More Than Half of Consumers Haven't Heard of Windows 8
61 percent had "little or no interest" in purchasing a desktop or laptop with Windows 8 installed.
A survey has found that more than half of consumers have not even heard of Microsoft's just-released Windows 8 operating system.
1,200 U.S. adults took part in the survey conducted by Associated Press and market researcher GfK, which found that 52 percent of participants had not heard of Windows 8. 61 percent had "little or no interest" in purchasing either a new desktop or laptop equipped with the operating system.
35 percent of respondents believe Microsoft's latest OS will be an improvement from the operating system's predecessors.
Despite pre-order demand showcasing the potential commercial muscle of Microsoft tablet Surface, 69 percent of respondents stated that they have no interest in buying the tablet.
Microsoft is spending an accumulative of $1.5 billion on advertising its latest OS, while the firm is also offering free Wi-Fi in certain U.S. states.
Meanwhile, PC component suppliers are said to be worried over the fact that consumers won't be interested in Windows 8 until 2013.

Seriously... people are dumb and uninformed. How many people have you ever helped to fix something and your first question is "What operating system are you running" and the only answer you can squeeze out of them is "I think it's windows".
Seriously... people are dumb and uninformed. How many people have you ever helped to fix something and your first question is "What operating system are you running" and the only answer you can squeeze out of them is "I think it's windows".
I had a blast trying to explain someone that Windows 98 is NOT better than Windows 7 just because it has double digits.
And he wondered why essentially all of the modern games won't run on it.
On the flip side, there are people who will never upgrade from their 256 MB RAM toasters.
hahaha true.. and you know what? its ok.... as the general public goes, they log on, check their email, maybe do some surfing, watch a movie or search the web.... the next laptop/netbook/tablet i would buy will have windows 8 and I'll just have to get used to it.... But as far as my current, destop, laptop and netbook goes, im quite happy with what they came with, windows 7... I might get an OEM copy of W8 pro for my desktop... but i dont think i can take my 3D software with me or even my BluRay burning software with me, thats whats holding me back.... $150 for the OS then another who knows how many hundreds to keep the programs i like using... hmmmmm.... yes theres compatability mode, but after going from XP to Vista and then to Win7, of wich I had to keep upgrading the sofware i used most.... its a tough pill to swallow...
Still, it's difficult to understand how anyone who's turned on a TV in the last couple weeks hasn't seen a Windows 8....8....8......8 ad. Unless they're subconsciously trying to tune it out.
Well some will also say Internet Explorer or the brand name of their computer.
sadly here in the Panhandle of WV, i haven't even seen a single windows 8 commercial and most of the channels comes from DC..... Think all the political ads is drowning out everything else.
Seriously... people are dumb and uninformed. How many people have you ever helped to fix something and your first question is "What operating system are you running" and the only answer you can squeeze out of them is "I think it's windows".
While we're at it... "61 percent had "little or no interest" in purchasing either a new desktop or laptop equipped with the operating system."
Did they account for the possibility that 61 percent of respondents simply had no interest in purchasing a new desktop or laptop regardless of what operating system it was running? The survey results are severely lacking in clarity. That's why I never pay attention to these kinds of articles. When survey results get released, they should be required to publish the questions as well as the responses. I want to see exactly what was asked as well, and then draw my own conclusions about the data.
I don't think you need to worry about compatibility if the software you have works on Windows 7. Think of Windows 8 like Windows 7 with Metro duct taped to the side. You have your Metro apps and everything else runs exactly as in Windows 7, compatibility wise.