DevilsPGD wrote:

In the last episode of , Stef
said:

Came across this little blurb. chuckle, chuckle

http://www.theverge.com/2014/2/28/54...ing-experiment

What a joke as a marketing ploy. When half your customers don't like
the product, giving it away won't change that consensus. MS has
already reduced licensing frees with little or no tangible results.

MS is in denial. It needs to get its head out of the sand, and give
their desktop customers what they want: A true desktop, mouse and
keyboard version.

It would also be nice if it ran on users' current hardware and
a totally new system purchase wasn't necessary. But perhaps, I'm
dreaming, and asking too much. This IS Windows after all.

That's pretty much what Windows 8.1 is; the polish it has over Windows 8
is primarily to enable desktop users. It runs surprisingly well on
low-resource systems, new hardware is far from needed if your hardware
could handle any moderately recent version of Windows.

Even so, 8 or 8.1 are really designed to run on a tablet. No keyboard.
No mouse. It takes third-party utilities to turn either into a
traditional desktop which is what the majority of Windows users want.
Why MS is responding so slowly to that is anybody's guess. My guess is
MS wants "in" on the big profits of the tablet market, and are trying to
force users in that direction. It matters not that 90% of the Windows
users out there use desktops whether it is a box under the desk or a
laptop. It's what they need. Why can't MS admit that? Pride?

I have no complaints about the OS itself. It's the GUI that's the
"problem." And MS' stubborn arrogance.

Moderately recent hardware? I'll assume that means a W7 machine.
How many XP users out there with hardware that is 5 or more years old?
Millions! W8/8.1 won't run on it. Many businesses in that group. Would
cost millions to upgrade: new hardware, new apps, retraining, etc.
Business can't afford that right now. Neither can the average user.

Let's face it: Microsoft dropped the ball with W8. Of course, it's not
the first time. Remember Vista?

Stef