Windows 8 blamed for huge slump in PC sales

[CSMR]

WTF dude. Metro is ALL about content forward and pushing style aside. For instance live tiles tell you when new email has arrived so you don't have to click into the app if nothing is new.

You might not agree with that approach but at minimum don't just make things up...

Live tiles are well done in Win8, no complaints there.

WinRT apps are a problem. The usual recommended style of WinRT apps, including built in ones are characterized by low information density, i.e. inefficient display of information.

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/windows-8-does-metro-actually-work/12728
http://www.nngroup.com/articles/windows-8-disappointing-usability/

The UI is designed to look clean, but does not display the information needed to work with it. E.g. you have to guess that certain elements require moving the mouse into corners and perhaps right-clicking to reveal hidden menus.

 

[TheSlamma]

I think the way this really should be looked at is more like Desktop/Laptop sales are now correcting to what should now be the norm.

The reason everyone had a Desktop before wasn't because they needed it, it's because the technology for their basic needs didn't exist yet and that was the option they had. Since when does someone who just checks email, surfs the web and maybe social networks need a desktop/laptop.

The device that fits their needs now exists. Desktops and Laptops will still have their place for power users and you can program till you are blue in the face but you will never get a touch screen to match the precision of a mouse and maintain the speed.. especially considering the direction the size of American fingers are going (FAT). Not saying the mouse won't ever be replaced one day in environments that need precision, but it won't be by touch screens it would be something else.. something capable of 3D even.

 

[Spjut]

One obviously can't blame it all on Windows 8, but it's clear that Windows 8 hasn't helped

I don't quite get how Microsoft, or anyone else, did expect Windows 8 to actually boost PC sales

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

From what I've observed it opens the platform up to extremely elderly people who have never used a computer before, which we all know is a surging demographic.

 

[WilliamM2]

The trend towards portability is something that we all are seeing and if you aren't using a smartphone, android device or tablet then you wish you were.

No I don't.

 

[Ketchup]

This would have made so much more sense if Microsoft had a strong (even decent) presence on the smartphone/ tablet market to begin with.

 

[Matt1970]

No I don't.

Same here. I almost always have my laptop with me. If you must have your 4" screen with stripped down slow internet, more power to ya.

 

[Mem]

This would have made so much more sense if Microsoft had a strong (even decent) presence on the smartphone/ tablet market to begin with.

They will find it hard to compete with Android market,their pricing needs to drop since you can buy an Android tablet far cheaper then any Win8 tablet and for the average user its more then adequate,I have an Android tablet which I think pricing and choice of models is great,something Microsoft needs to address regardless of OS they use.

As for Win8 sales well I think its some are happy on their old OS and sales of desktop PCs are up against tablets/phones etc and as I stated Android has the better pricing/models IMHO,having said that I have no issues with Win8 and I don't think its a bad OS as you all know but can respect those that don't like it.

I still think PC desktop days are numbered and going to decline due to new hardware like tablets/smartphones etc... in the old days you needed a desktop PC which had no competition except laptops to do things ,nowadays you don't really them since tablets/smartphones have come a long way ,I've not even mentioned Linux which I think in many ways is far superior to Win7 or Win8,yes I've a Linux PC and Android smartphone etc so can see the bigger picture so to speak.

I only use Windows now for gaming,if Linux could play all my Windows games I would of said byebye to Microsoft Windows long time ago and I have been gaming since DOS 6.22 days PC wise(unless you want to count Amiga/Commodore 64 days) .

🙂 .

 

[daveybrat]

I've had to install Classic Shell and put the 'My Computer', 'User Folder', 'IE Shortcut', and VLC Player on every customer's Windows 8 laptop or desktop that i've worked on so far.

It's the only way that i could make it 'easy' for them to figure things out. Everyone so far has thanked me over and over for making it "Look like Windows 7".............LOL.......

It's actually pretty nice once i get done tweaking it, but like the sentiment above, how would a normal consumer know how to do this? Answer: they wouldn't!

