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NPD Group Analysts Say Windows 8 Sales Sluggish
Nerval's Lobster writes "While Microsoft claims it's sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses in the month since launch—a more rapid pace than Windows 7—new data from research firm The NPD Group suggests that isn't helping sales of actual Windows devices, which, in its estimation, are down 21 percent from last year. Desktops dropped 9 percent year-over-year, while notebooks fell 24 percent. 'After just four weeks on the market, it's still early to place blame on Windows 8 for the ongoing weakness in the PC market,' Stephen Baker, vice president of industry analysis at The NPD Group, wrote in a Nov. 29 statement attached to the data. 'We still have the whole holiday selling season ahead of us, but clearly Windows 8 did not prove to be the impetus for a sales turnaround some had hoped for.'" That seems to match the public grumbling of Acer and Asus about early sales. And though these figures exclude Surface sales, the newly announced prices on for new Windows 8 Pro-equipped Surface tablets might not endear them to anyone. Have you (or has your business?) moved to Windows 8?
I know mine will never use Windows 8
It is the secure boot technology. I don't want to buy a laptop or desktop that does not easily let me use the Operating System of my own build and choice.
... my business is treating it as a minor, avoidable catastrophe and reacting accordingly.
Look, the commercials show a Apple knock off that relies on technology people generally don't have yet. The surface side of it may be interesting, but how many of us have touch displays at home? My guess is, not that many. So if I'm going to be looking at Windows 8 and it's price, I'm also going to be looking for new hardware to make use of some of the features. It prices me to an Apple system pretty quickly and what do I gain? Immature applications? Still the hassle of viruses and security? More lock in to a company that is shit? No thanks.
Windows 8 is having the same problems as Windows Phone. It's like an Apple device with the same price. Consumers may generally be stupid, but they are not that stupid.
-The wise argue that there are few absolutes, the fool argues that there are no probabilities.
Have you (or has your business?) moved to Windows 8?
I don't know why we would switch. Vista was such a shit show that Windows 7 was a blessing, but Windows 8 just seems to do nothing better than Windows 7 on a desktop compter (which is my primary use at home and at work) so why would I spend the money upgrading? I don't even want to pirate Windows 8 for my home computer just to play around. Used it a few times and I didn't like it, and I'm dreading not having Windows 7 included with our new computers.
Because of this sales failure, Ballmer is about receive "boot" technology...
Table-ized A.I.
It solves one of the worst and most persistent security issues with the Internet.
With the introduction of IE 10 on Windows 8, Microsoft relieves users from the threat of browser-based attacks, by making the system unusable for web-browsing.
"Flyin' in just a sweet place,
Never been known to fail..."
My girlfriend got a Windows 8 netbook, since that's all they had in the store. She hates it. The default metro apps take a long time to load and feel sluggish, even though they're meant for tablets. She also complains that they're poorly thought-out, and it's hard to figure out simple functionality. IE, how do you move the to the next picture when looking at pictures in a folder. Also, she's getting tired of everything wanting to go full screen.
I've heard nothing on their sales so far, which means to me they are terrible. Much like the Surface production being halved.
I don't criticize MS for trying something different. It is a bold move. But, what they are putting out ISN'T the solution to the problem. They just can't figure out what to do it seems.
I'm still trying to get everything migrated to Windows 7. After that I'll be looking for a linux distro that works for the people that don't really require windows apps. This whole Microsoft Blue thing has me convinced I shouldn't have all my eggs in the windows basket.
While The PA Report postdeals specifically with games and how they are just not tracked properly by NPD, the same principle applies to any software: the retail store aspect of sales is small and getting smaller every day. Ignore NPD, they really don't matter anymore.
Those who can, do. Those who can't, sue.
When offering Windows 8 Pro to business customers that were replacing old crotchety XP machines one customer said "we'll pay an extra $100 for Windows 7 if necessary. But, we don't want Windows 8". I'm not seeing much love for 8 from customers, even though I use it and like it.
Actually, all this report says is that US desktop and laptop sales are sluggish and that Windows 8 has done nothing to change that. In fact, the actual report, not linked to for some reason, states this: “After just four weeks on the market, it’s still early to place blame on Windows 8 for the ongoing weakness in the PC market.” It also states that slow back to school sales have increased inventory, which is hampering Windows 8 sales.
