Comment by powertower | Hacker News Reader

Comment by powertower | Hacker News Reader

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I'll tell you why this OS will be the biggest Microsoft success ever...

Most consumers can be clueless, attention deficient, instant-gratification seeking, work/knowledge averse ... or can just want something simple.

A lot don't even understand the concept of the file-system (let alone the other 95% of Windows).

A lot can't even download a picture from a camera's memory card and place it into the proper folder after you show them how to do it 12 times over 3 months.

And most can't be expected to do anything that requires more than 1 or 2 easy steps (whether they can but don't want to, or just can't).

Metro re-invents the way the average consumer experiences and works with Windows to the point that even the village idiot could do something useful with this OS.

Why do you think the iPad was such a success, and where do you think 95% of its users are coming from?! The dusty PC running Windows.

With Metor, Microsoft will keep dominating the home desktop market (as they do now), prevent the outflow of users, and introduce themself in a very serious way in the tablet and phone market.

I actually think W8 is ultimately going to be a disaster for Microsoft because it's so consumer-focused.

Microsoft has been a juggernaut for the past decade because of the enterprise. Part of the reason for this are technologies like Active Directory and Exchange built on top on the Windows stack. Another big part of it are enterprise applications that are also built on top of that stack.

Windows RT (aka Windows on ARM) doesn't support AD management. It's instead employing a self-service style portal that's meant to address bring-your-own-device situations rather than corporate device management.

Additionally, Windows RT will only run applications written targeting Windows Runtime; traditional W32 apps aren't supported.

So here's the thing: from a corporate IT perspective, what does Windows 8 give me that other devices like iPads or Android tablets don't if I'm going to give up full device management, especially if I'm trying to address the BYOD problem? (And from a corporate IT perspective, wanting to run line of business apps on iPads etc is probably the most frequent request I hear from end users).

From an ISV perspective, if I'm rewriting my app to target a new platform anyway, why not just go ahead and move as much as you can server side, present the UI as a webapp, and then be able to support all these non-Windows devices that users are clamoring for anyway?

W8 really feels like Microsoft painting themselves into a corner by chasing the consumer market while doing a poor job of addressing the market that's made the company what it is to date.

Windows RT is just for dedicated tablets. It's for iPad competitors, basically.

Proper PCs will continue to use Windows 8 for x86, which will still have Active Directory, etc.

>Windows RT is basically just for dedicated tablets. It's for iPad competitors, basically.

i.e., the exact devices that users want software support for.

So as an ISV, do you rewrite to target Windows RT tablets or just go web app and target all tablets? You'll have to do some level of rewrite either way.

As an IT department, if you're going to give up device management to support tablets, is it preferable to be tied down to Windows-based tablets or does it make more sense to choose a solution that works on any tablet and be done with it?

That's the problem I see Microsoft facing. Sure, W8 x86 still works like before, but the tablet market is a new space where there's definite user demand and Microsoft just doesn't seem to have a good answer to it.

Why exactly do you think it's easier to use when it's so different from theyre used to?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v4boTbv9_nU

the final version will include some self-learning demo/video upon initial startup. so users will hopefully be less clueless than the video here. i think the battle is more with whether microsoft can convince users to upgrade/buy. most people do not like big change unless you prove them how the chance is for the better.

Right, because everyone watches those videos.

That video does almost nothing to show windows 8 is less easy to use. All this takes is to say 'go to the bottom left'. Windows 8 is not littered with things like this.

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