The quiet success of Windows 8, but success nonetheless

Autumn, winter and then springtime tagging along Windows 8 in my laptop computer, while reading, not without amusement, how this operating system has been a "failure" and a disappointment to users... to the point I thought it would have been a good idea to create a special section of "misinformation" on Windows 8. Nah. There's plenty of pseudo journalists and bloggers spewing rumors and half truths and I don't think I should promote them in my blog. It is not hard to realize that these days a vast majority of tech writers apparently carry an iPad or some sort of Android tablet or phone, so the objectivity of their writing about anything Microsoft is questionable from the get-go. I'm not saying Windows 8 and previous versions are perfect or that Microsoft creates only perfection, no, that's not my message. I share with many a judicious writer, however, objective and more balanced views on how, in spite of the naysayers, Windows 8 keeps getting better. Now, looking forward to the forthcoming Windows 8.1.

Windows 8 all the way

As much as like Windows 7 (Ultimate) I decided to go all the way Windows 8. So instead of having a dual boot with Windows 7, I installed Windows 8 Pro as the main operating system in my DELL machine. However, I only made that decision when I tested that Windows 7 would run well in a virtual machine. I tried initially Hyper-V client (built into Windows 8 Pro) but I chose to stick with what I've used before and know better: VMware Workstation (though the latest version 9). While I will still work inside Windows 7 for a while, my decision to use Windows 8 Pro as the host operating system has to do primarily with having a development environment which is exclusively tailored for this OS. I will have Visual Studio Express 2012 and other tools for development and review, and obviously to contribute to this blog. I reinstalled Microsoft Office 2010 Professional in the Windows 7 virtual machine and expect to have "Modern Office" installed under Windows 8 Pro.

We are ready, the world is ready for Windows 8

New myth: Windows 8 has a steep learning curve

In an article about the new Windows 8, David Pogue, of the New York Times, (Windows, Revamped and Split in 2) tries to convey the idea that Windows 8 is actually two operating systems into one: Desktop Windows and Windows Tiles (I don't want to repeat here the silly name he made up). "Individually, they are excellent — but you can’t use them individually", argues Pogue, but, yes, you can use both in the same computer, there's nothing 'schizophrenic' about that. And then the already widespread myth that Windows 8 has a steep learning curve:  "The Windows 8 learning curve resembles Mount Everest." Even the average Joe, without even having seen Windows 8 "already knows" that, thanks to the rumor mill fed also by those who you may think know better. For Pogue the perfect situation would have been keeping the two operating systems  separate, leaving the Windows Tiles in a tablet with a touch screen and the Windows 8 traditional desktop on mouse and keyboard PCs, and "the good work Microsoft did on both of these individual operating systems would shine", he concludes. At least Pogue is able to see the good in Windows without the blinders of a Mac user or a Linux user. His "Windows 8 Cheat Sheet" is a good reference for using the new operating system with the mouse and keyboard, and ironically enough, shows that it's not that difficult.

The New York Times' troll video about the new Windows 8

According to the New York Times this is the look of a
another "flummoxed" user (this one a Mac user) trying
to "figure out" the new Windows 8 interface.

Emily B. Hager, a video journalist, and David F. Gallagher, a technology editor, both working for the New York Times, no doubt experienced professionals in their field, published a video called "Microsoft's Makeover. Getting to know Windows 8", in which they supposedly invited 5 computer users, two of them Mac users, to "test" the new Windows 8. In what, in my opinion, appears to be more of a parody than a real, journalistic, piece of information, except for a few tidbits of actual information, these two journalists, which I have no doubt they are not Windows users themselves, try to show the readers (or viewers) "how difficult" it is to find your way around the new interface. This video is basically visually misleading. However, what I find most appalling is the fact that this type of trolling disguised as journalism comes from a prestigious journalistic house like the New York Times. Let's see what's wrong with this video:

1. The "invited" users are sitting in front of an Acer laptop, no Surface tablet in sight. They're "trying" to move around the main screen and all they accomplish is softly swiping their index finger right and left. Hard to believe they could not go beyond that point, and tap into any of the tiles. Just about any toddler could've done that easily. I can see that in New York very often in the subway: toddlers navigating effortlessly iPads, all types of smartphones, etc.  The interviewees were not exactly the newest generation of electronic device users.
2. "Windows 8 is the most radical change to the look of [Microsoft] sofware since the late 1980's", says the voice-over of Mr. Gallagher while showing some screen shots of Windows 3.1, which was introduced in 1992 (!) Are you serious?!  One of the most radical changes occurred 17 years ago with Windows 95. Windows 8 is the most radical so far.
3. "None of the people we've interviewed plan to upgrade right away". Kind of obvious for the Mac Users. As of the other users, two old timers, and the clueless lady, who says "That's so cool", and "awesome" and "how do I go back?", obviously not, either.

In another New York Times article, Fresh Windows, but Where’s the Start Button? which has a link to the above video, the author, Nick Wingfield, explains how a 59-year old copywriter in New York was flummoxed when he got his hands on a laptop running Windows 8.
Finally, another article related to this troll video is Daily Report: Windows Makeover May Cause Head-Scratching. I know  I have missed other articles and other media, but this is but a sample of the "bad press" that Windows 8 has gotten, gets and will get. The authors may mean well, and sincerely believe what they say, but I disagree with them. Somehow the competition finds always a way to discredit their rivals with unfair arguments, because they feel perhaps threatened...?