http://slog.thestranger.com/slog/archives/2012/12/05/windows-8-sure-isnt-wowing-them Comments On: Windows 8 Sure Isn't Wowing Them by Paul Constant en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Sat, 25 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Sat, 25 May 2013 11:15:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss people who want things to be fundamentally easy to do for non-experts

This is why I switched to Macs.
Posted by Susan]]> Thu, 06 Dec 2012 15:13:15 -0800 The Stranger
The Windows Phone has spectacularly innovative design. Ballsy not to just knock-off Apple like Google did. Sounds like it doesn't translate to bigger screens, though.

Now Windows 9 will be hard to distinguish from the Mac operating system. The only giveaway will be the hideous laptop it's running on.
Posted by Free Lunch]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 21:11:16 -0800 The Stranger Posted by seandr]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 15:03:35 -0800 The Stranger
I'd give the Surface Pro a try when it comes out, though, with the full version of Win8. Meanwhile I haven't tried Win8 yet so I really don't have much comment on it.
Posted by balderdash]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 13:04:50 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Rotten666]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 12:28:42 -0800 The Stranger Posted by six shooter]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 12:25:30 -0800 The Stranger
No way my iPod is updating our group's Projected Test Results access database.

Copy of the Joe's killer hiring protocol powerpoint to read while on the plane? Yes sir, I think that will look great on my ultraPC.
Posted by six shooter]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 12:23:14 -0800 The Stranger " Microsoft is an important part of the area, and I want the company to succeed."

Great. And as far as "local economy" goes, I would too. But you probably don't have to support Microsoft products... They are endlessly frustrating and weird.

They need to stop pretending they are an "innovator" ... they are constantly chasing superior products: Socl? right. Zune? crap. Surface? yawn. Bing? what?

The Xbox was the single best thing they invented, and Microsoft Word 5.1 was the best word processor they ever put out. Everything else has become messy, complicated, and annoying. They seem to have a policy of reinventing the damn wheel in order to create a monopoly market (NetBEUI? Winsock? :P ).

Neither of their last two 'chairmen' (Gates & Ballmer) have been "seated in the Tao", as Lao Tsu offered as the sage advice for any ruler. As a consequence, Microsoft is not "seated in the Tao", and is -essentially- an autistic kludge.
Posted by treacle]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 12:15:17 -0800 The Stranger
Skyrim is beautiful but it can get boring and rather methodical...and no real consequences for doing bad things! My character should be fairly reviled for some of the things I've done...

Oh and...my work computer still uses Windows 2000 (and a database system released in 1994 called Paradox). Just to stay on topic...


Posted by ArtBasketSara]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 11:47:38 -0800 The Stranger
Win 8 is dead.

Long live Windows 9 - and bring back the Start button!
Posted by Will in Seattle]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 11:32:23 -0800 The Stranger
Mass Effect 3 was damned impressive graphically, and the gameplay was smooth and very polished. The shooting was fun enough, enemies were varied enough to keep it interesting. It was too easy, but playing on the Insane difficulty helped.

But at the end of the day, it was just another third person shooter with bare-bones RPG elements. No rewards for excellent play, hardly any rewards for exploration/completion, an underwhelming lack of weapon/armor variation or improvement system. Just point and shoot, maybe change your ammo type if the situation warrants. Did not even need to depend on companion skills. No reason not to put all squad points into shooting ability.

Whereas Mass Effect was not as polished, the controls were not as smooth, and the enemies had less variance.

But there were choices to be made. Do I use that power knowing it will kill my accuracy? Do I focus on the Geth charging me (enemies in Mass Effect 3 NEVER charged, and were big pussies), or the Krogan with he rocket launcher whose health is rapidly replenishing? Do I need the Mako for this (no, figure out a strategy to win and get that bonus XP), Should I try to find higher ground and snipe?

I never had these choices to make playing Mass Effect 3. The best strategy from the first mission to the last was always, equip Avenger assault rifle, wait in cover for enemies to get out of cover, repeat.
Posted by Theodore Gorath]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 11:19:00 -0800 The Stranger
As for Microsoft, they had the right idea with the Windows 8 products but it looks like they didn't execute correctly. And really, the problem with execution is with their management structure and their performance review system, which reinforce bad product development practices. I don't think even good ideas will help save them unless they change how they attract, manage, reward, and retain employees.
Posted by Cascadian]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 11:16:36 -0800 The Stranger
I'm anxiously awaiting the release of Baldur's Gate for iPad. If it does well, they'll rerelease Baldur's Gate 2 and (be still my heart) Planescape:Torment, probably the two best CRPGs ever released. On a similar note, I'm really looking forward to Project Eternity. There's still a few of old, good kind of games being made. In fact, I'm glad they're so far and few between -- no way I can spend a ton of time playing video games like when I was 15.
Posted by emor]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 11:08:27 -0800 The Stranger @30: Battletoads was the shit. One of the few games I bought as soon as it came out. I still play it, even though the graphics look a little outdated now.
I understand what you're saying about complex gameplay. I like having multiple options in-game. Do I run in close and spray lightning out of my gun? Do I hang back and open up the cannon's heavy-hitting attacks? Do I toss a sticky grenade and stockstrike the enemy over the head while he's trying to get it off? Or do I go all-out and wipe up a whole group with a mortal volley?
Posted by venomlash]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 10:31:52 -0800 The Stranger
It doesn't matter if it works for YOU. It matters if it's widely accepted and adopted as a new paradigm in emerging computing environments. WIndows Phone sales are flat. Windows Tablet sales are non-existent and interest is nil. When Microsoft shrugs off the newly emerging markets and disparages the "stupid users", they're speaking exactly as IBM used to rationalize twenty years ago, just before Windows killed OS/2. And you know what happened? Everybody put a happy face on IBM but the fact is, they never were the same. They lost control of the API, the developer network, the technology market, and the entire computer kingdom. They're pretty much nothing but a bunch of consultants now and Microsoft is on that same path. You would think that Microsoft would recognize this repetition of history but they don't, and you know why? Because all of the folks who battled IBM either left or were driven out of the company.