They also have a very strange definition of "four weeks on the market" as the period they're looking at is Oct 22, 2012 - Nov 14 2012... which includes 5 days prior to Windows 8 being released. With Microsoft selling about 1.5M licenses a day in these initial weeks, 5 days where sales are practically zero is a lot to include in the data.
While IE10 has indeed be made Windows 8 completely unsuitable for user web-browsing, the architectural choice of moving IE10 into the Windows 8 kernel has left a security hole of goatse.cx proportions.
Windows 8: where all Al Gore's Internet can root for success!
Get thee glass eyes, and, like a scurvy politician, seem to see things thou dost not.--King Lear
What are the new features, other than metro? It seemed just like a normal Windows 7 desktop (sans start button) to me, but I honestly haven't spent much time with it.
I was going to post some anecdotes demonstrating how little I care about Windows 8 but then I realized I just didn't care enough to.
There is no -1 Disagree mod. Slashdot.org/faq defines mod options. USE IT.
Steam on linux is going to start with valve engine games. It may eventually port most of its collection. But its more likely that NEW steam games will support linux, while the older ones are allowed to continue as windows/mac exclusive.
The new task manager is very nice. Windows 8 is a lot better at loading the proper drivers out of the box (didn't have to download a thing on the two systems I've done clean installs on), I like the way search is separated wrt. files, applications, and settings (though some don't like it). It's a bit snappier than 7. Picture-based login is nice in some cases. Easy to create custom install images. I thought I would miss Aero, but I actually prefer the flat colors (though some more customization would be nice). Better multi-monitor support. Expanded keyboard shortcuts (mainly for new UI elements). You don't have to pay an arm and a leg for Bitlocker. And I actually like the Ribbon on the file explorer, but YMM-definitely-V on that one.
Basically, if you ignore Metro, Windows 8 is 7 with a full-screen start menu and some refinements. The only thing that's missing is jump list on start screen icons, though they're still around on the taskbar.
If you can't convince them, convict them.
Only if you have Windows 8 Professional. Most new PCs sold come with Windows 8 Home, which does not provide downgrade rights.
The MacOS UI peaked in like '86 and hasn't changed since. Because they had sense enough to leave well enough alone. At a certain point, there's not much you can do to improve a mouse-screen-keyboard interface. The easiest interface to use is THE ONE YOU ALREADY KNOW.
Please do not read this sig. Thank you.
Ya, I don't really like Aero and the flat style in win8 looks fine to me, I like minimal UIs (I do like the Mac OS X style myself with no borders to windows).
However from what I see there's still some problems with using the "Metro" as a start menu. It doesn't have full access to all the programs and utilities, you have to open up a separate list, it's more like access to frequently used applications, things you may as well pin to task bar or put on desktop anyway (only advantage are phone-like live icons I won't use). Critical things are hidden or difficult to find, like a "run" menu or even the shutdown option. If you start IE10 from the desktop and also Metro you will have two separate browsers with separate pages and history and look, so you wont' want to use Metro as the "start menu" for IE10 if you want to use refer to it on the desktop.
You're also swapping between two different UI styles, this is sort of like someone coming up with a cute fullscreen hack on Windows 7 that you try for an hour before uninstalling. It's a goofy design decision, schizophrenic. Yes, I agree with you that you can learn to live with it. But that does not mean it's not an inconvenience and hindrance to the user.
I've looked at features of Start8 and RetroUI and those look like decent replacements. Boot to desktop, disable hotcorners, either similar style of start menu as windows 7 or an updated look if you want, etc. RetroUI even lets you put Metro style fullscreen apps inside a window (which I don't care about, but someone might). And only $5 (I haven't checked out open source replacements yet).
I agree with the OP. Windows 8 is actually very nice. What new features other than metro/modern ui? Well this may seem small, but i find it really useful. The new advanced menu, which you right click where the start menu corner is and it opens up a menu to go right to add/remove programs, disk management, event viewer, command prompt, command prompt (admin rights), run, task manager, device manager, system manager, search and more.
I find this very useful and it makes windows more enjoyable. If you also have win7 computers like I do, you will actually miss this menu in windows 7. Its that useful.
