What if Microsoft had done Windows 8 differently?

[yuhong]

https://hal2020.com/2013/03/07/what-...8-differently/
Many of the points apply to Win10 too.
For example:
"Consumer upgrades of Windows 7 systems to Windows Desktop 8 would probably be a bit more robust, but that was already a fairly insignificant business for Microsoft."
While the cost of WinSE would continue to increase.

[yuhong]

Re: What if Microsoft had done Windows 8 differently?

bump. There is real evidence Windows revenue is declining too BTW. That is part of why they are pushing consumers to the store and enterprises to Software Assurance/subscription.

[keeney123]

Re: What if Microsoft had done Windows 8 differently?

So what happened to free enterprise? Letting the customers decided what they want instead of company dictating what customers must use?

[yuhong]

Re: What if Microsoft had done Windows 8 differently?

So what happened to free enterprise? Letting the customers decided what they want instead of company dictating what customers must use?

Look at how long WinXP lingered for example. "WinSE" is the group in MS responsible for creating updates for older versions of Windows. As you can imagine, it is fairly expensive.

[keeney123]

Re: What if Microsoft had done Windows 8 differently?

To me if you don't want to update at system for 20 years you make a better system that people can't wait to get.

[yuhong]

Re: What if Microsoft had done Windows 8 differently?

To me if you don't want to update at system for 20 years you make a better system that people can't wait to get.

And the last time something like this happened was Win95, and remember the PC market was smaller and PC upgrade cycles were shorter in 1995.

[yuhong]

Re: What if Microsoft had done Windows 8 differently?

And the last time something like this happened was Win95, and remember the PC market was smaller and PC upgrade cycles were shorter in 1995.

Not to mention the Windows Store. MS want to begin making money from it as soon as possible.

[Ascaris]

Re: What if Microsoft had done Windows 8 differently?

I saw a post on another site that pointed to a possibility I had not considered during this whole Windows 10 debacle: The idea that MS is, in fact, trying to kill off Windows. Maybe that which seemed to be an incredibly misguided, cynical, tone-deaf series of blunders that MS was making while trying to promote Windows was actually just what it seems at first glance. A lot of people (self included) did ask, rhetorically, if MS was trying to destroy Windows, but we never thought they actually were.

While 90% of the world's PCs run Windows, it only represents 10% of Microsoft's earnings, according to their annual 2015 report, according to the person who wrote the message on that other site. MS is moving more into cloud services, which means that non-Windows devices are not the enemy anymore as much as they are potential customers.

What MS may be doing is trying to milk Windows for all its worth in the short term, with the understanding that it WILL alienate customers (particularly in the consumer market) and cause them to flee the Windows platform-- eventually. Until then, they're a resource to be squeezed for all the cash MS can get out of them.

When I first read that MS was now all about "Cloud first, mobile first," I opined that this implies that traditional PC users come in last in terms of their priorities over in Redmond. I thought at the time that it was a particularly biting comment, but I may have actually understated it. Maybe Microsoft doesn't put us PC/Windows users last; maybe it simply doesn't consider us at all.

As such, the many places where Windows 10 tries to push people into the MS "ecosystem" of cloud services isn't just the tail on the dog; rather, it IS the dog. If people use Microsoft cloud services but abandon Windows, that is an acceptable outcome; if they stick to Windows but don't use any MS cloud services, that isn't.

Eventually, as MS continues to make Windows less and less useful as a traditional OS, enough people will leave as to allow MS to abandon the PC Windows platform, or else have it as an enterprise-only product that is nothing more than a thin-client conduit to the cloud.

[yuhong]

Re: What if Microsoft had done Windows 8 differently?

I saw a post on another site that pointed to a possibility I had not considered during this whole Windows 10 debacle: The idea that MS is, in fact, trying to kill off Windows. Maybe that which seemed to be an incredibly misguided, cynical, tone-deaf series of blunders that MS was making while trying to promote Windows was actually just what it seems at first glance. A lot of people (self included) did ask, rhetorically, if MS was trying to destroy Windows, but we never thought they actually were.

