Why Apple Enthusiasts Are Wrong About Windows 8

[ATLien_0]

my god we have only seen a few demos and articles like this are already appearing, and this is only the beginning. Is it wrong for software companies to take risks these days?

What did people say before the iphone or ipad came out? Apple took a big risk with those. Most people talked about people not needing the iphone or the interface was too simple, OR with the ipad. Microsoft is trying to change up the UI direction, and Im sure they have sufficient research to back this up.

Microsoft is taking a risk, yes, but there is a reason, and its the evolving UI direction.

[Teebor]

All of these are not ready for prime time. Intel's processor are just not as power efficient as arm. But next year Intel, AMD are going have processors that close the chasm. Right now nobody is succeeding except for Apple in the tablet space. Sales of the both the playbook and android based tablets have been very disappointing.

I agree and yet some tablets like the Asus transformer are selling out in some areas of the market. So it might be more the products rather then the demand for them.

The truth is that nobody wants tablets, but they want something just to be cool... and i call them loser (or emos).

Thats a rather broad sweeping statement, personally the reason I'm getting a tablet is because it will be massively beneficial for my studying. Reading ebooks and watching videos primarily which I can only currently do on my Laptop which is just too big and bulky and is starting to irritate me having to carry it around. I might be alone in this thinking but I'm guessing I'm not.

[Melfster]

I agree and yet some tablets like the Asus transformer are selling out in some areas of the market. So it might be more the products rather then the demand for them.

You could say the say the same thing about windows 7 tablets Hp had to make more because they didn't build enough but the reality is Android based tablets are not taking off in any sizable numbers. Just look at the ****ty software for android tablets at the android market place.

[qdave]

who cares what apple enthusiasts think :/

[FMH]

This is a good read by Ed Bott about Windows 8

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/yes-the-gigantic-enormous-windows-really-can-run-on-a-tablet/3422?tag=content;feature-roto

[SuperKid]

I wouldn't say that I would say that ....Windows is definitively going to make windows phone 7 sales higher because it is familiar user interface. My guess is Windows 8 sales going dwarf android, ios, and os x.

I agree, with an interface they have shown I would DEFINATLY get a Windows 8 tablet, it looks brilliant!

[DukeEsquire]

who cares what apple enthusiasts think :/

Wall Street.

[.Neo]

At Macworld, Jason Snell argues that this is a risky approach. If the iPad ran Mac apps, he says, developers probably wouldn't have bothered creating all-new apps for the touch screen. I'm not convinced that the same will be true for Windows 8, with its huge potential customer base. There will be demand for touch-based apps simply because of how many people are already using Windows. And besides, Microsoft has proven willing to grow its app ecosystem by paying developers.

This train of thought is quite sensible. I mean even today many third-party developers don't seem to care much about providing a consistent interface on Windows, so why would they in the future? Every application on Windows 8 now requires two vastly different interfaces in order to look good on both sides. It's not so much than I'm doubting Microsoft in this particular area, I just have little faith in many third-party developers. Personally I think you'll end up with a tablet that has relatively seen few applications that are actually optimized for touch input.

[Melfster]

This train of thought is quite sensible. I mean even today many third-party developers don't seem to care much about providing a consistent interface on Windows, so why would they in the future? Every application on Windows 8 now requires two vastly different interfaces in order to look good on both sides. It's not so much than I'm doubting Microsoft in this particular area, I just have little faith in many third-party developers.

If you watched the videos you will notice a tile called store. Believe me, software devs are going to want to get into that store and Microsoft is going to make them jump through hoops to get there.

[+DonC Subscriber²]

They are right, past and present shows that no one wants a Windows tablet/slate. Win8 with wp7 tiles won't change this attitude in the future.

They have used Windows tablets at my work for years in hazardous environments. It's not a high-volume market, but they're very much appreciated.

I hope that Microsoft's efforts with touch interfaces won't adversely affect the stylus based ones.

[x-byte]

This is a good read by Ed Bott about Windows 8

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/bott/yes-the-gigantic-enormous-windows-really-can-run-on-a-tablet/3422?tag=content;feature-roto

Finally someone who can write about the facts and does some extra research. Not the crap that the OP and MacWorld does, attacking each others fan-base.

[jakem1]

This train of thought is quite sensible. I mean even today many third-party developers don't seem to care much about providing a consistent interface on Windows, so why would they in the future? Every application on Windows 8 now requires two vastly different interfaces in order to look good on both sides. It's not so much than I'm doubting Microsoft in this particular area, I just have little faith in many third-party developers. Personally I think you'll end up with a tablet that has relatively seen few applications that are actually optimized for touch input.

I wouldn't be so sure about that. Take a look at the apps that are available for WP7 and you'll see that in general they fit in well with the OS and are well optimised for touch. Microsoft have provided the tools, the controls and the guidance that developers need and they in turn are producing high quality apps that are easy and a pleasure to use. There's no reason why the same can't happen for the Windows 8.

[BajiRav]

This train of thought is quite sensible. I mean even today many third-party developers don't seem to care much about providing a consistent interface on Windows, so why would they in the future? Every application on Windows 8 now requires two vastly different interfaces in order to look good on both sides. It's not so much than I'm doubting Microsoft in this particular area, I just have little faith in many third-party developers. Personally I think you'll end up with a tablet that has relatively seen few applications that are actually optimized for touch input.

that hasn't stopped apps on iOS looking all different from each other, have they? Compare Kindle to iTS to AppStore to Weather to Amazon.com app to Twitter to Facebook to iBooks to Maps.

[neufuse Veteran]

throw everything out and start a new os? oh kinda like how apple did with iOS? which is just OSX stripped down?...... :rolleyes:

[NEVER85]

I must admit. I am a lifelong Windows user but own a chromebook, iPad, iPhone, and Android phone, and LOVE certain things about each, but after seeing Windows 8 this week, I was VERY turned off by it, to the point I told my wife we are now moving to a Mac...But now the more I think about it, and of course we are in very early stages, I really think its a very smart way they are doing it. Best of both worlds type thing. You can appeal to the people that want the tablet/mobile interface, and also to the users who want the standard windows 7 interface. I think its perfect. The problem is, programmers are going to have to make applications in both and that is the problem. I do however HATE the windows phone 7 interface

Even if you hated the early stages of Win8's UI, there would've been nothing stopping you from staying on Win7.

[George P Global Moderator]

The fact is, as far as apps go, start screen specific apps just have to be a nice clean full screen finger friendly UI. I mean it's not that complicated, and in the end you can have one app with 2 UIs, i'd hate to think the UI is the hardest part of building the app. The thing is that Win8 will give you the ability to use both types of apps, it doesn't mean a dev has to build an app for touch and have it in the start screen, if the app doesn't support that it'll just load to the desktop like how they showed Office 2010 do.

Now all people with tablets need is a, in most cases, wireless KB+mouse or some sorta dock ( and you know the hardware makers will love to sell you this stuff) and they can use those apps which will more or less fall into the "work" catagory in the end. Either way apps will have to get a new touch UI, devs will want to target tablets etc so new UI's will be made for existing Windows apps with time.

This is just my guess at this time but if we end up with apps that have a dual UI of their own then we could very well see a basic for touch and a advanced UI for kb+mouse etc. The best of both that only a full OS could give you really. Even big apps like say, photoshop for example, could have a basic version for touch that lets people do some simple things to photos and then jump into an advanced desktop UI to do more complicated editing with a mouse. I think this is the way apps will go in the future with Win8 and the next version after it.