“I think it’s more related to the fact that people are searching for it”
I too search for stuff all the time that I have no interest in whatsoever. You know, just out of idle curiosity; just to see if something exists. Especially if I don’t care about it.
Wow! I was immediately seized by an urge to go out and buy a – what was it again? oh yeah, a Window 8 touch something or other. No, wait! I was mistaken. It was a watermelon I wanted to buy.
“Acer remains committed to developing Windows RT devices”
Uh, if they remain as committed as they have been in the past, then in the future they’ll produce the same number of Windows RT devices they’ve made so far, namely none.
“What’s the bet that its kicked to the gutter ASAP”
I think it’s likely Windows RT will be abandoned in 12 to 18 months. It’s last gasp will be when it fails on the Mini 7.5" Surface due out before this Christmas. Microsoft will persist with it a few months after that to save face, or maybe by then Ballmer will have finally been fired.
So, if Metro UI is the greatest thing since sliced bread and everybody loves it so much, then why not offer an option to avoid it for those who don’t want to use it?
That’s a rhetorical question by the way. Obviously, Microsoft already knew how much people hated Metro UI based on developer feedback, but the need for forcing people to use it was critical. The whole point of Metro UI was to force both users and developers into an Appleque closed garden so that Microsoft could milk the cows of more moolah via the Microsoft Apps Milking Store.
Now that that strategy has proven to be a disaster of epic proportions, Microsoft will be forced to back off from the hated Metro UI or watch Windows shrink into irrelevancy. Microsoft used to be able to pull crap like this back in the old days when they had no real competition, but that’s no longer the case and Apple and Android are eating their lunch.
“I think they should stick to their guns and iterate improvements quickly. Not regress”
Uh, even if they continue to drive customers away in droves? Even if Windows 8 continues to be a significant factor in the plummet in PC sales? Even if the enterprise and SMB refuse to EVER “upgrade” to Windows 8?
Should Coke have stuck with New Coke no matter what and never brought back Classic Coke? Should Ford have continued to churn out Edsel’s even if no one bought them?
“Unless you are an enterprise user, it’s difficult not to get the new OS when you move to a new PC”
Not really. Unless you consider ordering online more difficult than running to your nearest retail store to buy whatever crap sandwich they’re serving up that day. Plenty of W7 Pro on PCs online from Dell and others.
So, if Honda replaced the steering wheel with a tiller on the floor that you bat back and forth with your two feet, replaced the brake pedal with a knob on the steering wheel, and replaced the accelerator pedal with a throttle rope hanging from the roof, and then sales fell through the floor, should Honda reverse those changes or keep not selling cars instead?
