IDC: Windows 8 Will Be 'Largely Irrelevant' for PC Users
IDC analysts figure that Windows 8 will see no upgrade activity from Windows 7.
Last week we heard that Windows 8 was rumored to be hitting public beta in late February of next year. We're also expecting to see more of the operating system during Steve Ballmer's keynote address at the annual consumer electronics show in Las Vegas this coming January. However, if IDC is to be believed, PC users will find the next iteration of Windows 'largely irrelevant.'
All About Microsoft author Mary Jo Foley reports that one of IDC's "Worldwide System Infrastructure Software 2012 Top 10 Predictions" was that "Windows 8 Will Launch with Split Success." Explaining the prediction, IDC analysts say that Windows 8 will be largely irrelevant to those with traditional PCs, adding that they "expect effectively no upgrade activity from Windows 7 to Windows 8 in that form factor." As far as tablets are concerned, IDC believes that Microsoft will be too late to the tablet market to make any real impact.
It's not an entirely surprising prediction when you look at how comfortable users are with Windows 7. While the Windows 8's Metro UI smells a lot like Windows Phone 7 and promises a great interface for tablets and PCs with touchscreen displays, Microsoft has said that if you disable Metro, your Windows 8 desktop is going to look and feel a lot like the one in Windows 7. Throw in the fact that, as Foley points out, many businesses have just finished upgrading to Windows 7 from XP/Vista and it doesn't seem like such a crazy prediction. However, even if IDC is right about upgrades from Windows 7, Microsoft is still going ship a lot of copies of the OS with new PCs that sell after the operating system is released, so it's not all bad.
Do you plan on upgrading to Windows 8? Let us know in the comments below!
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Ill upgrade anyway, it will only be 25$ when it comes out from my school.
I used the Win8 dev preview for about a month. Best OS I've ever used, and it's not just limited to the Metro UI (which takes some getting used to). The whole thing is much more responsive and usable. 7 was good, 8 is great.
I will absolutely upgrade from 7.
Hey It handles multi threading slightly better than windows 7 so why not
pertamax gan..
well.. a new os doesnt mean a new interface. whats more important that a new os must be all stabililty, speed, and bla bla bla..
I doubt I'll upgrade until I buy a new TV. In fairness to Microsoft, this product is forward thinking (which is good). While its impact might not be immediate it is laying the foundation for the future, with touchscreen technology and the like. I suspect that even on desktop monitors, we will start to see more limited touch options. And in the future, these options will grow even further as touchscreens are incorporated into many aspects of our homes.
Every other windows is experimental with new tech, nothing new. Look at vista that put the foundation to windows7 thats adopted at insane rates in both home to corporations computers worldwide. Much like windows9 will be after win8 put the foundation for it. Expert analyst!? All thats needed is common sense to figure that out!
Now where is that "expert analyst payment"?
I've been kind of thinking of W8 being to W7 what Honeycomb was to Gingerbread.
Maybe W9 will be the Ice Cream Sandwich.
I'll love to check it out!
I used the Win8 dev preview for about a month. Best OS I've ever used, and it's not just limited to the Metro UI (which takes some getting used to). The whole thing is much more responsive and usable. 7 was good, 8 is great.I will absolutely upgrade from 7.
What was the metro interface like once you had gotten used to it? Prefer it over the traditional UI?
Only if it implies a better performance in my main applications and those would be games. Though I haven't tested the developer preview.
I love it if they integrate the functionality of kinect to Windows 8 in controlling the Metro UI.
Metro to me is irrelevant and all I can say for sure is that if the rest of the OS is like the new start menu then I'm not going to like it...
Ill upgrade if I can COMPLETELY disable Metro.
ill most likely get a preorder key, as im just moveing to win7 due to ssd and need for 64bit... i will hate that move, but its a necessary evil.
that said, ill wait till service pack 1 to either upgrade win 7 to it or to pass on it entirely.
Just because it will look the same doesn't mean that there are no improvements in the background. Corporations are never the early adopters; I know companies still running XP.
Typical ignorant comments by the people at IDC, just because there appears to be no difference does not mean they have tweaked and fixed whats contained in the underlying system.
a big point is the smaller footprint, better multithreading support and greater compartmentalisation of the os allowing more updates to be run without the need for restarts and even releasing smaller updates that target specific areas without having to worry about breaking other parts of the system.
The problem is a lot of new software will start getting written for the new windows API in html / css, and they won't packport that API to older versions of NT 6. So a lot of the new software in the next half decade on windows machines will be web forms based and won't be usable on older versions, at least for the same purpose.
I've tried the preview and have to agree with this. For casual users that don't care about the Metro interface, it wont be worth the $$$ to upgrade from Windows 7. But for advanced users that know what is going on "under the hood" you gotta love the features and performance of Windows 8. It's been said that we will be able to disable Metro in the final release. I hope this is true because personally, I don't need it on my desktop PC and find it annoying. I know it can be disabled by tweaking it but I'm taking about a real built in option in the final release.
Now for the tablet market... it's going to be hard to compete with Adroid but I do think Metro is a step in the right direction.
ill most likely get a preorder key, as im just moveing to win7 due to ssd and need for 64bit... i will hate that move, but its a necessary evil. that said, ill wait till service pack 1 to either upgrade win 7 to it or to pass on it entirely.
Aboot time!