This scares me and I don't even work for Microsoft. You local Microsoft haters can hate all you want but if you're also property owner keep this in mind - if Microsoft fails, your own property investment will collapse. Everybody, even the local haters, have a stake in Microsoft succeeding.


Posted by Evil(tm) Evolutionist]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 10:13:04 -0800 The Stranger Posted by ryanmm]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 10:09:44 -0800 The Stranger
Windows 8 is an effort--probably a futile one--to get back into the growth parts of consumer/phone/tablet touch space.

Even if they love all of the consumer side they still will still have tens of billions/year in reliable revenue for another decade or two. But they'll be as drab as IBM.

I like the idea of splitting the company into three or four pieces...put xbox/phones/tablets and other consumer stuff into one, put office/windows/exchange into another, bing & internet stuff into another.
Posted by ryanmm]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 10:08:57 -0800 The Stranger
Many many places will skip Windows, 8 as they did with Vista.

Windows and Office are the breadwinners, but in 2017, or 2022, will their marketshare (vs Apple and Google) be the same? Really?

Their (very nice) phone has potential, but is more and more noticeably, not getting anywhere.

The successful Xbox is a tiny part of their revenue.

For their big push for the future, the Surface, they already had to cut their orders in half. I think one of the Surface tablets only gets like 4.5 hours of juice before needing a charge.

They just raised some licensing fees, likely in order to keep the books from showing more decline. Although long term, this will just just drive away customers who see this treatment.

Linux servers > Microsoft servers, and more than ever.

Hey guys, I know there are counterpoints to all these things. And yeah, anything is possible. But on almost every front, Microsoft is either losing mindshare, marketshare, or relevance. And with nothing on the horizon to stop the bleeding of any of those. Don't look at the short game, the long game is where to predict, and the long game on all these points....well it doesn't look so hot.

I have to repeat Paul here, where I really really want them to do well as a major local employer, and am also worried. Hopefully they can find a way to do what IBM did when Microsoft beat them in the 90's....transition to something else less front and center, and last a long, long time.
Posted by approachingmidnight]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 10:01:52 -0800 The Stranger
As I'm sure you are aware, software decisions are not made by users OR IT, and instead are made by elderly managers who believe everything they read in their junk mail. So the future looks very bright for slow, poorly designed web apps from here on out. Preferably ones that require Internet Explorer 7.
Posted by Fnarf]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 10:00:28 -0800 The Stranger Posted by bleedingheartlibertarian]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 09:48:26 -0800 The Stranger Posted by former wordperfect lover]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 09:41:45 -0800 The Stranger
Just hire Hodgman again to play the part of the PC and all will be swell.


Posted by jackie treehorn]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 09:30:17 -0800 The Stranger Posted by pragmatic]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 09:23:10 -0800 The Stranger Venomlash and Theodore Gorath mentioned, my home computer is used primarily for playing games. Yeah, I use it to work from home occasionally, and I use the internet too, but I wouldn't need an actual computer for either of those.

I don't see Windows 8 as a good gaming OS. Gamers don't play touch screen games, people who play nothing but 'angry birds' on their touchscreen phones aren't gamers, they're just bored. A big, space-hogging, memory-burning OS is not ideal for gaming.

Unfortunately, like someone else posted, I'm no longer in the video game buyer demographic. I don't play madden, or any MMO. I like strategy games, old-school turn based games, and a few older, well-made shooters. Video game companies are abandoning the PC market altogether and moving entirely to console gaming. So be it, they've lost me as a customer with that, but I don't think it'll hurt them any.
Posted by Urgutha Forka]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 09:22:05 -0800 The Stranger It's a cash call, just like 98 & ME were.

If you need a touch screen interface for a desktop PC, this might be a good idea. Otherwise, you can wait for the next MS OS.
Posted by Sir Vic]]> Wed, 05 Dec 2012 09:13:26 -0800 The Stranger