Unsurprisingly Windows Mobile phones haven’t exactly taken off with a bang, no doubt because of their atrocious track record (yes, Microsoft, we don’t forget that quickly – see this old blog post from 2009).
But Windows 8 is firmly on it’s way, with a consumer preview recently available for download. And it’s raising many concerns…
Have Microsoft gone ‘tablet crazy’ with Windows 8?
Many are questioning why Microsoft are releasing a desktop and tablet version combined. After all, the interfaces are so different. And so is the usage. There’s a big difference between using a mouse and keyboard compared with just your fingers on a screen.
But then again, Apple seem to bringing the iOS (for mobile devices) and Apple OS (for desktops and laptops) closer together in terms of both looks and functionality.
Others, as usual, are singing the usual mantra of “don’t fear change”. But there are reasons for concern. Windows 7 is a fine operating system and it works…
If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it
For myself, Windows 7 represents the pinnacle of the quest for a perfect version of Windows. During the nineties we suffered the misery of continuous crashing and functionality omissions. Windows 2000 and XP gave us long awaited stability. Vista became the new ”Windows ME” (in other words, another unnecessary release). And finally, Windows 7 seemed to perfect things. I now own a computer which doesn’t crash, is relatively easy to maintain and is a pleasure to use and customise.
My guess is that Windows 8 will prove very popular on tablets and provide Apple with some much needed competition. But where desktops are concerned (i.e. for the millions of us who use a computer for work), Windows 7 will become the new Windows XP and we’ll be using it for a long, long time to come – giving them time to get Windows 9 right?
Here’s a shot from more simple days long ago. Remember Program Manager before the days of the Start button?
