sldkjfsdlkfj
2012-06-07 20:13:29 UTC
An entire enterprise cycle binned in Metro madness
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2012/06/07/win8_enterprise_yesno/
Analysis Like Thelma and Louise, executives at Microsoft's Windows
division have no doubts about which direction they want to point the car.
It's pedal to the floor, and over the cliff as fast as they can drive.
Last week the latest Windows 8 public preview confirmed what many had
expected and feared: there will be no compromise on the schizophrenic
user interface behaviour Microsoft is forcing on users.
As I wrote in March, the problem isn't the tablet-friendly Metro layer
per se. It's the severe disruption to the everyday experience caused by
integrating Metro front and centre. The start menu has gone, but pressing
the Windows key now throws the user into a radically different
environment with a completely different design, behaviour and even
scaling.
This shotgun marriage of two completely different platforms, suited to
completely different devices, is completely disorientating. The new Metro
environment is designed for small touchscreen devices, and gives nothing
to benefit established desktop users.
Having encouraged us to hit the Windows key much more often in Windows 7,
Microsoft now punishes us every time for it. I cannot think of a change
forced upon users that's quite so violent since character-based terminals
gave way to graphical user interfaces. So Metro isn't the problem:
catapulting into Metro land (and back again) is.
Early comments simply reflect the astonishment:
"When I described my experience of Windows 8 to my father, he suspected
that the Microsoft execs were preparing to jump ship in an Enron-type
fiasco. This strikes me as a real possibility. If it happens, I'll miss
Microsoft," writes one guinea pig.
"This will end same as Vista. Nobody will want this. Nobody will want to
have their PC look like a mobile phone which nobody wants," writes
another.
In other words, Microsoft has a catastrophe looming that dwarfs Vista.
The new system requires fresh training, and additional support costs,
which are to be piled on businesses while much of the market is in a
recession. It offers few benefits.
Back in March I speculated whether Microsoft really appreciated the
gravity of the situation, and assumed that they did. We therefore had to
infer that Microsoft was prepared to forego a Windows enterprise upgrade
cycle simply to put the Metro onto the market.
And apparently, it is. Quoting no sources, blogger and news editor Paul
Thurrott writes that Microsoft is indeed giving business users a miss.
"I believe that the software giant is taking a pass on businesses for
this release, a calculated risk that enables it to more firmly focus on
the consumer market that's on the cusp of slipping through its fingers
thanks to Apple and, to a much lesser extent, Android," he writes. Well,
you read it here first.
It's expressed as a belief, but we must assume Thurrott is well-informed.
"The fact that managing Win 8 is essentially the same as managing Win 7
doesn't matter... the Windows 8 Metro UI is completely unfamiliar, and
for us would be a support nightmare," we hear from one enterprise buyer.
Elsewhere Thurrott points out that half of enterprise desktops still run
XP, and Microsoft won't withdraw support from XP until April 2014:
"Simply telling enterprises that they can and should skip Windows 8 - or
at most roll out Windows 8 in a Windows 7-like configuration alongside
Windows 7 - would be cheered by Microsoft’s biggest customers."
This small flurry of articles all point to the channel and partners being
softened up. But skipping an enterprise cycle is quite a gamble. I wonder
if it's really necessary?
Much of the rest of Windows 8 has been well received. It's pretty good
news for many users, being leaner and faster than before. If you want
your OS to be a minimal run-time for your applications - this is a step
in the right direction.
All Microsoft really needs to do to engage its enterprise customers is
drop the Maoist insistence on forcing users into a violent context
switch. It can unbind Metro from the Windows key, and for now redesign
the Start Menu so it looks something like Start8 (a third-party fix,
pictured above).
This makes Windows 8 an evolutionary step without the radical behaviour
disruption that it is today. Alas it's neglected many enterprise-grade
features in the rush to bolt the new platform onto Windows - as Kieran
Cummings wrote here.
