WINDOWS 8

WINDOWS 8 FAILS TO IMPRESS

While Microsoft on the one hand is overwhelemed with the response to the recently-launched Windows 8, analysts and experts, on the other hand, seem to be totally disappointed with a radical redesign of Microsoft's world-dominating Windows operating system, named Windows 8. Launched almost a month back with the view to regain ground lost to Apple and Google, Microsoft's latest Windows 8 OS fail to woo experts.

Jakob Nielsen, principal of the Nielsen Norman Group, invited a few experienced PC users to test Windows 8 on both regular computers and Microsoft's new Surface RT tablets. And after studying that how the users interacted with Windows 8, he concluded that it was not good. Nielsen is dissatisfied with the dual nature of Windows 8.

"The Roman god Janus; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; even Batman's arch-foe Two-Face — human culture is fascinated by duality. We can now add Windows 8 to this list. The product shows two faces to the user: a tablet-oriented Start screen and a PC-oriented desktop screen," wrote Nielsen, adding, on a regular PC, Windows 8 is like a monster that terrorises poor office workers and strangles their productivity. Nielsen's another gripe is that "Windows" no longer supports multiple windows on the screen. He comes to a conclusion that the inability to open multiple windows creates a memory overload for complex tasks.

"The Windows 8 UI is completely flat in what used to be called the "Metro" style and is now called the Modern UI. There's no pseudo-3D or lighting model to cast subtle shadows that indicate what's clickable (because it looks raised above the rest) or where you can type (because it looks indented below the page surface)," he stated.

According to him, while many options are presented as flat, but the "change PC settings" option looks more like the label for the icon group than a clickable command. As a result, many users he invited to test the latest OS didn't click this command when they were trying to access one of the features it hides. Neilsen, in fact, came up with a lot of criticisms.

Taking a dig at Windows 8, CNET also reported citing a research note from analyst Chris Whitmore, "The first reason Deutsche Bank listed for cutting its PC estimates this quarter was a "lackluster initial uptake of Windows 8."

Topeka Capital Markets also said Windows 8 orders have been weak. "Much lower than...PC makers originally expected a few months ago," said a Topeka analyst Brian White.

According to a CNET report, "Computerworld, which has tracked usage patterns of Windows 8 in the months leading up to, and including, the launch, found that the new operating system is being run by less than a fifth as many people as ran Windows 7 in the same months before its debut."

The new software is designed for use on a variety of machines - desktop PCs, notebook computers and tablets, including Microsoft's new Surface tablet, the first computing device the company has manufactured after focusing almost exclusively on software for nearly 30 years.

The debut of Windows 8 heralded the biggest change to the system since 1995, when the company first offered built-in Internet support. The next six to 12 months is a "crucial period" for Microsoft to get traction with consumers, said Daniel Ives, an analyst at FBR Capital Markets.