Ballmer forced out after $900M Surface RT debacle

[Dutchie64]

Booting to desktop is huge IMO, particularly in the enterprise.

 

More granular Snap views and MS demonstrating how to design better Modern UI apps and their snap views will make working with Modern UI apps alongside the desktop much more pleasant and productive?

 

Those are just two, I haven't spent that much time with 8.1, I'm sure there's going to be more. Oh, all the in-app searches removing all that full-screen search. And unified search results.

 

It won't "interact" with the desktop, but it will play better with it. There's only a few major annoyances in which the Modern UI interrupts the desktop experience and I think they have them covered.

 

Ever heared of Novell's NAL? We were booting into a screen of icons years ago. And yes, like W8 the desktop was there too....

 

I still don't understand all the fuzz around the startscreen. Most people hardly knew how to handle the StartMenu anyway. It's an improvement for most people as I see it.

[technord]

WAIT...WHAT...

 

People on Neowin DON'T think RT is great?  That's weird, since every time I make a post arguing the cons of RT I get flamed?

 

Funny how people change their tune isn't it

 

Hopefully the new CEO will understand the market in 2013/2014 and develop a 'from the ground up' Tablet OS

 

anyone who thinks RT is a ground up tablet OS, hasn't a clue about tablet computing.  You don't have C:\WINDOWS\WindowsUpdate.log on a tablet OS, or DISM lol

[fusi0n]

Yes, if you had a monster of a machine, Vista Ran GREAT.. 

 

However, most OEMs didn't invest much in the hardware to really support Windows Vista, they had very early access to the  builds of the OS, but still ignored the reality that Vista runs like **** unless you beef of the ram.. 

 

But, a lot like the President of a Country, if something fails, it all comes back to you. (I know this can go a little off, so don't take it 100%, point for point, literal and bash me unless you want to buy me a beer)

 

Windows RT, a fan or not Failure

Windows 8, A LOT of BAD PR, struggling in the corporate world 

Windows Phone, a fan or not, struggling

 

Yes, Microsoft is making great profits, but the company has put out a lot of let just say "unfinished" products.. 

 

The Xbox 360, YES A HUGE SUCCESS.. but there are a lot of flack over the RROD.. A LOT of customers were affected by this..

 

Myself, I am looking forward to seeing the future of Microsoft.. Steve Ballmer, A GREAT SALESMAN and a wonderful person that really helped the company to get where it is today. He just doesn't make a good CEO.. 

 

Microsoft has a company, while doing good, but be doing A LOT better.. They have the drive, motivation, money, to really make better products.. 

[Darrian]

Booting to desktop is huge IMO, particularly in the enterprise.

 

More granular Snap views and MS demonstrating how to design better Modern UI apps and their snap views will make working with Modern UI apps alongside the desktop much more pleasant and productive?

 

Those are just two, I haven't spent that much time with 8.1, I'm sure there's going to be more. Oh, all the in-app searches removing all that full-screen search. And unified search results.

 

It won't "interact" with the desktop, but it will play better with it. There's only a few major annoyances in which the Modern UI interrupts the desktop experience and I think they have them covered.

Booting to desktop is nice, and the new snap views are fantastic, but the snap views are a modern ui feature, I already have boot to desktop with Start8, and I probably won't use the snap views much unless I'm playing primarily with modern ui apps because I usually run them windowed with modernmix.

[Gotenks98]

I too ran vista on more than the minimum specs and it ran just fine. What killed vista was the OEMs not Microsoft. Those OEMs know they were wrong for putting it on systems that could barely run Windows 2000 let alone vista. The other issue was drivers. Once other drivers came out it really ran well. As far as the surface rt thing. It was stupid to begin with. People want to run their old apps as wells as this tile world stuff. RT is ok for the phone but not the tablet. Where the surface pro fails is that it needs beefier hardware. The other tablets that are out are much better. At my place of employment we have a certain minimum spec for student computers and the surface pro does not meet these.

[MorganX]

Booting to desktop is nice, and the new snap views are fantastic, but the snap views are a modern ui feature, I already have boot to desktop with Start8, and I probably won't use the snap views much unless I'm playing primarily with modern ui apps because I usually run them windowed with modernmix.

 

Well you will be able to drop those add-ons. This is critical in enterprise environments as we don't use add-ons for basic functionality deployed to thousands of users.

 

There are Modern UI apps that are useful. It's biggest usefulness, IMO, is consumption, dashboard type apps which has value especially with well thought out Snap Views. We're becoming more and more a dual monitor environment for normal users and that suits a Desktop/Modern mix well. It's just going to take a while.

