The IT Nerd

When you as a company try to evolve or change, you risk a backlash of some sort. Just ask Coke. When they tried to evolve Coke with “New Coke,” no amount of marketing could save them. Thus they had to bring back “Coke Classic” which then became Coke. Windows 8 is quickly becoming known as “New Coke” as is evidenced by this:

Richard Doherty, analyst at tech research firm Envisioneering, said: “This is like New Coke, going on for seven months – only Coke listened better.” Coca-Cola dropped its New Coke formula in response to a consumer backlash less than three months after launch.

Well if you’re Microsoft that’s a problem. Thus, that’s why that Windows 8 could be considered a failure.

Is this fixable? Yes. Microsoft needs to change course on the Metro interface yesterday. It sounds Microsoft may not be getting the message:

Pressure has been building for Windows 8 PCs to launch the familiar desktop view when turned on – and to bring back the “start” button featured in the lower left corner of the screen in previous releases.

Microsoft has also admitted to a range of other slips with the launch of Windows 8, including failing to do enough to train retail staff and educate potential customers about the new software, as well as not focusing all of its financial incentives behind the touchscreen PCs that show off Windows 8 to best advantage. “It’s very clear we could and should have done more,” Ms Reller said.

Despite the slips, she said that Microsoft continued to view the software as suitable for both PCs and tablets and that “customer satisfaction with Windows 8 with touch is strong”.

So, seeing as Microsoft bungled Vista but redeemed themselves with Windows 7, they really do not have a lot of rope when it comes to Windows 8. If they don’t mitigate this quickly, this will go from being a disaster to being a extinction event for the company.

Here’s another shot across the bow of Windows 8. Two unnamed OEM sources told ZDNet this:

Privately, one OEM source told me that Microsoft is “destroying” the PC industry, while another claimed that Windows 8 has “handed over millions of customers to Apple.”

Ouch. That’s really harsh, but it’s not the first time that this has been heard. It is the first time that someone wouldn’t go on the record. That says something to me. It says that Microsoft has a serious problem on its hands and they need to act on this or face a broader backlash that it may not recover from.

Windows 8 cannot get a break.

The latest partner to throw Windows 8 under the bus is Nvidia:

Jen-Hsun Huang, speaking during a meeting with analysts at Nvidia’s conference for developers, noted that devices using the software — such as Microsoft’s Surface RT and Asus Vivo Tab RT — aren’t selling very well.

“Windows RT is disappointing to us because we expected to have sold more than we did,” Huang said. “Everybody expected to have sold more than we did.”

He said the next question is: How important is Windows RT to Microsoft and how much will it continue investing in the software? Huang argued that it’s very important to the company as many devices use ARM-based chips like those underlying Windows RT tablets.

Charming. He joins Samsung, Acer, and Fujitsu in pretty much trashing Windows 8. With friends like this, Microsoft doesn’t need enemies. The question is who will be the next to bash Windows 8. Any bets?

MIT professor Philip Greenspun has a well respected blog that is garnering a lot of attention these days due to a review of Windows 8. Titled “Christmas gift for someone you hate: Windows 8“, Greenspun has this to say:

Suppose that you are an expert user of Windows NT/XP/Vista/7, an expert user of an iPad, and an expert user of an Android phone…. you will have no idea how to use Windows 8.

He then goes on to pretty much trash every aspect of Windows 8. He also notes that Microsoft had years to study Android and iOS and failed miserably at creating a user interface that works. He did offer some praise for some of the apps, but he ends his posting with this:

Given how misguided the whole design of Windows 8 seems to be, why have tech journalists given it basically positive reviews? My theory is that journalists love anything new, different, and complicated. Windows 8 is all of those things.

Ouch. That’s harsh.

Does this mean that Windows 8 should really be called Windows Vista 2.0? Share your thoughts by posting a comment below.

Hot on the heels of this report that says consumers don’t want Windows 8, comes an article by Paul Thurrott  that confirms that sales are slow:

One of my most trusted sources at Microsoft confirmed Windows 8’s weak start this week. And with all of the drama surrounding Windows 8 and the recent, unexpected departure of Windows chief Steven Sinofsky, rumors are sure to swirl.

The article goes on to discuss some reasons why this might be. All of them seem plausible. But I think we have to take the long view. It may take months if not a year to see Microsoft’s strategy by making Surface the standard user interface for everything from phones, tablets, and PCs. I’d say that you should watch the next couple of earnings reports to see how popular the OS really is, or isn’t.

According to USA Today, PC security firm Avast recently polled 350,000 users of its PC antivirus software. Among other things, only 9% of U.S. respondents are interested in upgrading to Windows 8:

The survey results underscore lukewarm response to Windows 8, which introduces a radical new PC user interface involving use of a touch screen in addition to a keyboard and mouse.

If that’s not enough, there’s more:

Reports of software applications designed for earlier versions of Windows not working well on Windows 8 haven’t helped, says George Otte, CEO of Geeks on Site, a repair service. “Windows 7 works just fine,” Otte says. “It’s not a major priority to make a change, especially if there might be apprehensions about bugs.”

I have to admit that I’m not in a huge rush to upgrade to Windows 8 as I have no practical need for it as this time. In the meantime, I’d take a look at the full article as it is very revealing. It’s also not very good news for Microsoft.