video Videos of Average people using Windows 8 for the first time.

[BajiRav]

Sure, a spelling lesson could be helpful, because I thought Apple was written "Apple", not "Microsoft". My bad.

Of course, if they?re a serious company and they want to gain business market share, they WILL include some kind of tutorials and help files. They would be crazy not to do so. But it has nothing to do with Microsoft?s. I?ve played a lot with Microsoft?s documentation last summer at my job and I wanted to shoot myself. Every time I want to learn something about an Apple product, even the most advanced features, it?s always a breeze. Out of the box, you CAN take any Apple product, turn it on, and mess around with it. Not so true with a Microsoft product.

I am sure you have heard of sarcasm?

Rest of your post is kind of pointless. Usability of any product is part subjective and your experience with MS/Apple lands firmly on the subjective side. I may be wrong but sounds like you are comparing enterprise/dev documentation with Apple consumer products? If yes, that's truly fair comparison - right?

[PyX]

Rest of your post is kind of pointless. Usability of any product is part subjective and your experience with MS/Apple lands firmly on the subjective side. I may be wrong but sounds like you are comparing enterprise/dev documentation with Apple consumer products? If yes, that's truly fair comparison - right?

I used all versions of Windows from 6 to 18 years old in my life and when my dad bought a Mac at 18, I tried it and it?s like I had been on that platform forever. Everything was so unbelievably intuitive that I needed to buy one. I?ve been on that platform since the last 5 years and never looked back, partly because we don?t need any manual to get how it works.

This is not just a personal experience. It?s been reproduced over and over around me during the last few years.

[jesseinsf]

This is not a "beta", it's apparently equivalent to an "RC" which means it's a build which Microsoft considers to be equal to a final release (apart from the apps), I think they're equivalent to mad if they think this is releasable.

Well the release Candidate is rumored to be released in late may/ early June. So I guess you are wrong again.

[ThePitt]

this is weird. Really, to me at least. Today I made my mom (60) to test windows 8 beta/whatever and I was prepared to take a good laugh. Instead and to my surprise she feels like that interface was made for her. In not time, and again to my surprise, she manage the way to switch applications and go to the 'new' start menu, which this metro interface placed her so much. In no time she open the video icon and manage the way to watch the trailer of The girl with the dragon tattoo (movie that she want to watch). And then like 'magic' she manage the way to signup to her hotmail account and then read her favorite news paper, switching between applicacions like no one I had seen. ****ed off I made her to shutdown the computer, and it takes her awhile until she saw the shortcut I made on metro. Finally she said "I need 100 hours more to dominate this OS but with the time I will get used to use it". My jaw hit the ground. She feel like a fish in the water. To be fair, she only uses her computer to do that, I mean, check her mail, use facebook, read the newspaper and nothing more complex than that. Seem like this OS is pointed to that kind of ppl. Not to 'us'.

[Stoffel]

this is weird. Really, to me at least. Today I made my mom (60) to test windows 8 beta/whatever and I was prepared to take a good laugh. Instead and to my surprise she feels like that interface was made for her. In not time, and again to my surprise, she manage the way to switch applications and go to the 'new' start menu, which this metro interface placed her so much. In no time she open the video icon and manage the way to watch the trailer of The girl with the dragon tattoo (movie that she want to watch). And then like 'magic' she manage the way to signup to her hotmail account and then read her favorite news paper, switching between applicacions like no one I had seen. ****ed off I made her to shutdown the computer, and it takes her awhile until she saw the shortcut I made on metro. Finally she said "I need 100 hours more to dominate this OS but with the time I will get used to use it". My jaw hit the ground. She feel like a fish in the water. To be fair, she only uses her computer to do that, I mean, check her mail, use facebook, read the newspaper and nothing more complex than that. Seem like this OS is pointed to that kind of ppl. Not to 'us'.

This is what I've been saying the whole time. It is an easier interface for the average user, and give them a little time and they will love metro.

If it's good for power users depends apparently on the fact if you can live with the start screen or not.

[Dot Matrix]

Ok, here goes. I gave my Windows 8 laptop to my mom this past weekend to see if I can't duplicate these videos. Long story short - I couldn't. At least not exactly.

My mom has been a Windows user since our family has owned a computer, however is no computer expert. Her first impression was that "It looks like your phone". She's right on that. She immediately found the desktop tile and went right to it. She poked around a bit there clicking my icons, and when she was done, went down for the start button, unfazed, she found it, and clicked back into start. She didn't even ask as to why it's hidden or why it changed, she just instinctively threw the mouse down to the corner and up popped the button.

The Start Screen didn't really freak her out either, all though she had asked me why the tiles were going off screen. I told her it's supposed to scroll, and that's when she saw the scrollbar at the bottom of the screen. Funny thing happened though, she accidentally triggered the charms bar when her mouse reached the edge of the screen, but she moved the mouse away from the edge before the bar could fully show itself.

She then decided to explore the weather app, she LOVED this app, and couldn't get enough of it, but then she got stuck trying to close it, in an attempt to find a way out, she did find the the start button is still there and clicked on it.

We ran short on time, so she handed my computer back to me and told me she was impressed with how much faster it ran than her Windows 7. However she told me she didn't see anything really "special" with the new layout.

Needless to say I didn't get time to show her the charms bar or the hot corners, but at the same time, she never really felt lost, confused, or threatened to switch to a Mac. These people in the videos have me wondering if they are genuine or not, any long time Windows user is going to have an instinct that's going to tell them where the start button is, and even though it's hidden, it's still there and it doesn't take much to activate.

[BajiRav]

..

Nice :) As I thought normal people will be alrigh but as we know, the most vocal critics are almost always "power users" and apparently "power users" don't like change.

[FMH]

I think people like these also have a problem with iOS devices, such as iPhone. They are clueless about a lot of things. But after a few short lessons, they're good to go. Personal experience.

And doesn't Steve Jobs' also gave an interface demonstration for all the products release, to one of the most techiest group?

iOS seems so intuitive to most people because they have been seeing it, and using it for a long time.

And these people, and whole a lot of other people also, had to learn to use Windows XP, and Windows 7 too. Even Windows 7 strikingly different interface confused some of the XP users.

And similarly, a fully Mac user would be confused by Windows, and also vice versa.

But I think people would be a lot more 'aware' after some help, and billions of dollars of marketing. Remember, some initial reviews of the original iPhone called the interface, complex to use. That's the tech blogs I'm talking about! Now look where we are!

( Having said that, give these people a Sense UI tablet and they would faint dead. :p )

[BoyBoppins]

I gave my Windows 8 laptop to my dad to use and quickly showed him the corners of the screen and what they do in about a minute. After that he was fine and actually liked Windows 8 saying "Its easier than Windows 7 that you put on my computer."

(I dual booted his tablet but he stays with XP since he knows that and it has all his doctor programs on it that he needs for work already. Its just slow.)

My point is with a minute of somebody showing you how to use Windows 8, its pretty simple. Just point out the corners and the use of right clicking and scrolling and they catch on. My dad is far from computer savvy too.