Microsoft’s newwindows 8 baffles some advance users
NEWYORK— The release ofMicrosoft’sWindows 8 operating system is less than aweek away, and consumers are in for a shock. Windows, used in one form or another for a generation, is getting a completely different look thatwill force users to learn newways to get things done.
Microsoft is making a radical break with the past to stay relevant in aworld where smartphones and tablets have eroded the three- decade dominance of the personal computer. Windows 8 is supposed to tie togetherMicrosoft’s PC, tablet and phone software with one look. But judging by the reactions of some peoplewho have tried the PC version, it’s a move that risks confusing and alienating customers.
Tony Roos, an American missionary in Paris, installed a free preview version ofWindows 8 on his aging laptop to see if Microsoft’s newoperating systemwould make the PC faster and more responsive. It didn’t, he said, and he quickly learned thatworking with the new software requires tossing out a lot ofwhat he knows aboutWindows.
“Itwas very difficult to get used to,” he said. “I have an 8- year- old and a 10- year- old, and they never got used to it. They were like, ‘ We’re just going to useMom’s computer.’ ”
Windows 8 is the biggest revision ofMicrosoft Corp.’ s operating system since it introduced Windows 95 amid great fanfare 17 years ago. Ultimately, Windows grew into a $ 14 billion a year business and helped make former Chief Executive Bill Gates the richestman in theworld for a time. Now, due to smartphones and tablets, the personal computer industry is slumping.
Computer companies are desperate for something thatwill get sales growing again. PC sales are expected to shrink this year for the first time since 2001, according to IHS iSuppli, a market research firm.
The question iswhether the newversion, which can be run on tablets and smartphones, along with the traditional PC, can satisfy the needs of both types of users.
“I am veryworried thatMicrosoft may be about to shoot itself in the foot spectacularly,” said Michael Mace, the CEO of Silicon Valley software startup Cera Technology and a former Apple employee. Windows 8 is so different, he said, that manyWindows userswho aren’t technophiles will feel lost, he said.
Microsoft is releasing Windows 8 on Friday and it doesn’t plan to cushion the impact. Computer companies will make Windows 8 standard on practically all PCs that are sold to consumers.
Speaking toWall Street analysts on Thursday, Microsoft’s chief financial officer, Peter Klein, said he isn’t very concerned that user confusion could slow the adoption ofWindows 8. WhenMicrosoft introduces newfeatures, he said, people eventually realize that “those innovations have deliveredway more value, waymore productivity andway better usability.” That’s going to be true ofWindows 8 too, he said.
Not everyonewho has triedWindows 8 agrees with the critics.
Sheldon Skaggs, aWeb developer in Charlotte, N. C., thought hewas going to hateWindows 8, but he needed to do something to speed up his 5- year- old laptop. So he installed the newsoftware.
“After a bit of a learning curve and playing around with it a bit more, you get used to it, surprisingly,” he said.
The computer now boots up faster than it did withWindows Vista, he said.
Colin Gillis, an analyst at BGC Financial, is optimistic aboutWindows 8, pointing out that it’s snappy and runswell on PCswith limited processing power, making it suited for compact, tablet- style machines. But he also noted that throughMicrosoft’s history, roughly every other operating- system release has been a letdown.