{"id":6939,"date":"2014-01-31T13:03:48","date_gmt":"2014-01-31T18:03:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/?p=6939"},"modified":"2014-01-31T13:03:48","modified_gmt":"2014-01-31T18:03:48","slug":"is-microsoft-finally-listening-to-you","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/is-microsoft-finally-listening-to-you\/","title":{"rendered":"Is Microsoft Finally Listening to You?"},"content":{"rendered":"
We have said over and over and over again, regardless of your personal feelings about Windows 8, that Microsoft needs to change their strategy and realize they are no longer in a position to dictate to users and force upon them whatever Microsoft wants. \u00a0Google’s stock and products are soaring, Apple is holding its own and still an innovator (though Jobs is sorely missed), and even Facebooki’s stock and credibility have been increasing…all the while Microsoft Windows sales are slumping.<\/p>\n

They tried a half-hearted update called Windows 8.1 to appease users who didn’t have touch screens, or tablets, or smartphones, and who wanted a traditional desktop version of Windows. Microsoft’s one-size-fits-all, let’s-charge-$100+ for Windows strategies are not working so well anymore in a world that has, for the most part, left Microsoft eating dust.<\/p>\n

Windows 8 has raised havoc with PC sales which declined in the 4th quarter of 2013 — the 4th quarter is traditionally the strongest sales period for PCs. More and more people are moving to Apple or hanging onto Windows 7 computers or older versions of Windows — even Windows XP users, 12 years after its release are hanging on tight to Windows XP.<\/p>\n

Some of our readers think these folks are hanging on because they dislike change. One person hanging on to an older version of Windows happens to be me — and I embrace change — but only beneficial and useful change and there’s nothing in Windows 8 that I can’t live without and much I would rather live without. If Microsoft would release and operating system superior to Windows 7, I would be the first to embrace it; Windows 8.1 is not superior to Windows 7 — in fact it is Windows 7 with a few new features and a lot of superficial changes.<\/p>\n

You are free to like what you like – and you may be in love with Windows 8, but the vast majority of consumers are not — and businesses aren’t interested in touchscreens or tiled interfaces – they’re interested in productivity…<\/p>\n

As I predicted when Windows 8 was first introduced, Microsoft has a loser on its hands – and it better start listening to its customers or it will end of like the Big Three car makers who thought they were too big to fail and laughed at their Japanese and Korean competitors (much like Microsoft makes fun of Google in its recent TV ad campaign). Instead of making fun, Microsoft should be learning and listening…and finally it appears they might be listening even if they don’t like what they’re hearing.<\/p>\n

This article from Mashable <\/a>caught my eye, and I think it will catch yours too:<\/p>\n

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Microsoft May Be Getting Ready for an Epic Windows 8.1 Flip-Flop<\/h2>\n

It looks like Microsoft is ready to cry uncle on Windows 8. Since its launch in fall 2012, Windows 8 (and later 8.1) has defaulted to show the Start screen \u2014 the touch-friendly modern environment \u2014 first. Now, a pair of reports suggests Microsoft will soon update Windows to launch into the traditional desktop.<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<\/header>\n

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It looks like\u00a0Microsoft<\/a>\u00a0is ready to cry uncle on\u00a0Windows 8<\/a>. Since its launch in fall 2012, Windows 8 (and later\u00a08.1<\/a>) has defaulted to show the Start screen \u2014 the touch-friendly modern environment \u2014 first. Now, a pair of reports suggests Microsoft will soon update Windows to launch into the traditional desktop.<\/p>\n

Screenshots of the supposed Windows 8.1 update for 2014 appeared on a\u00a0Russian website<\/a>,\u00a0reported<\/a>\u00a0by\u00a0Business Insider<\/em>, and the person who posted them claims that, after installation, the new OS boots into the desktop.\u00a0The Verge<\/em>\u00a0claims to haveconfirmed<\/a>\u00a0the findings, with sources revealing the forthcoming update will indeed make the desktop the default.<\/p>\n

See also:\u00a0The Problem With Windows 8<\/a><\/p>\n

If true, the move would represent an about-face on Windows 8\/8.1, if not an altogether surprising one.\u00a0Even before it officially launched, Windows 8 has been criticized for its bifurcated approach to computing, delivering both a traditional computing environment for mouse-and-keyboard setups as well as touch-friendly interface on the same machine.<\/p>\n

In Windows 8.1, Microsoft introduced new features intended to appease critics, such as the\u00a0option<\/em>\u00a0to make the desktop the default, the ability to\u00a0share the same desktop background<\/a>between the desktop and modern environments, and the infamous return of the\u00a0Start button<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Critics still hammered Microsoft for misguided strategy, and the update did nothing to slow the the decline of the PC market, which\u00a0fell 6.4%<\/a>\u00a0in the fall quarter.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Read the entire Mashable article here.<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We have said over and over and over again, regardless of your personal feelings about Windows 8, that Microsoft needs to change their strategy and realize they are no longer in a position to dictate to users and force upon them whatever Microsoft wants. \u00a0Google’s stock and products are soaring, Apple is holding its own and still an\u2026 Read More »<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1426],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6939"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6939"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6939\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6940,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6939\/revisions\/6940"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6939"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6939"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thundercloud.net\/infoave\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6939"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}