes, for example). If implemented poorly, a sudden sneeze might reformat the hard drive, but we have the same sorts of issues with speech recognition and they have (mostly) been overcome.<br /><br />It's an interesting thought experiment to assume away the traditional window/menu interface and ask how much an app could accomplish with this new paradigm of gestures and touch and tabs. It's hard to let go of the old baggage, but once you do I'm intrigued by how much the new interface might be able to do.<br /><br />You'll probably still want a mouse (or a stylus) for some things, but I bet the list is smaller than most of us think it is today.Michael Macehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17966107280587843091noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-17898384.post-72647639254352493752011-06-06T10:30:20.136-07:002011-06-06T10:30:20.136-07:00After 25 years of exclusively building MS Apps, I ...After 25 years of exclusively building MS Apps, I switched over to Chrome Extensions (Chrome OS) last fall... I'm not going back... My stuff works on any platform now and there are tool companies that'll let my leverage my efforts within other Browsers... <br /><br />Once the MSDN base sees the alternatives and flexibility, it's a done dealTonyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13550921529194127205noreply@blogger.com