I find the new file explorer to be better, and the new copy process with the ability to pause and prioritize them is very nice. The new task manager is excellent. It now shows you what programs effect your start up performance and allows you to disable/enable tthem in the start menu rather than through the old msconfig ui. The resource usage info is much better in the task manager.
I REALLY like that the start menu is gone. It was redundant, and very slow to use. I never used to go to start menu to click "my documents" Why bother? I always Win+E to open the file explorer or launch it right off the taskbar icon to go to any folder I need. The start menu was just another icon on the taskbar that did not offer much functionality really.
Windows 8 forces you to get into the habit of pinning your most used applications to the taskbar. This is great. Its about time. And if you need to access other applications you can group and organize them really nicely on the new start menu. I find that people dont realize you can do this very easily.
I really like how fluid windows 8 is. The gui is so smooth. Its actually really nice how it pops in and out of full screen metro apps. If click the top left corner it toggles through all metro apps open including your desktop. If you quickly drag from the top left corner you can split screen your desktop with the metro app, then double click the divider line to toggle which has teh larger portion of the screen. If the desktop has the smaller portion, it then iconifies your oppened desktop windows on your desktop so that if you want to go right to one of them, you click on it specifically and it jumps right to it. This is hard to explain in text, but I promise you, it is very nice and very fluid. You can really see that MS was trying to make this work really well and it does. Its impressive because not only is it smooth, it actually does blend the full desktop os we're used to and touch based tablet apps we're used to on ipads etc. MS just needs to improve its store, and give app developers some time, but ultimately I think MS has successfully provided a seamless environment that delivers a full workstation OS with full screen tablet like app functionality when you want it and you can run the same os on tablets as you do your workstation. Some people feel its disjointed, but I really think they dont undrestand how to navigate windows 8 properly because MS does not do a good job of explaining how you're supposed to do it (unless you read the docs) and lets face it most dont.
I think the metro/modern ui is a good step, and it does not in anyway take away from the desktop because if you use windows 8 as it is designed, you're not jumping into the start menu very often. You're either in the desktop, or if you specifically need to be in the start menu for example if you're using a metro app, or using the extensive search features which i will talk about in a second. Most of the time, you're just not using the new start menu. You're using icons on your desktop taskbar, and the file explorer, and the new right click advanced menu. The start menu becomes this new modern ui that integrates very well into the desktop ui for touch devices, or at the very least a very pretty well organized start menu for icons you dont use as often (if you dont use modern ui apps)
The new search features are incredible because it searches EVERYTHING. Want to search netflix for that m
I was forced to due to a laptop failure - what a pile of crap. 2 days later, I still can't browse the internet (I can ping the sites but IE10 refuses to load anything - and yes, I know I can transfer FF over at any time via USB, I just want to see how long it'll take to load getfirefox.com lol). I also can't search, it either brings up everything or nothing.
Just waiting on a free key to upgrade to Windows 7
I don't think this is quite correct. Win8 isn't single-handedly tanking the entire PC market; it's helping keep it depressed, sure, but it's not the only factor. There's two more factors:
1) mobile devices, including iPads. Lots of people just want to read and write vapid comments on Facebook all day long, and iPads are much smaller and more convenient than laptops (or desktops) for doing this.
2) the lack of progress in hardware and software overall. PCs really aren't significantly faster now than they were 5 or more years ago. It's not like the late 90s when everything was doubling in speed or size every 12-18 months; everything's hit a wall. Mfgrs are more worried now about energy efficiency than speed. A brand-new computer will not seem any faster, running a web browser, spreadsheet, etc. than a 5-year-old PC. As a result, people just aren't upgrading any more, unless their software requires it. Of course, this might not apply to certain applications (namely high-end games), but those are a small fraction of the market. There's tons of people now chugging along just fine with 10-year-old PCs running XP.
and of course 3) the economy sucks and tons of people are out of work.
XP showed that people were happy keeping on OS for a very long time on their machines.
Windows 7 is working for a lot of people who are using it. They've got no real motivation as the home user to switch. It's still new, and most of them probably expect they could get the life of their machine out of it.
Windows 8 will be the skip version then Microsoft will come to their senses and gives us another regular version of windows next.