Replies to post #113992 on Intel Corp (INTC)

[mmoy]

> From what I've seen, the main reason it's not as "intuitive"
> is because by now, most people have already been exposed to
> IOS/Android. That's what they know.

I found it very easy to go from iOS to Android but quite a bit harder to get some simple tasks done on Windows 8 and IE on a touch-device. I had a Microsoft employee at a Best Buy store helping me with finding a PSU as the Best Buy employees were overwhelmed and I watched him using Windows 8 but didn't keep up what he was doing on the screen. I eventually figured out IE which is considerably different compared to what I'm used to on Windows 7 - but it was constant trial and error to do what I wanted to do.

As far as customers go, there were a few people playing with the Windows 8 touch devices but most people seemed more interested in tablets. I think that it's a good idea for Best Buy to have a dedicated Microsoft person in the store to show people how to do the Microsoft touch stuff because it is so different from iOS and Android.

[chipguy]

I'm not sure what so many people are up in arms about - learn a few Windows-key shortcuts and you're set.

Why change stuff just to be different? None of the important stuff
like faster boot, improved sleep/suspend functionality, security
enhancements etc in Win 8 required any change in the UI vs Win 7.

Nobody, that I know at least, buys a computer to use the OS, it is
just there to host apps that people actually use. The vast majority
of Windows users don't give a **** about the latest fashion in UIs,
they use PCs because they have to at work, they need compatibility
to do work at home, or they want to run games (which have their
own UI). Everytime MS does a major change in UI of Windows or
Office it causes major costs to corporations in training and lost
productivity. That is why AFAIK most corporations are still
running XP, skipped Vista, and will probably transition to Win 7
instead of Win 8. They'd stay on XP happily if MS hadn't pulled
the rug out from underneath them to force migration.

Look at the automobile - the user interface related to movement
hasn't really changed in half a century. Car makers seem to be
able to differentiate their products without having to replace
the steering wheel with differential levers, joystick, yoke etc
just for the sake of change, just to be different.

IMO MS is making a huge mistake forcing a touch centric UI on
its traditional PC market. The tail should not wag the dog. It is
no accident that Apple has two different OSes with different
UIs for its handheld devices and its computers (Macs). It looks
like MS is trying to force one UI across the same markets out
of sheer panic from missing out from the mobile market. That
risks further undermining the traditional PC markets. IMO MS's
flundering strategy has been a train wreck for years and it is
starting to be a significant drag on Intel's core business.