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Add it up. The majority of Windows users have only just switched over from XP to Windows 7 in, at best, November 2011. Microsoft is now asking for its users to switch to a platform with no significant improvements, a radically different interface, and which is very likely to have few applications. The result? Window 8 will be dead on arrival.
Microsoft’s death is rapidly approaching, and Windows 8 will accelerate its demise. One example of their repeated strategic errors is the failure to preserve familiar GUIs and command sets that were "overlearned" by more than 35 million users in the USA alone on products like XP and the still-popular MS Office 2003. Their new MS Operating System is about to undergo the same fate as MS Office 2007 and 2010 with "ribbons" and other GUI changes that must be unlearned and learned anew by long-time MS users. Users are angry that they cannot quickly find the simple functions they’ve used for years in most of MS’s upgraded products. In fact, intuitiveness has been designed out of Microsoft products!I interviewed dozens of adult users to ask about their experiences with the new MS Win7 and MS Office 2010; about half said they were going back to XP and MS Ofc 2003; about 20% said they were switching to Linux OS and the Open Office Suite. Everyone interviewed said it was because of the non-intuitive and annoying changes Microsoft keeps making without regard for millions of experienced customers. Several said, "I just can't afford the time and annoyance of Microsoft's changes every time they upgrade, so I'm switching to stable software...Microsoft is not stable."MS is making the same mistake on their newest Windows OS (8) release - - and still no optional "classic interface" for their tens-of-millions of users! This is due to either really inept MS software programmers who can’t write simple code for classic GUIs, or dense business people at Microsoft who are not able to comprehend the value of a brand’s look’n’feel as it applies to customer loyalty, familiarity and sustained product ownership. Time to switch to OpenOffice and Linux? Read on.Microsoft's switch from XP (they finally got it right after SP3 and 526 patches) to Windows 7, and their mysterious ribbon (who was the nutcase who dreamed this up?) are gross violations of sound Human Factors Engineering principles. Try to find the "properties" command on their 2010 version of MS Office; about 6 clicks later if you're lucky, you may find it; and there's very little resemblance to the layout they've used for the past few decades. This is reason enough to switch to Open Office (and it's free!). Win7 is an equal burden on savvy MS apps users. Just wait for Win8 to thoroughly confuse the skilled masses of MS users with ribbons and hidden icons!Here are some tips for users, Microsoft stock holders, entrepreneurs and others on how you can limit your losses and maximize your productivity in the soon-to-come Microsoft crash:Users: Save your money; look at Open Office or buy an Apple/Mac (you can finally convert and import your files to the Mac). It takes 200% to 450% more time to use MS Office 2010 than MS Office 2003; Windows 7 OS, while a better OS than XP, has so many different and non-intuitive command sets and changed/hidden features from your experience with XP that it's just not worth the time to relearn; Linux does the same thing as MS Win 7 and it's free.MS Stock Holders: Sell; Microsoft is a dying company because they're pushing features (like their ribbons) on experienced users instead of benefits founded in relevant software improvements (such as security enhancements). People are switching to Apple because Apple preserves interfaces and have stringent interface standards; Buy Apple; Sell MS, and fast.Entrepreneurs: Some XP and Office 2003 diehards will be around 'til 2020 (I have a neighbor who still uses DOS and Word Perfect, circa 1993, and it works - - he paid $100 to have a neighborhood kid do the Y2K patch 11 years ago). There's a market in servicing these “legacy users” who can't or don't transition to Apple/Mac, Linux/OpenOffice. For example, there was a time you could buy the "tooling" for out of production products (e.g., 1955-57 Chevy still has aftermarket parts being made from original tooling). Offer after-market support for XP and MS Office 2003. But a word of caution: Your biggest competitor might be Microsoft when they realize the millions of users who prefer familiar interfaces over-artsy (and confusing) ribbons, now-hidden commands, and the abandonment of those users who brought Microsoft to where it is today. The same users are abandoning MS, and it's simply a matter of maintaining their individual productivity.Graduate Students: This theme is a great case study or thesis topic for MBA and Systems Engineering students who comprehend the impact of changing operational procedures when a product has matured. No one has conducted comprehensive studies of the Microsoft users who are migrating to other solutions. Your work could result in the forensics that identifies how MS failed and Apple succeeded primarily because of Microsoft's massive error in Human Factors Engineering. Related: Are you still wondering why HP has dropped PCs? Could it be that they now wished they had produced Macs and peripherals for Apple?Investors and Retirees: Check your IRAs and 401 portfolios. Consider selling your MS stock now. Microsoft is over because that company has broken sound engineering practices and disregarded customer values and insists on removing familiar features and embedding obscure newness (e.g., “ribbons”) in place of quality, intuitive interface, stability and productivity for existing users.Bottom Line: Microsoft can recover only if they preserve familiar GUIs of previous products that have been mastered by millions; all it takes is to provide their customers with options to use new interfaces OR the traditional (classic) interfaces and command sets. As for me, I intend to purchase an iPad-II this weekend because Apple’s software and GUIs are so much more stable and secure than Microsoft.Epilogue:What’s a User to Do? Those surveyed who said they could no longer afford productivity losses or tolerate the hassle caused by Microsoft’s changes were asked to select an option that would preserve their efficient use of “Office Suite” applications. Five alternatives were presented:1.) Switch to Apple-Mac;2.) Switch back to Windows XP and MS Office 2003;3.) Purchase a “classic menu program” from a third-party vendor that installs a traditional GUI on new Microsoft products;4.) Uninstall Microsoft programs and install either the free and powerful competitors, Open Office (originally Sun Microsystems and now Oracle via OpenOffice.org) -or- LibreOffice. Both of these “Office Suites” have their own benefits, and while similar in functionality, look and feel to MS Office 2003, OpenOffice offers a support option for those willing to pay a $50 fee. However, both are free to download, use, upgrade and distribute on as many PCs as you wish. Personally, I prefer OpenOffice 3.3.0 over LibreOffice because its file formats seem to be more compatible with MS Office formats;5.) Wait, hope and pray that Microsoft is astute enough to provide a “classic interface” that preserves the familiar look’n’feel for those who are already proficient users of MS products. If Microsoft doesn’t chose to implement a classic interface option, rest assured its customers will decline rapidly with Windows 8 and its next MS Office release. Linux and OpenOffice are likely to become the standard operating system and office suite by December, 2012. This is why the Mayan calendar ends at that time.
The biggest problem with Windows 8 is that it wasn’t born out of a need or demand. Its design failures, particularly with ‘Metro UI’ will likely be its downfall. Here’s why....I’m now ready to sum up my Windows 8 experience with a single word: awful.
I woke up this morning and at the end of my bed was the head of this green robot and the smell of rotten fruit.
