“With Windows 8, Microsoft’s marketing and engineering teams were clearly asleep at the wheel. They didn’t listen to what the public really wanted — or needed for that matter — and deluded themselves into believing that the tiled interfaces of the failed Zune music players and the stagnant Windows Phone platform would somehow succeed in a traditional personal computing environment,” Gene Steinberg writes for The Tech Night Owl.
“While there are significant changes in Yosemite, Apple’s designers and engineers understood that Mac users want Macs, not warmed over iOS gear. But that doesn’t mean Apple didn’t make significant changes to accommodate the fact that most Mac users are probably using iPhones, iPads or both. They rely on these tools for different functions, but need to seamlessly move from one device to another with as little delay or relearning as possible… customers want familiar environments where things just work,” Steinberg writes. “The Continuity features of OS X Yosemite and iOS 8 recognize the fact that someone may begin such tasks as writing email or Pages documents on a Mac and, for whatever reason, need to continue those tasks when they are on the road or at the office, where the iPhone and iPad are at hand. Being able to pass on these functions is critical.”
“For years, Microsoft had a dream of putting Windows everywhere, rather than consider what customers want or need. That explains the Windows 8 and Windows Phone disasters. For Windows 9, it’s reported that Microsoft will set default environments, the interface formerly known as Metro on convertible PCs and tablets, and a Windows-style desktop interface on regular PCs,” Steinberg writes. “That decision, if implemented, will simply confuse customers even more than they are confused now.”
Read more in the full article here.
Related articles:
Beleaguered Microsoft’s Windows 8’s uptake falls again, now slower than Vista flop – August 4, 2014
Apple’s Q314: Surging Mac defies a shrinking Windows PC market – July 24, 2014
More good news for Apple: Microsoft previews Windows 8 (with video) – June 1, 2011
Windows 8 everywhere solves Microsoft’s problems, not the consumer’s.
…what about ‘Windows nowhere’.
Much. much better!
that is where i want to go today !-)
The difference between Apple and Microsoft is that Apple respects (and values) its customers. Apple gives iOS device owners the best possible interface for mobile devices, and desktop/laptop computer users the best possible interface (and Apple TV customers the best possible interface). The optimal interface for each type of computing device.
Microsoft’s approach is to shove ONE interface on all customers. And when they complain about it, Microsoft says “just shove it,” because we know better… For example, with Windows 8.1, Microsoft supposedly “listened to customers” and put the Start button back into the “desktop” (non-touch) interface. But when the customers click it, they are sent back to the “tile” (touch) interface. That’s plain disrespect for customers…
The AppleTV interface is not the best possible. It’s not very good.
Could be improved (as with any UI), but it’s years ahead of comcast or Verizon FiOS’ UIs
If that’s ONLY issue you have with my post, I’m quite happy. 🙂
There were engineering teams that worked on Win8? Coulda fooled me. I think it was just marketing people.
I remember following the Developer Blog on MS’s own website and there was one trending question set among Windows 8 Beta users:
Can I opt out of the Metro interface and use the desktop as my default screen?
When people who bother to download your beta, install it and run it on their hardware repeatedly ask you for a way to ignore your main new feature set one would think a change in direction would be in order. Microsoft, arrogant to the bitter end, ignored the feedback from their very own user base testing the beta.
Browbeating customers into Borg-like submission on something obviously bad is not a good marketing ploy. And this is an all too common Microsoft ploy followed by betrayal, withdrawal and abandonment. Any wonder they are not exactly beloved?
“We are the Borg. Your biological and technological distinctiveness will be added to our own. Resistance is futile.”
This is because they could get away with it for so long. When they were (wrongly) perceived as the only game in town, Microsoft could make their OS look and behave any way they liked. What were their customers going to do, not use Windows?
Times have changed, but Microsoft still behaves as if their customers are trapped and have nowhere else to go.
——RM
Other choices are an anathema to Microsoft. Everything they seem to do is more of a disincentive than an incentive. A turn-off instead of turn-on. A self-destructive situation but then Microsoft was never known for any special insight nor creating consumer delight & lust. They are the Gulag of the computing world.
Windows in any form is the Winchester Mystery House of OS’s.
Winchester House has better construction … utility not so much.
With mystery code leading nowhere. 🙂
There are ten thousand windows in the Winchester Mystery House
only there the view is much better than through mikeysloth windoze
I left Microshaft’s products over 2 decades ago and never looked back. Their software was crap then, and still is crap.
“VISTA” anyone????
“That decision, if implemented, will simply confuse customers even more than they are confused now.” Those using Windows past, present or future should be well versed in the art of confusion. Steinberg writes about confusion like it’s a bad thing. When you are a Windows user it is the common thing!
People from the dark northwest use their windows to peer out towards the bright horizons.
Microsoft = Windows.
Apple = Bright Horizons.