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4 Windows 8 Downers

Esteemed Redmond magazine columnist Don Jones recently extolled several Windows 8 virtues and why these will lead to quick migrations.

Now Jones is taking the opposite tack, laying our four issues that will hold back adoption.

Like Office's Ribbon, Windows 8 has a vastly different interface in Metro, which looks more like a smartphone than a PC OS.  That is clearly true for Win 8 tablets, but older apps will still run on the older interface (which I'm guessing IT will opt for).

One problem for IT is that many are now moving to Win 7, having skipped over Vista. Why go with an unproven Win 8 when you are already installing the proven Win 7?  The compatibility story is unclear. Microsoft talks a good game about working with Win 7 apps, but IT has yet to shift wholesale to that OS. The ability to run XP tools is much more important -- and that story is less known.

Finally, Jones argues there is not enough new enterprise juice to justify the move, with Redmond focusing much of the new code on wooing consumers.

How soon would you move to Win 8, either in your shop or as an individual user? You tell me at [email protected].

Posted by Doug Barney on 01/11/2012 at 1:18 PM


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