Microsoft had high hopes for Windows 8, but those expectations haven’t quite panned out as planned. As of September, according to NetMarketShare.com statistics, Windows 8/8.1 only had a combined total of 12.26 percent, considerably less than twelve-year-old Windows XP (which garnered 23.87 percent) and far less than its immediate predecessor, Windows 7, which still has more than half of the desktop market share (52.71 percent). This is despite the fact that Windows 8 has been available for almost two years at the time of this writing.
In addition, a large proportion of those machines that are running Windows 8 and 8.1 are consumers’ computers that were bought this past year with the new version of Windows already installed. The majority of businesses have resisted upgrading, and there are several different reasons given for this. One is simple and has nothing to do with the merits of the operating system itself: many companies have adopted an every-other-version OS upgrade policy, and many others tend to avoid upgrading client operating systems, especially, until the one they’re currently running is out of support. Thus we saw many businesses that didn’t move from Windows XP to Windows 7 until Microsoft dropped support for the former in April of this year.
It makes sense from a bottom-line point of view. The cost of upgrading several hundred or several thousand machines to a new OS is significant and includes not just the licenses but in some cases hardware upgrades that are required to run the new operating system, as well as a great deal of administrative overhead, lost productivity as users navigate the inevitable learning curve, and the extra burden on help desk/tech support personnel dealing with user queries and troubleshooting the problems they get themselves into until they become more familiar with the new way of doing things.
Therefore, unless there is a compelling reason to upgrade – such as a real killer feature that will greatly enhance the user experience or important new security mechanisms – companies frequently opt to “sit this one out” when a new OS comes out. Even if they’re considering rolling it out, many will wait a year or more to allow for someone else to find the bugs and for the vendor to fix them.
Of course, this isn’t the only reason businesses don’t upgrade each time Microsoft issues a new release of Windows. There is also at least a perception that for a long time, every other version of the OS has been a failure, with Microsoft coming out with something drastically new and not very well implemented, then listening to consumer feedback and refining it in the next version. Windows XP was well-liked by most users after they got acquainted with it (although I can well remember the hue and cry when it first came out, mostly about its “bubble gum looking” interface). Vista was disparaged as a big flop, thanks to its resource-hogging behavior that made it run like a slow pig on less powerful machines and its in-your-face implementation of User Account Control.
Windows 7 addressed both of those complaints, and more, and was pretty well accepted by both individual users and the enterprise world. Then along came Windows 8 and upset the apple cart again. By taking away the Start button and Start menu that had been the primary basis of navigation since Windows 95, Microsoft invoked the ire and ridicule of a large percentage of its user base.
Windows 7 addressed both of those complaints, and more, and was pretty well accepted by both individual users and the enterprise world. Then along came Windows 8 and upset the apple cart again. By taking away the Start button and Start menu that had been the primary basis of navigation since Windows 95, Microsoft invoked the ire and ridicule of a large percentage of its user base.
Yes, the new tiled interface worked great with tablets and touch screens, but unfortunately most business users and many home users were still working with traditional desktop machines, and the mouse/keyboard experience on Windows 8 left a lot to be desired in the eyes of most of those users. Yes, there are third party utilities – both paid and free – that can be installed to restore the Start button and menu, but many consumers weren’t aware of them and many of the more tech-savvy were annoyed at having to install an add-on to gain back the functionality that was once included in Windows out of the box.
Windows 8.1 was released close to one year after Windows 8, and was billed as a major update (i.e., more than a service pack but less than a version upgrade). It added back the Start button, but in an unsatisfying form, as the button only takes you to the hated (by desktop users) Start screen rather than producing the Start menu for which everyone was clamoring. Since it’s a free upgrade, most of those who were running Windows 8 installed it, but very few of those who were running Windows 7 saw enough of an improvement to make them decide to make the move.
On September 30th, Microsoft held an event in San Francisco, aimed primarily at enterprise customers, to introduce the next real version upgrade, which they’re calling Windows 10. Some have speculated that the reason for skipping number 9 was to put more distance between the not-very-popular Windows 8 and the next iteration, formerly known by its code name Threshold. They also made a technical preview available for public download.
Immediately, most of the tech press rejoiced. The Start menu is back, albeit in a new “Modernized” format that combines the old favorite apps and search box with a panel of Modern UI tiles that can be customized. This makes life much easier for the many desktop users who felt lost without the menu (although most of us power users had long since installed Start 8 or Classic Shell and gone about our business).
The Start menu isn’t the only enhancement in Windows 10, but it’s the one getting most of the attention. Reviews from those testing the new OS have mostly been at least cautiously optimistic. I’ve been working with it since the day after it was released and so far, I like what I see. I’ll be doing a fuller review article for WindowsNetworking.com in the near future. Meanwhile, the big question is whether there’s enough there to persuade companies that it’s time to let go of Windows 7 and take the upgrade plunge this time, when Win 10 becomes generally available sometime around the middle of next year. Write and tell us what you think.
