Microsoft Prepares U-Turn On Windows 8

Financial Times [via CNBC] ^ | 07 May 2013 | Richard Waters

[Java4Jay]

ping

[The KG9 Kid]

I can respond to everyone’s reply to me in one post:

If I didn’t know better, I’d be suspicious that Albert Wang is our company’s CFO, Durus is our comapny’s CIO, and Little Pig is our top SQL DBA who’s constantly begging me to get some kind of coherent agreement and a roadmap going forward out of these guys.

Er, you guys aren’t, are you? Startlingly reminiscent, the three of you.

[CodeToad]

Excellent question. Bill didn’t get everything right but he did get many things right for more than 20 yeas. Steve is an idiot. He has screwed up way too much to keep his job. Steve was around since the early days but he needs supervision to be effective.

[Durus]

Sorry to disappoint. I work for a living in IT and non-technical management positions don't interest me. Speaking of which, If I were an admin working in your infrastructure I would be desperately looking for a new job before it implodes.

[Celtic Conservative]

No, that one was an outlier.

CC

[OldArmy52]

My theory...MS fired all its knowledeable and experienced OS people and hired inexperienced temps to save money.

and Windows8 is what they came up with.

Temps or perhaps 1,000 monkeys and W8 was the best of the lot.

Or perhaps the Gang of 8 were moonlighting away from the Senate?

[FreeAtlanta]

They just need a large promotion that says, “just start typing”

when I found out that from the “start screen” that I could type a couple of letters of the app I wanted, I fell in love.

windows 8 is awesome. It is the best os I have ever worked in, and I go back to windows 3.0, dos, and the latest Macs.

[FreeAtlanta]

From the start screen, type control. :-)

[OldArmy52]

Microsoft mirrors the fashion industry:

Fashion Industry:
Wide lapels
Narrow Lapels
Wide Lapels
Hem line up
Hem line down
Hem line up
.....
knickers

Microsoft:
Windows 98
Windows XP
Windows Vista
Windows 7
.......
Windows 8

The great circle

[FreeAtlanta]

Don’t use it as touch screen. I program on a window8 laptop with two 27” monitors attached. None are touch screen. I did play with a touch screen laptop at the store last weekend, and really liked it.

It is the future, but you don’t have to use it.

“type from start”

[OldArmy52]

Or maybe W8 is a product of MS consensus building:

MS consensus:

Boss: Hello, I’m your boss and can hire and fire at a whim. I just thought up W8. How do you all like it? Be honest.

Staff: It’s wonderful, Boss!

[zeestephen]

Re: “MS fired all its knowledgeable and experienced OS people and hired inexperienced temps to save money.”

You make a good point.

I live in the heart of Microsoft country.

At least 20% of the people in my apartment house are MSFT contractors, most of them from India.

[AlexW]

I am using ZipCloud. It is an automatic online backup
service. It backs up my hard drive once a day.

[Little Pig]

Durus, you might want to rethink your career. The way the economy is devolving right now, anything below management is at risk of being outsourced or at the very least mangled beyond recognition by the requirements DemocratCare is imposing on business. If you can (whether you want to or not), moving up might be a way of protecting your career even if it means leaving the hands-on side. There are ways to stay technically relevant even at the executive level, especially if you shift into whole-datacenter management.

Kid, sorry, not a SQL DBA (though it’s a path I sometimes wish I’d taken). I do Information Security and unlike Durus I am aiming at the executive level.

[Durus]

I've been in the business for more than 25 years at this point. A couple of things I've learned are 1) You can out source a lot of things but no major corporation is going to outsource core financial systems. DBAs, Enterprise Admins, and Core business app admins, can't be outsourced. (2) There is always high turnover in management, especially middle management, in the IT field. Businesses demand the impossible, obsequious toadying putzes promise the world, and someone has to pay the price. See point one to determine who ends up being the sacrificial lamb.

I would consider the right management job but never in a typical large corporate environment.

[Syntyr]

“My theory...MS fired all its knowledeable and experienced OS people and hired inexperienced temps to save money.

and Windows8 is what they came up with.”

I think Windows 8 was designed from the ground up to meet the demands of the low information voter, social media, short attention span, puddle deep thinkers. They don’t want to have to put any thought or effort in to anything. All they want is to mindlessly surf and

“OMG did you know KK is pregnant? OMG like no way!”

Drives me nuts!