Bill Gates Says Windows 8 is ''Very Exciting''

It should be an exciting time for Microsoft. It's pushing customers into a new era, setting aside the typical desktop and focusing on a touch-oriented interface. It's ruffling the feathers of paying customers, analysts and critics alike, changing the way they compute on a daily basis.

But the Windows overhaul – the first since Windows 95 – is a necessary risk if Microsoft wants to compete in a touch-based world. Windows was once a powerhouse for Microsoft when the PC platform dominated personal computing. However, smartphones and tablets, led by the iPhone and iPad, have changed the way people work.

Daddy Desktop, or rather Microsoft founder Bill Gates, is just as excited. He admitted that he's already using the modern Windows revision, and is very pleased thus far. Naturally Gates is going to say something of that nature -- anything else would simply be bad business.

"Hardware partners are doing great things to take advantage of the features," Gates told The Associated Press in an interview. "It'll be a big deal, a very exciting product."

Recently Steve Ballmer said in an interview that 2012 will be Microsoft's "epic year," comparing the release of Windows 8 to the introduction of the first PC.

"Windows 95 was certainly the biggest thing in the last 20 years until now," he said. "I think Windows 8 certainly surpasses it. It's a little hard to compare things like the founding (of the company) and the introduction of the first popular PC and the system that popularized it, but it's at that scale."

Ballmer was then asked about what he's going to do if Windows 8 doesn't catch on. He responded by saying the platform will do great, dismissing any doubts. "I'm not paid to have doubts," he mused.

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  • deadlockedworld
    While it may be so ... since when is it news when someone associated with a company calls their own products "exciting?"
    Reply
  • john_4
    Shut up Billy Boy
    Reply
  • Nakal
    I don't hate Windows 8. I think the "Metro UI" is great for touch screen applications. But I do not think it works well with a Mouse, and as a traditional desktop user, I want to be able to use my standard desktop and start menu (without 3rd party apps).
    Reply
  • greghome
    You have a lot of shares in a company that's about to release crap or at least crappier than before product.....What do? :/

    Tell everyone it's good :D
    Reply
  • killerclick
    A train wreck is also "very exciting".
    Reply
  • dextermat
    I'm sure he said that about his grandma :P
    Reply
  • CaedenV
    The only good thing that would come of a win8 flop (though my bet is that it will succeed far beyond analyst's expectations) is that MS would be rid of Balmer. that would be good for MS, and good for the PC industry as a whole.
    Reply
  • bllue
    With the great success that W7 was (over half a million licenses), I think it's only logical to take a risk and test the market. What's important about W8 is that it's gonna encourage manufacturers to make better, more affordable touch screens for consumers. It's also going to force tablet manufacturer to stop half-assing tablets and make decent ones that can compete with the Surface and iPad. I'm sure most of the tablet manufacturers sh*t themselves when they heard of the Surface, and they probably still do because it looks better than the most of the crap they've made so far.
    Reply
  • ronch79
    Honestly, I find the Metro UI kinda boring. Monotonous.
    Reply
  • bucknutty
    Just give us the option to run “classic theme/mode” or even “aero” with a start button and start menu. I understand the need to keep the install learn for mobile devices so make this an option that needs to be installed as separate module or slipstreamed into the install. Heck MS could even sell it for $5 bucks. I would pay a very small fee extra for that.
    Reply