🙂

 

[tracerbullet]

Thank you Berryracer & Zaap for describing (and then some) the things I didn't like about 8. It wasn't just the interface, I did the classic shell as well and it only helped a little. I don't mind the icons being rearranged, yay go for it if it's faster, I was OK with it - the tiles, things being under fewer menus, all cool. It was the 99 other damned little things that all changed as well that made it so frustrating.

I built my own system with Black Friday parts, so my choices were independent of PC sales. But I did purchase Windows 7 for the new rig, instead of 8, even though it was many times more in price.

I like the looks of the MS surface tablet and occasionally consider getting one. I think Win 8 might be fine for that. But on a "PC", that I will want to use in a manner even remotely similar to how I do so now - forget it. I gave it an honest try, and it's not for me, not for a PC anyhow.

 

[BuffaloChuck]

I'll agree with "neat to hate on 8" but there are other forces, and Microsoft's refusal to let users access customization-factors that make them more productive is ONE part of that.

I think as big a crunch came from using the Thailand Floods to destroy the after-market HDD sales power. And then Seagate gobbled up Hitachi, reduced competition and also slowed deliveries of next-phase capacity drives.

But for customers to blame the OS for shutting doors to PC sales seems like blaming lack-of-full-service gas stations for the demise of Detroit's big-iron auto industry - GM, Ford, etc. were designing JUNK as cars.

If computers aren't selling well (and they're not), the lack of productive uses for them goes far beyond the cute-colorations of the opening screens - companies aren't seeing much need to spend new dollars to get NOTHING NEW in return.

Is anyone REALLY turning out any Word-based documents with neat & cool productive features that weren't being generated with Word2003? WordXP? Word98? What about Excel? Anyone doing something so new that those older versions couldn't accomplish? Some new =CONCATENATE formula?

 

[Underclocked]

daveybrat, I do this as a hobby but my experience has been very similar to yours. Just a couple of days ago an elderly gentleman brought a new Windows 8 laptop to me and told me he couldn't figure out how to do a dang thing on it. I made similar changes as you do and when he came back and saw his desktop - the look on his face was priceless. He was overjoyed to see the familiar once more.

So I think the comment about gaining market share with the elderly is nonsense.

Windows 8 is giant leap in an insane direction for most users. Metro should simply be an available option for those with touch screens (not many of those in my neck of the woods) and those that are curious/adventurous. Most everyone else finds it annoying.

I don't see Windows 8 being THE reason for declining PC sales, but it is certainly a reason (and probably a bigger reason than many here would want to believe).

 

[13Gigatons]

The main problem with Windows 8 is that they didn't think it through too clearly and didn't seem to learn from other companies like Apple. Apple has the desktop and the iPad. They both need to be different to excel.

Windows 8 is jack of all trades master of none.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

I made similar changes as you do and when he came back and saw his desktop - the look on his face was priceless. He was overjoyed to see the familiar once more.

So I think the comment about gaining market share with the elderly is nonsense.

..

From what I've observed it opens the platform up to extremely elderly people who have never used a computer before, which we all know is a surging demographic.

 

[Matt1970]

We also do not need to upgrade as much. A computer from the Vista era can run 7 and 8 even better. A computer from the 95/98 era struggled to run XP. I am still getting computers in that are 8 years old.

 

[pmv]

From what I've observed it opens the platform up to extremely elderly people who have never used a computer before, which we all know is a surging demographic.

When you first posted that I assumed the final sub-clause was sarcasm. But as you've repeated it in that way I'm now wondering if you were serious.

'Extremely elderly people who have never used a computer before' is not a demographic with much future. By definition the individuals involved are not going to be around very long, and, inevitably, the supply of older people who have 'never used a computer before' is increasingly limited. Even the 80-year-olds I know used computers during their working life (win95 was nearly 20 years ago after all).

So while you may-or-may-not be correct that such people find windows 8 easier than earlier OS's, I think its questionable to call such a demographic 'surging'!

 

[JackMDS]

It's actually pretty nice once i get done tweaking it, but like the sentiment above, how would a normal consumer know how to do this? Answer: they wouldn't!

🙂

You are right!

""Problem"" is the "normal consumers" already switched in droves to Tablets and Phone computing.

I am the only Enthusiasts among big number of family, friends, and neighbors. They keep their Win 7 desktop for occasional special use. Many of them did not use the desktops for months. Their computers are the Tablets, Smart Phones, and the kids also use the X-Boxs.



