It's Official: Windows 8 Is a Design Failure
For all the hubbub over Windows 8's new design, and how it's better suited to the newer generation of interactive touchscreen devices, Microsoft's most loyal customers want a PC they recognize. Windows 8 is a design failure for these users.
How do we know? The good folks at The Register quote data from PC management firm Soluto that says more than half of all Windows 8 users ignore the new start menu in order to preserve old habits. Touchscreen laptop and tablet owners also largely avoid Windows 8's most advanced features. No wonder sales haven't lived up to expectations, says Tim Beyers of Motley Fool Rule Breakers and Motley Fool Supernova.
Mr. Softy's problem is that it hasn't trained users to accept disruptive changes in design and development in the same way that Apple has. Instead, Windows customers expect Microsoft to be stable and predictable. Modernizing -- as Microsoft did with Windows 8 -- means risking alienating big chunk of the installed base, Tim says.
Do you agree? Please watch the video to get Tim's full take, and then let us know how you're using Windows 8.
A hard road for Mr. Softy
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The article It's Official: Windows 8 Is a Design Failure originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Tim Beyers is a member of the Motley Fool Rule Breakers stock-picking team and the Motley Fool Supernova Odyssey I mission. He owned shares of Apple at the time of publication. Check out Tim's web home and portfolio holdings or connect with him on Google+, Tumblr, or Twitter, where he goes by @milehighfool. You can also get his insights delivered directly to your RSS reader.The Motley Fool recommends Apple. The Motley Fool owns shares of Apple and Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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