CES 2013: Industry Source -- More Than 3 Out of 4 Enthusiasts Reject Windows 8

Dailytech ^ | January 11, 2013 6:48 PM | Jason Mick (Blog)

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Notably, more than half of gamers who DO pick the embattled OS downgrade within weeks

Arguably the most important, but relatively underdiscussed single story at the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show can be expressed in a single word -- "solidarity".  Whether it was Intel Corp. (INTC) pushing customers towards touch-friendly devices or companies like Hewlett-Packard Comp. (HPQ) and Lenovo Group, Ltd. (HKG:0992) pushing Windows 8 hybrids/laptop designs, everyone was standing firmly behind Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) embattled Windows 8 operating system.

With past releases Microsoft was blasted for not being innovative enough compared to Linux and OS X, in terms of user interface design.  Windows 8 flips the tables innovating wildly -- well beyond what Linux distro makers or Apple, Inc. (AAPL) have dared do.  And now the equation has flipped: Microsoft finds itself under attack for innovating too much.

Whether its DailyTech's readers or online critics, it's important to recognize that much of the criticism is coming from the enthusiast sphere.  Average consumers -- who generally gravitate towards bright, colorful, touchable devices like moths to a light -- tend to react more kindly to Windows 8 when exposed, at least in my anecdotal experience.

But the numbers are troubling.  Despite Microsoft playing an interesting licensing sales game selling a deluge of licenses to OEMs at a rate that would indicate Windows 8 to be outselling Windows 7, the usage numbers indicate that OEMs are only moving a fraction of those licenses.  Windows 8 is only drawing around a tenth of the internet traffic Windows 7 did at a similar point in the adoption cycle; in fact Windows 8 trails Windows Vista in internet traffic.

For obvious reasons I won't name the particular company I heard this from, but during a discussion this week with a company who makes enthusiast laptops and desktops for gamers I heard a somewhat interesting and startling statistic that drives home just how much Windows 8 is indeed struggling.

_{Less than half oif enthusiasts give Windows 8 a try, and over half that do downgrade to
Windows 7 quickly, according to an industry source. [Image Source: Reuters]}

According to the the source:

It's really interesting... what we see is more people selecting Windows 7 [than Windows 8]... because we offer both side by side.  And we actually see more people switching [back] from Windows 8 [to Windows 7] which is interesting.

The source said that over half of the purchasers of enthusiast PCs who do take the Windows 8 drive tend to bail within a couple weeks.

Now bear in mind a couple of qualifiers:

1. Not all the enthusiasts desktops/laptops sold by this company come with touch monitors (hence limiting the Windows 8 UI).
2. The target audience is enthusiasts, who as mentioned tend to "hate on 8".

Still, the idea that 3 out of every 4 buyers of new machines are rejecting Windows 8 should be a startling one for Microsoft.  Microsoft should be very thankful for the solidarity shown by its partners at CES 2013, in the face of that kind of sales trend.

[Alas Babylon!]

Dude, I teach Microsoft and Unix operating systems, servers, high-end networking, etc. to business customers. I started off teaching Unix (we were telneting into a single SunOS Sparc 20) while still in the USAF BEFORE Linux and BEFORE Windows NT. I got Linus Torvalds email and source code in 1994, and compiled my first Linux (terminal only mode box) on an old 486. When I retired from active duty I got my MCSE and moved to NT only because of our customer’s needs and wants. Since then everyone has gotten Windows Active Directory domains, Exchange mail servers, SharePoint sites, and every user machines is a Windows box running Windows apps, all history now.

I actually taught a Linux class last year for the first time in 10 years. I used Redhat Enterprise 3 and Fedora 16 and 17, Ubuntu and some older Free BCD because I still love it! Still, it is not what the business world wants and my money is in the business world.

And end users? You’ve got to be kidding! I can teach some IT people Unix/Linux, but most think it too hard. End users just want Microsoft because that’s what they grew up on. Heck, business customers don’t even want Apple, and that just works, as they say.