 

I know for us, Lync in snapped view is a must and quite loved. I would like to see apps be a bit smarter. If it "has" to expand a 1/4 snap to 3/4 or full, it should be smart enough to snap back when you leave that function. Not a big deal but something Microsoft should include in their design guide.

 

Package Tracker is great snapped especially if you send and receive a lot, and of course Remote App/Desktop. It's great as well how Remote Apps automatically pin to your Start Page. Modern UI has a lot going for it, a lot. Initial RTM and execution was just poor, too poor. But it's definitely still breathing with a big upside. MS didn't do they're homework before RTM but they're going to summer school now to catch up.

[Dick Montage]

You don't have C:\WINDOWS\WindowsUpdate.log on a tablet OS, or DISM lol

 

Basing your argument on filesystem.

 

#FAIL

 

And stop playing such a victim just because you flame RT and people disagree with you!

[Darrian]

Well you will be able to drop those add-ons. This is critical in enterprise environments as we don't use add-ons for basic functionality deployed to thousands of users.

 

There are Modern UI apps that are useful. It's biggest usefulness, IMO, is consumption, dashboard type apps which has value especially with well thought out Snap Views. We're becoming more and more a dual monitor environment for normal users and that suits a Desktop/Modern mix well. It's just going to take a while.

 

I know for us, Lync in snapped view is a must and quite loved. I would like to see apps be a bit smarter. If it "has" to expand a 1/4 snap to 3/4 or full, it should be smart enough to snap back when you leave that function. Not a big deal but something Microsoft should include in their design guide.

 

Package Tracker is great snapped especially if you send and receive a lot, and of course Remote App/Desktop. It's great as well how Remote Apps automatically pin to your Start Page. Modern UI has a lot going for it, a lot. Initial RTM and execution was just poor, too poor. But it's definitely still breathing with a big upside. MS didn't do they're homework before RTM but they're going to summer school now to catch up.

I may drop Start8, but I probably won't drop modernmix.  And honestly, I like having the start menu back, it's generally faster when I'm only using a mouse.

[MorganX]

Well, Sinfosky did co-write a book, with Marco Iansiti. http://www.amazon.com/One-Strategy-Organization-Planning-Decision/dp/0470560452

If he was back then anything like people have described him, he probably "reimagined" co-authoring and wrote the entire book himself, in one long blog post.

 

lol, I didn't say he couldn't write a book, I said I won't read a book written by him. He was giving speeches on developing and shipping a product on time after he left Microsoft. He shipped on time, I suppose, then I look at the state of Windows 8 RTM and this is not a guy I would listen to, at all.

[PGHammer]

people may have there difference of opinion when it comes to the products put out, they sell reasonably well, some sell incredibly well. 

 

For me Steve Ballmer had to go for basically making Microsoft one giant internal fight. Each team fought the other, each team convinced they were better than the other, it's the reason why Office is not as touch friendly as it could be on Windows 8. 

 

Ballmers job was to bring the company into one whole, a company where all of it's products and services would flow together into a tight integrated stack. Why is the integration of Skydrive only happening now in Windows 8 it should have been there ages ago in Windows 7.

 

we all know that Microsoft has some incredibly talented people, instead of bringing them together to face the competition from apple and Google all he done was bring i stacking and make Microsoft fight itself while Google and Apple move ahead. 

And if a Windows OS "only" sells reasonably well, it's branded a failure by its critics.

 

Vista did in fact sell reasonably well (outside of OEM/System Builder, it sold better than XP); if anything, XP's sales were padded by the overlong overhang (the longest of any NT-based OS to date).

 

As even the critics admit, Windows 8's takeup is identical to that of 7, if not slightly higher (in terms of upgrades).  And this is during the weakest economic recovery ever (and said recovery started AFTER Windows 8's launch).

 

RT?  It has five percent of the tablet market - from a standing start.  (Again, in the teeth of a sour economy, tepid recovery, and competition from established Android and iOS.)

 

Any other operating system would LOVE to have the percentage sales gains of Windows 8 and RT; the only reason Android has been able to beat back the combined 8/RT assault is due to it having lower requirements AND being cheaper for OEMs to deploy.  (That is, in fact, something that Apple has been unable to counter - iPad sales since RT's launch are, in fact, down; that would also indicate that the majority of RT's marketshare is coming at Apple's - and the iPad's - expense.)

 

Sounds like those unreasonable expectations of Microsoft have once again reared their head.

[Dolan]

Worst CEO ever!