😎

 

[pmv]

We also do not need to upgrade as much. A computer from the Vista era can run 7 and 8 even better. A computer from the 95/98 era struggled to run XP. I am still getting computers in that are 8 years old.

That's true - never before have I gone as long as this without "trading up". But is that not partly itself a result of many people turning to smartphones and mobiles? Its led to the desktop/laptop sector stagnating, which is why people then don't need to upgrade. Its smartphones that people upgrade every year now.

 

[Jeff7]

Same here. I almost always have my laptop with me. If you must have your 4" screen with stripped down slow internet, more power to ya.

A single screen, a tiny one at that, and a severely limited interface. Tablets at least give a bit more screen space, but it's still a limited touchscreen interface.
No fullsize keyboard, and no mouse. One hand on mouse, and one on the keyboard. (I had a 10-button G5 mouse, until my damn wrist complained too much, so I had to switch to a VerticalMouse4 from Evoluent. Bleh.) Still, using a tiny touchscreen device makes getting around so very slow. I live on keyboard shortcuts; they're so much faster than using a mouse to sift through menus, or select certain things. A touchscreen says, "No keyboard shortcuts for you! And your only method of moving or placing the cursor will have an accuracy limitation of ±10 pixels, so good luck on that!" At least that's been my experience with any capacitive touchscreen. Then there's the parallax error caused by the thickness of the glass face if you're not viewing it at a perfectly perpendicular angle, putting some distance between the location touched and the display itself, so where you're looking isn't where you actually need to touch.

However, my adaptation is to view a tablet or portable device as a very different type of tool than a PC: Far less capability, fewer customization options, and slower. Its only utility must be reliant on its portability itself - like having an expensive Post-it Note with a network connection.🙂


If Windows 8 is going to strive to make a PC more like one of those portable devices, except without the portability....why even do that at all?

 

[Eno Safirey]

The trend towards portability is something that we all are seeing and if you aren't using a smartphone, android device or tablet then you wish you were.

...I almost always have my laptop with me. If you must have your 4" screen with stripped down slow internet, more power to ya.

Laptop users aren't throwing their pc's into the trash. They are leaving them at home and checking their email and texts with handheld devices.

 

[MichaelBarg]

The OEMs deserve a fair chunk of the blame too. If there's one thing most people agree about Windows 8 it's that it is designed for a touch screen. If you've tried it on both touch and non touch laptops, even if you hate it, you can't help but notice that its way better on the touch enabled laptop. So you'd think the OEMs would build some touch screen devices right? Nope! On Newegg right now, 300 Windows 8 laptops, of which 14 are touch enabled. Including zero (out of 54 Win 8 models) Dells, and on HP. Their sales cratered, and they deserved it quite independent of Windows 8.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

When you first posted that I assumed the final sub-clause was sarcasm. But as you've repeated it in that way I'm now wondering if you were serious.

'Extremely elderly people who have never used a computer before' is not a demographic with much future. By definition the individuals involved are not going to be around very long, and, inevitably, the supply of older people who have 'never used a computer before' is increasingly limited. Even the 80-year-olds I know used computers during their working life (win95 was nearly 20 years ago after all).

So while you may-or-may-not be correct that such people find windows 8 easier than earlier OS's, I think its questionable to call such a demographic 'surging'!

That part was the sarcasm. No, they aren't making old people who have never used a computer anymore.

 

[rgallant]

ms could fix all the win8 crap in blue if they want ,but it does not seem to be the case.
should have at least 2 profile check boxes:

-show like win7 desktop ,no touch and this PC does not use batteries so do not override my power options

-yes I want to uses the tiles , just love the adventure looking for programs - it's like a free game. yes I want touch[I get my windex for free] yes this
device has batteries so slow down the unit when I need the speed the most , at the worst possible time.

 

[lopri]

Even if MS pulls off some sort of miracle on both the hardware and the software, I have a zero intention to use any of MS services that requires MS accounts for anything semi-serious.

 

[arsta]

Sounds like the same phenomenon like GTA4 and school shootings - nonsense.