On the article topic: Pfff, irrelevant, my a$$! See that marketing of touch-screen AIOs everyone is busy with? Like hell Win8 will be irrelevant! Why do people by iCrap? (Sorry for mentioning Apple in yet another article, but it's a necessary evil) Because it's
(Of course, poor folks had no idea there're good-looking cases out there, such as Corsair, NZXT or Lian Li ones, but companies thrive on people's ignorance, so no surprise here)
vs
Because it's "cool" and "different", and NEVER MIND that extra cash spent on a PC that will do the same thing, it's TEH FUTURE! What do you mean you spent less on a traditional desktop PC that performs better? Mine is ALL IN ONE and that's all that matters and... what do you mean I look like a zombie with my hands stretched towards my screen? Get out of here, you don't understand the innovation behind this thing!
P.S. I understand the mainstream consumer doesn't need more performance for less, but IMO touchscreen AIOs are a stupid waste of money. Get a laptop or get a desktop, or even a tablet, but why, WHY would you use touchscreen on a DESKTOP?! Despite that, many people will "upgrade" to a touchscreen AIO. Because it's "cool". IDC would be right if the "average consumer" wouldn't be a clueless dumba$$.
Wow....so many people were commenting on how win8 is gonna be crap and that they are going to be keeping 7. And now all i see is the opposite. Change!
Aboot time!On the article topic: Pfff, irrelevant, my a$$! See that marketing of touch-screen AIOs everyone is busy with? Like hell Win8 will be irrelevant! Why do people by iCrap? (Sorry for mentioning Apple in yet another article, but it's a necessary evil) Because it's cool ! Why will people buy AIOs instead of the boring old box they have on/under the table? (Of course, poor folks had no idea there're good-looking cases out there, such as Corsair, NZXT or Lian Li ones, but companies thrive on people's ignorance, so no surprise here) Because it's "cool" and "different", and NEVER MIND that extra cash spent on a PC that will do the same thing, it's TEH FUTURE! What do you mean you spent less on a traditional desktop PC that performs better? Mine is ALL IN ONE and that's all that matters and... what do you mean I look like a zombie with my hands stretched towards my screen? Get out of here, you don't understand the innovation behind this thing! P.S. I understand the mainstream consumer doesn't need more performance for less, but IMO touchscreen AIOs are a stupid waste of money. Get a laptop or get a desktop, or even a tablet, but why, WHY would you use touchscreen on a DESKTOP?! Despite that, many people will "upgrade" to a touchscreen AIO. Because it's "cool". IDC would be right if the "average consumer" wouldn't be a clueless dumba$$.
I don't want finger prints on my screen, it will bother me when I play Crysis (sorry, just had to mention crysis), or BF3, MW3, SkyRim....NO FINGER PRINTS ON MY DESKTOP SCREEN EVER...no AIO EVER for my desktop.
It depends. If Windows 8 offers improvements or enhancements that make it worth the price of an upgrade, then I'll buy it. If not I won't.
Simple.
Wow....so many people were commenting on how win8 is gonna be crap and that they are going to be keeping 7. And now all i see is the opposite. Change!
Don't mind Win8. It looks like it's gonna have many awesome features. Just no AIO for me (and yes, I DO know you can disable Metro).
As for your last request: here's some...
sofar i have no plains in upgrading windows 7. its way to freaking unstable for me, and it has a very bad memory management. it leaks mem with almost everything most affected is FF3+ and alot of my games..
and im build a new computer for around 1000, but the over cost will b more since i need to get win7. (i hate windows since vista i liked my XP prof. better) so i have no plains in paying another 100 on it unless i get a better HD or something..
Microsoft will likely do something (or something already is intentionally or "unintentionally" built into 7) to force you to upgrade. I.E Windows XP can't upgrade past DirectX 9. They current memory cap on 64-bit Home Premium (16GB) is most likely sufficiently high for the next decade at minimum, so that is not a probable route.
I'll definitely be upgrading to Win8, since it's 'free' through my company's MSDN subscription! :-P
Plus, it'll be easier to test Metro apps with Win8 installed...
i rarely change (upgrade or downgrade) any OS that's already preinstalled on my PC or notebook. if i need to buy a fresh OS i'm more inclined to select the latest OS available presumably for its longer support life and more current features.
I have been testing windows 8 on desktop and laptop(With Kinect on desktop, pen tablet and normal laptop) I see it as a big upgrade for tablet users and more of a performance upgrade ala Snow Leopard for desktops and traditional laptops. The performance gains in file management and overall memory use are significant enough to warrant an upgrade for any performance user. A lot of services are now "sometimes" services rather than "always." I'd recommend reading the previous Tom's articles on the changes in Windows 8.
Contrary to all the analysts statements, I would like to see a Windows 8 Tablet which is 100% fully compatible and interactive with Windows 7.
You can't really do anything on a iPad or a Android Pad.
But on a Windows Pad, given full Windows support and open-access, you COULD actually do stuff AND keep the PC market relevant at the same time.
Put Office on it. Lets developers create on it. Let the everyday person write their home-grown programs for it, not just silly little apps.
THEN, you'll get my attention. Until then, I'm sticking to Windows 7.
Eh ill wait to see what reviews have to say. Id hate to pay another 100 bucks for a O.s. that really doesnt do anything for me....i.e.Vista.
still using XP on my desktop unit...I figure I'll upgrade when windows 9 comes out.