Microsoft: 85% of Windows 8 Users Chose Desktop on Day 1
Most of the Windows 8 adopters chose the desktop because it's more familiar.
In addition to reporting that Microsoft sold 40 million Windows 8 licenses in a month, Tami Reller, Microsoft's chief marketing officer and chief financial officer for Windows Division, said that 85-percent of the new Windows 8 users chose to use the familiar desktop on the first day rather than depend on the Modern UI overlay. But she also added that most of these users have discovered the advantages of using the new interface over the course of three weeks.
According to Computerworld, her statistics derive through remote telemetry. Microsoft has reportedly logged over 1.5 billion impressions of Windows 8 customers deploying the new Start screen. She said that not only has it become home base for most users, but they're personalizing it, adding an average of 19 additional tiles to the set that already comes installed on the new UI system.
"When people experience Windows 8, they do find it is easy to get started and fun to learn," she said on Tuesday at the Credit Suisse Annual Technology Conference, in Scottsdale, Arizona. "We know from the data we're getting in that customers do indeed get the product."
Other statistics include the use of Charms, as 90-percent of the Windows 8 customers use these two or three times a session to find, search, explore and share. The number of Windows Store apps has also reportedly doubled since the platform launched in October, and several of those apps have even been downloaded more than a million times. She said 25-percent of the new Windows 8 users have actually added 30 new live tiles.
Reller also cautioned skeptics that Windows 8 can't be compared to Windows 7 in regards to the adoption rate. She said the older OS wasn't addressing a major change in the underlying hardware platform – meaning Windows 7 didn't have to deal with the tablet form factor. Thus Windows 8 is taking on a bigger role by embracing not only the typical x86-based platform, but the touchy tablet form factor as well.
"This has been the biggest project since Windows 95," she said.
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Kevin Parrish has over a decade of experience as a writer, editor, and product tester. His work focused on computer hardware, networking equipment, smartphones, tablets, gaming consoles, and other internet-connected devices. His work has appeared in Tom's Hardware, Tom's Guide, Maximum PC, Digital Trends, Android Authority, How-To Geek, Lifewire, and others.
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evilsizer I choose it because it's easier to use on a pc. Yes I'm familiar with it but it also makes more sense then pictures ment for touch screens. The prblem here is that MS is, as always, still out f touch with it's customers.Reply
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besus In related news, of those 85%, 100% of them went to the lower-left corner of the screen looking/hoping for a Start button as well.Reply -
Neve12ende12 besusIn related news, of those 85%, 100% of them went to the lower-left corner of the screen looking/hoping for a Start button as well.Reply
And they found it if they were in the Desktop. And when they clicked it, it took them to the new UI Start Menu. -
cepheid Very misleading as most programs automatically put a start button by default. Metro UI is terrible.Reply -
dgingeri I added a whole lot more than 19 tiles, once I learned how to add tiles. That part is not exactly intuitive. I also removed half the tiles MS put on there by default. There are some I'd like to turn off the animation and make smaller. (Netflix and Hulu got to double size, and Hulu puts the most useless, ugly pictures up.) I wish it were more customizable.Reply
Even the tile layout won't act right. The way it organizes automatically is annoying. The first few tile are always 2 wide, at 9 instead of going to a 3X3 mode, it goes to a 2X4 +1 to the right mode. Adding a 10th makes it 2X4 +2 to the right on the first line, when I'd rather have it go to the second line. It's rather stupid.
Overall, I like the Win 8 interface, but there are still some problems with it. I'd put it on par with Win 7 for stability, usability, and performance, but Win 8 has better security. So, I'll stick with Win 8 for my main machine and my laptop. My HTPC is still Win 7 because it's easier with a touchpad. Win 8 with a touchpad and no touchscreen is terrible. -
cookoy WTF is remote telemetry? I don't like my software phoning home and reporting my usage habits to big bro.Reply -
ram1009 I'm confused. I heard that Microsoft completely removed the code for a desktop so that even aftermarket developers couldn't add it back as an option. If users have the option for a desktop and start button what's the gripe?Reply