Time to bet on an "Enterprise Edition" sometime early next year, perhaps?
http://www.channelregister.co.uk/2012/06/07/win8_enterprise_yesno/
Analysis Like Thelma and Louise, executives at Microsoft's Windows
division have no doubts about which direction they want to point the car.
It's pedal to the floor, and over the cliff as fast as they can drive.
Last week the latest Windows 8 public preview confirmed what many had
expected and feared: there will be no compromise on the schizophrenic
user interface behaviour Microsoft is forcing on users.
As I wrote in March, the problem isn't the tablet-friendly Metro layer
per se. It's the severe disruption to the everyday experience caused by
integrating Metro front and centre. The start menu has gone, but pressing
the Windows key now throws the user into a radically different
environment with a completely different design, behaviour and even
scaling.
This shotgun marriage of two completely different platforms, suited to
completely different devices, is completely disorientating. The new Metro
environment is designed for small touchscreen devices, and gives nothing
to benefit established desktop users.
Having encouraged us to hit the Windows key much more often in Windows 7,
Microsoft now punishes us every time for it. I cannot think of a change
forced upon users that's quite so violent since character-based terminals
gave way to graphical user interfaces. So Metro isn't the problem:
catapulting into Metro land (and back again) is.
Early comments simply reflect the astonishment:
"When I described my experience of Windows 8 to my father, he suspected
that the Microsoft execs were preparing to jump ship in an Enron-type
fiasco. This strikes me as a real possibility. If it happens, I'll miss
Microsoft," writes one guinea pig.
"This will end same as Vista. Nobody will want this. Nobody will want to
have their PC look like a mobile phone which nobody wants," writes
another.
In other words, Microsoft has a catastrophe looming that dwarfs Vista.
The new system requires fresh training, and additional support costs,
which are to be piled on businesses while much of the market is in a
recession. It offers few benefits.
Back in March I speculated whether Microsoft really appreciated the
gravity of the situation, and assumed that they did. We therefore had to
infer that Microsoft was prepared to forego a Windows enterprise upgrade
cycle simply to put the Metro onto the market.
And apparently, it is. Quoting no sources, blogger and news editor Paul
Thurrott writes that Microsoft is indeed giving business users a miss.
"I believe that the software giant is taking a pass on businesses for
this release, a calculated risk that enables it to more firmly focus on
the consumer market that's on the cusp of slipping through its fingers
thanks to Apple and, to a much lesser extent, Android," he writes. Well,
you read it here first.
It's expressed as a belief, but we must assume Thurrott is well-informed.
"The fact that managing Win 8 is essentially the same as managing Win 7
doesn't matter... the Windows 8 Metro UI is completely unfamiliar, and
for us would be a support nightmare," we hear from one enterprise buyer.
Elsewhere Thurrott points out that half of enterprise desktops still run
XP, and Microsoft won't withdraw support from XP until April 2014:
"Simply telling enterprises that they can and should skip Windows 8 - or
at most roll out Windows 8 in a Windows 7-like configuration alongside
Windows 7 - would be cheered by Microsoft’s biggest customers."
This small flurry of articles all point to the channel and partners being
softened up. But skipping an enterprise cycle is quite a gamble. I wonder
if it's really necessary?
Much of the rest of Windows 8 has been well received. It's pretty good
news for many users, being leaner and faster than before. If you want
your OS to be a minimal run-time for your applications - this is a step
in the right direction.
All Microsoft really needs to do to engage its enterprise customers is
drop the Maoist insistence on forcing users into a violent context
switch. It can unbind Metro from the Windows key, and for now redesign
the Start Menu so it looks something like Start8 (a third-party fix,
pictured above).
This makes Windows 8 an evolutionary step without the radical behaviour
disruption that it is today. Alas it's neglected many enterprise-grade
features in the rush to bolt the new platform onto Windows - as Kieran
Cummings wrote here.
Time to bet on an "Enterprise Edition" sometime early next year, perhaps?