Microsoft: Over 600 million Windows 7 licenses sold

[Guest]

I don't think someone disliking "change for the sake of change" makes them some kind of luddite. If a car manufacturer were to rearrange the dashboard of a car, remove the steering wheel, replace with a joystick, swap all the pedals around and put the gear stick on the right suspended from the roof - people simply wouldn't buy the car.

When it comes to computing however, someone redesigning your UI every few years seems to not only acceptable, but many believe it to be necessary for "progress".

If there were twenty such OS like windows to choose from, all compatible - most people would stick with one of the alternatives which did not turn their user shell into a smartphone UI.

 

[Guest]

"If a car manufacturer were to rearrange the dashboard of a car, remove the steering wheel"

I'm not sure that's a good analogy because cars are not software menus and vice versa. Cars also have to adhere to existing safety standards, software menu's don't. And it's not like the start button is actually missing, it's still there if you hover over the bottom left corner. The windows
keyboard button still works after 17 yrs. So functionality wise, the start menu is still in the same general location, and the windows button still works as the menu button. Only changes is metro is now a full screen app layer, instead of a dialog box app layer.

Here's a question, should windows keep the win95 era desktop for another 17yrs? Exactly WHEN is the right time to change? 100yrs from now? That's the real question. Even Ubuntu went thru the same transition pain(with Unity), but now has settled down after version tweaks.

It's was not so long ago people wanted more desktop UI choice like Linux has, now the argument is to keep it the same? These people who complain, they're seemingly fine using a non start button app launcher in OSX, or UNITY Linux desktop, IOS or android, or Gnome desktop where the menus are in a completely different location than on windows.

17yrs from now this argument will be moot when everyone is already used to metro, and yet another menu overhaul is in the works.

I'm pretty sure windows 8 will not be as good as windows 7 sales-wise. But by windows 9 or 10, people should hopefully be accustomed to it.

Here's something, suppose IOS6 or Android 5 came out with a start button style taskbar and desktop. Would that be progress or regression?

 

[Guest]

Hello I understand that the new metro is horrible. Let me tell you that I have deep connections at both Apple and Google, I've told them that the future involves the start button.

I've heard thru back channels that the next Apple OSX and Google OS versions will feature the new super advanced UI that you all care so deeply about. Gone are the confusing arrays of multilayering/multidesktop and side scrolling. Instead they have worked hard to simplify your life.

Introducing a sneak peek at the super futuristic OSX 10.8 / Android Google OS 5 UI design!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Windows_95_Desktop_screenshot.png