98 Guy
2013-05-07 12:23:59 UTC
I told you that Windoze 8 was a flop when MacroShaft fired the guy
responsible for it last year.
I'm still seeing people downloading several versions of Win-98 on bit
torrent. I was even seeding a few of them this past weekend.
===============================================
May 7, 2013, 4:45 a.m. EDT
Microsoft admits failure on Windows 8
By Sara Sjolin
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Microsoft admits the failure of its Windows 8
operating system and is preparing to change key elements this year, the
Financial Times reported on Tuesday. The tech firm's head of marketing
and finance, Tami Reller, said in an interview with the newspaper that
"key aspects" of the operating system will be changed when Microsoft
reveals an updated version of the operating system later this year.
Analysts compared the U-turn to Coca-Cola's "New Coke" fiasco almost 30
years ago, the report said. Windows 8 was launched in October last year
and was called a "bet-the-company" move, seen as a move to compete with
Apple's iPad success.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/microsoft-admits-failure-on-windows-8-2013-05-07?mod=wsj_share_tweet
=================
May 7, 2013, 2:13 am 4 Comments
After Bumpy Start, Microsoft Rethinks Windows 8
By NICK WINGFIELD
REDMOND, Wash. Windows Blue, the code name for an update to the
Microsofts flagship operating system, sums up the current melancholy in
the PC business pretty well, though Microsoft didnt intend it that way.
PC shipments are slumping and the declines in the industry have gotten
worse, not better, since a major overhaul of Microsofts operating
system, Windows 8, came out last fall. If it were possible for PCs to
sing, theres little doubt they would be singing the blues.
Microsofts basic vision for Windows 8 has not changed an operating
system flexible enough to run on traditional PCs, tablets and everything
in between but the company is for the first time confirming that it is
making changes to the software to address some of the problems people
have when using it. In a recent interview at Microsofts headquarters,
Tami Reller, the chief marketing officer and chief financial officer of
the Windows division, revealed that Windows Blue will be released this
calendar year and will include modifications that make the software
easier to learn, especially for people running it on computers without
touch screens.
The learning curve is real and needs to be addressed, Ms. Reller said.
Ms. Reller wouldnt get into the specifics of how Microsoft plans to do
that, saying the company will reveal further details over the next
several weeks in the lead-up to Build, a Microsoft developer conference
in San Francisco. But she dropped some hints.
Two of the biggest changes Microsoft made with Windows 8 was the new
tile-based interface of the software and the removal of the start menu
for launching programs, a feature of the operating system for almost two
decades. In recent weeks, tech news sites have been reporting that
Windows Blue will bring back the start menu.
Even more significantly, according to these reports, Microsoft will
allow Windows users to configure their systems so they start on the
traditional-looking Windows desktop when they start their systems.
Microsoft didnt allow that initially, steering all users to the new
tile interface, which is best suited for people running systems with
touch screens.
Ms. Reller wouldnt confirm those changes, but she said Microsoft had
changed how it was training sales associates in retail stores as they
present Windows 8 to customers so that they emphasize how important the
desktop remains as a part of the software. We started talking about the
desktop as an app, she said. But in reality, for PC buyers, the
desktop is important.
Ms. Reller said Microsofts own research on Windows 8 usage patterns
showed that customer satisfaction with the system was on par with that
of Windows 7, when the Windows 8 users being analyzed have tablets or
other systems equipped with touch screens. Of people with conventional
PCs, operated by keyboard and mice or trackpads, Ms. Reller said, We
need to help them learn faster.
In another development, Ms. Reller said Microsoft was allowing its
hardware partners to make Windows 8 tablets with screen sizes in the
range of seven to eight inches, smaller than the nine-inch-plus tablets
that have been available so far. That could give Microsoft a stronger
answer to the iPad mini, which has been a strong seller for Apple.
Ms. Reller described Windows Blue several times as an update to
Windows 8, though she wouldnt say whether the software would be
available free to people who have already bought Windows 8 computers.
The company has already issued hundreds of smaller updates to Windows 8
that are automatically downloaded to users computers.
Ms. Reller said Microsoft had sold about 100 million licenses for
Windows 8 since the software was introduced, roughly in line with the
number of Windows 7 licenses sold in the comparable amount of time after
its introduction. While research firms like IDC are showing double-digit
declines in PC shipments, Ms. Reller said those figures reflected sales
into retail channels, not to actual customers. She said Microsoft was
seeing consistent growth in PCs going through the online activation
process that everyone with a new PC has to do.
New PCs coming online is far steadier than what you see from IDC, she
said. Thats encouraging to us.
Still, Ms. Reller said the 100 million figure was less than it could
have been had there been more touch-based Windows 8 systems available
when the product was introduced before the holidays last year. Supplies
of Windows 8 touch systems were limited in retail stores, especially
outside the United States, in large part because of production delays
for a new Intel processor. Ms. Reller said that supply problem should be
remedied in the coming months.
For back-to-school and holiday, well be very pleased, she said.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/07/after-bumpy-start-microsoft-rethinks-windows-8/
responsible for it last year.
