Forecast for Windows 8 Cloudy
Windows 8 code will be essentially locked down early next month and ready for all to buy in October. Windows Server 2012 is on the same exact ship track.
For the last few days I've been completely steeped in all things Windows 8. I'm writing a big feature story about the OS based on your experiences with the beta, a story you'll get to read in our September issue of Redmond.
There's a lot to like in Metro because it brings the full power of Windows to touch-based tablets. What's cool is you can have an actual PC in a machine the size of an iPad. I know Netbooks offer the same promise, but no one has fun using Netbooks, and Netbooks have never been accused of advancing the state of the art in software.
However, Metro is only good for touch -- don't even think about upgrading desktops. The fact that Windows 8 has Metro and the old-fashioned desktop interface is disconcerting. Then again, when Windows arrived, didn't we all get used to the GUI and the DOS prompt on the same system? And trust me, Windows was ripped to shreds by IT when it came on the scene.
The early reaction from you all is a bit negative, but that is common for anything new from Microsoft. Some items, like Windows Vista, never recovered from the initial bad feedback. Others, like the Ribbon, generally recovered (by that I mean it sold well), but have lingering and deep resentment. And some products, like Windows itself, faced early hatred and ended up winners.
I have no idea which category Win 8 will end up falling into. What's your vote? Cast your ballot at [email protected].
Posted by Doug Barney on 07/16/2012 at 1:19 PM