[OneWingedShark]

8 is horrid; if 9 is just more of the same MS will not see me “upgrade.”

[Alas Babylon!]

LOL! Free BCD is of course Free Berkeley Software Distribution (BSD)!

40 years in computers and I still cannot type.

[Inyo-Mono]

I have tried all of Microsoft’s Windows over the years and loved XP. Upgraded to Windows 7 two years ago and really like it. Then got a lap top a few weeks ago with Windows 8. I hate it!

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

OK,....

My entry to UNIX was AIX,...after slugging it out with multiple upgrades for Customers moving from MFT, MVT to MVS on 360's and 3090's.

Mixed in some VM - 370's.

Business World has VERY DEFINITE requirements.

Windows is fine for most folks....till you connect to the INTERNET....then it is a new GAME.

Businesses can handle it.

The newer Linux distros ,...like Zorin,....have gone the extra mile and are friendlier to those who like the Windows style of GUI.

Got my Daughter and grandson set up with running it....no problem.

[Alas Babylon!]

PDP 11-70 running DEC Ultrix circa 1976...

Initial boot load 3 on, 3 on, 3 on, first 2 on (7776) ;-)

[Dutch Boy]

Just like Star Trek movies with the original cast.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Just upgraded my monitor to 28" so I could get the Fonts even Bigger....still have lots of typos.

*******************************

Running a Distro based on Fedora 18 ...out of Australia,...Kororaa....

Like the multiple workspaces for serious browsing,...cut and paste of news stories,....

Really runs smotthly with my AMD FX 8120,...8 Gbyte Ram and ASUS Sabertooth mobo.

Also have a Hot swap rack like this:

Installed in all my cases to enable quick switching while trying various distros....

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

I am totally ignorant about DEC stuff.

But is was good.

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Typo,,,,

is should be IT

[Ernest_at_the_Beach]

Just downloaded PC-BSD yesterday,....I am gonna take a look at it.

[RatSlayer]

“Why bother fixing what is not broken. Development should focus on OS integrity rather than just producing new operating systems for the sake of it.”

---

They are fixing what is broken from their viewpoint (not from the user’s).

The point of W8 is to totally lockdown the OS so that places like India and China can’t pirate it the way that they did with XP. And to create a walled garden where they can nickel and dime the users and developers to death just like smartphone walled gardens have been so successful at accomplishing.

[Excellence]

I put Win8 on my son’s 3.5 y/o Dell, which he gave me for Christmas. The old desktop is still there, and some programs run both as apps and as programs. I have to decide how I want files to open, but once set, it is set. I get to God mode from the tiles, but it still does everything the same way. I need to download PDF reader as a program because I can’t print from the app.

[dhs12345]

Very happy with Ubuntu.

[dhs12345]

Very true!

[dhs12345]

Modern stuff is better. Much better. I used to hate the distributed apps. Someone would launch a major resource hog app and a simple word processor program would crawl and hesitate. Email was a new thing and cool.

I got into a huge debate with coworkers about which was better: a PC or the current DEC system (at the time). That was in 1990. Ken Olsen was famous for saying that people wouldn’t want a PC. How wrong he was.

[meyer]

Typo,,,,

is should be IT

Depends on what the meaning of "is" is! :)

[DAC21]

For those stuck with Win 8, and want that good old win 7 look back, Classic shell is what you want and it’s free.

Here is a Youtube video about classic shell.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wMEx7Yr57Po

[Mount Athos]

I advise anyone considering to try Windows 8 to go for it.

The trick to surviving the transition is to install CLASSIC SHELL (free!), which takes you straight to desktop on boot and gives you a start menu. You never need to mess with the “metro” interface at all with this!

http://www.classicshell.net/

[hattend]

Just bought a new laptop with Win8 (no choice)

I was pulling my hair out one hour in. Told my wife I was taking it back.

Played with it some more and began to “get it” but it is still aggravating. Might still take it back.

Man, what a headache. Warning to others, if you plan to use the laptop touchpad instead of a mouse... be prepared to toss your new laptop out the window.