I'm still seeing people downloading several versions of Win-98 on bit
torrent. I was even seeding a few of them this past weekend.
===============================================
May 7, 2013, 4:45 a.m. EDT
Microsoft admits failure on Windows 8
By Sara Sjolin
LONDON (MarketWatch) -- Microsoft admits the failure of its Windows 8
operating system and is preparing to change key elements this year, the
Financial Times reported on Tuesday. The tech firm's head of marketing
and finance, Tami Reller, said in an interview with the newspaper that
"key aspects" of the operating system will be changed when Microsoft
reveals an updated version of the operating system later this year.
Analysts compared the U-turn to Coca-Cola's "New Coke" fiasco almost 30
years ago, the report said. Windows 8 was launched in October last year
and was called a "bet-the-company" move, seen as a move to compete with
Apple's iPad success.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/microsoft-admits-failure-on-windows-8-2013-05-07?mod=wsj_share_tweet
=================
May 7, 2013, 2:13 am 4 Comments
After Bumpy Start, Microsoft Rethinks Windows 8
By NICK WINGFIELD
REDMOND, Wash. Windows Blue, the code name for an update to the
Microsofts flagship operating system, sums up the current melancholy in
the PC business pretty well, though Microsoft didnt intend it that way.
PC shipments are slumping and the declines in the industry have gotten
worse, not better, since a major overhaul of Microsofts operating
system, Windows 8, came out last fall. If it were possible for PCs to
sing, theres little doubt they would be singing the blues.
Microsofts basic vision for Windows 8 has not changed an operating
system flexible enough to run on traditional PCs, tablets and everything
in between but the company is for the first time confirming that it is
making changes to the software to address some of the problems people
have when using it. In a recent interview at Microsofts headquarters,
Tami Reller, the chief marketing officer and chief financial officer of
the Windows division, revealed that Windows Blue will be released this
calendar year and will include modifications that make the software
easier to learn, especially for people running it on computers without
touch screens.
The learning curve is real and needs to be addressed, Ms. Reller said.
Ms. Reller wouldnt get into the specifics of how Microsoft plans to do
that, saying the company will reveal further details over the next
several weeks in the lead-up to Build, a Microsoft developer conference
in San Francisco. But she dropped some hints.
Two of the biggest changes Microsoft made with Windows 8 was the new
tile-based interface of the software and the removal of the start menu
for launching programs, a feature of the operating system for almost two
decades. In recent weeks, tech news sites have been reporting that
Windows Blue will bring back the start menu.
Even more significantly, according to these reports, Microsoft will
allow Windows users to configure their systems so they start on the
traditional-looking Windows desktop when they start their systems.
Microsoft didnt allow that initially, steering all users to the new
tile interface, which is best suited for people running systems with
touch screens.
Ms. Reller wouldnt confirm those changes, but she said Microsoft had
changed how it was training sales associates in retail stores as they
present Windows 8 to customers so that they emphasize how important the
desktop remains as a part of the software. We started talking about the
desktop as an app, she said. But in reality, for PC buyers, the
desktop is important.
Ms. Reller said Microsofts own research on Windows 8 usage patterns
showed that customer satisfaction with the system was on par with that
of Windows 7, when the Windows 8 users being analyzed have tablets or
other systems equipped with touch screens. Of people with conventional
PCs, operated by keyboard and mice or trackpads, Ms. Reller said, We
need to help them learn faster.
In another development, Ms. Reller said Microsoft was allowing its
hardware partners to make Windows 8 tablets with screen sizes in the
range of seven to eight inches, smaller than the nine-inch-plus tablets
that have been available so far. That could give Microsoft a stronger
answer to the iPad mini, which has been a strong seller for Apple.
Ms. Reller described Windows Blue several times as an update to
Windows 8, though she wouldnt say whether the software would be
available free to people who have already bought Windows 8 computers.
The company has already issued hundreds of smaller updates to Windows 8
that are automatically downloaded to users computers.
Ms. Reller said Microsoft had sold about 100 million licenses for
Windows 8 since the software was introduced, roughly in line with the
number of Windows 7 licenses sold in the comparable amount of time after
its introduction. While research firms like IDC are showing double-digit
declines in PC shipments, Ms. Reller said those figures reflected sales
into retail channels, not to actual customers. She said Microsoft was
seeing consistent growth in PCs going through the online activation
process that everyone with a new PC has to do.
New PCs coming online is far steadier than what you see from IDC, she
said. Thats encouraging to us.
Still, Ms. Reller said the 100 million figure was less than it could
have been had there been more touch-based Windows 8 systems available
when the product was introduced before the holidays last year. Supplies
of Windows 8 touch systems were limited in retail stores, especially
outside the United States, in large part because of production delays
for a new Intel processor. Ms. Reller said that supply problem should be
remedied in the coming months.
For back-to-school and holiday, well be very pleased, she said.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/05/07/after-bumpy-start-microsoft-rethinks-windows-8/