While 90% of the world's PCs run Windows, it only represents 10% of Microsoft's earnings, according to their annual 2015 report, according to the person who wrote the message on that other site. MS is moving more into cloud services, which means that non-Windows devices are not the enemy anymore as much as they are potential customers.

What MS may be doing is trying to milk Windows for all its worth in the short term, with the understanding that it WILL alienate customers (particularly in the consumer market) and cause them to flee the Windows platform-- eventually. Until then, they're a resource to be squeezed for all the cash MS can get out of them.

When I first read that MS was now all about "Cloud first, mobile first," I opined that this implies that traditional PC users come in last in terms of their priorities over in Redmond. I thought at the time that it was a particularly biting comment, but I may have actually understated it. Maybe Microsoft doesn't put us PC/Windows users last; maybe it simply doesn't consider us at all.

As such, the many places where Windows 10 tries to push people into the MS "ecosystem" of cloud services isn't just the tail on the dog; rather, it IS the dog. If people use Microsoft cloud services but abandon Windows, that is an acceptable outcome; if they stick to Windows but don't use any MS cloud services, that isn't.

Eventually, as MS continues to make Windows less and less useful as a traditional OS, enough people will leave as to allow MS to abandon the PC Windows platform, or else have it as an enterprise-only product that is nothing more than a thin-client conduit to the cloud.

AFAIK, it is not feasible for MS to kill off Windows completely even if they wanted to.

[Topcat]

Re: What if Microsoft had done Windows 8 differently?

asking this is like asking if M$ could have done vista better.....they did, they called it Windows 7. Its been a spiral down for microsoft since.

[yuhong]

Re: What if Microsoft had done Windows 8 differently?

asking this is like asking if M$ could have done vista better.....they did, they called it Windows 7.

Vista and Windows 8 failed for different reasons though, and this blog article is specifically about Windows 8.

[Topcat]

Re: What if Microsoft had done Windows 8 differently?

Vista and Windows 8 failed for different reasons though.

Ya think? ....but the principle is the same. MS redeemed themselves with 7. 10 was not a redemption from 8/8.1....

[yuhong]

Re: What if Microsoft had done Windows 8 differently?

Ya think? ....but the principle is the same. MS redeemed themselves with 7. 10 was not a redemption from 8/8.1....

Win10 is somewhat of a redemption from Win8. But anyway, the main reason I posted the blog article link (you should read it) is because many of the points still apply to Win10. For example, MS's Windows revenue mostly comes from PC sales which are still falling. WinSE BTW stands for "Windows Sustained Engineering", responsible for creating updates etc. Of course, WinSE was pretty expensive. You will notice that LTSB is limited to Win10 Enterprise, requiring a Software Assurance subscription.

[Topcat]

Re: What if Microsoft had done Windows 8 differently?

No, 10 isn't an improvement over 8/8.1....but that aside, its not exactly news that the PC market is tanked and without the PC market, the OS war is over.....and has been since about 2010. MS is in desperation mode.....I mean seriously, when you have to pay M$ to remove the ads from fucking solitaire, that sir, is desperation.

[yuhong]

Re: What if Microsoft had done Windows 8 differently?

No, 10 isn't an improvement over 8/8.1....but that aside, its not exactly news that the PC market is tanked and without the PC market, the OS war is over.....and has been since about 2010. MS is in desperation mode.....I mean seriously, when you have to pay M$ to remove the ads from fucking solitaire, that sir, is desperation.

AFAIK that Metro solitaire game dates back to Win8 era too, it just wasn't bundled until Win10.
But yes, the point is that MS is trying to find other revenue streams (such as the Windows Store) and to reduce costs.
Win10 also has CBB which is supported for a shorter period (I think about two years) that is available to Pro users.