Windows 8 is Dead … Finally?
So, Microsoft announced it will no longer offer support for Windows 8. Finally. Tech industry critics are calling the move the “end of an error.” Millions of consumers tend to agree. From almost the beginning, Windows 8 was a bust. Sure, a lot of people bought it – and about 50 million PCs are still running it – but did anyone really like it? Has any OS ever been as openly and completely reviled as Windows 8? While 8 was not as universally hated as Vista, the operating system had few fans, for several reasons. First, it completely changed the interface without telling anyone. The “tile” system was clunky and the polar opposite of intuitive. In an all too common mistake, Microsoft designed 8 with two embedded assumptions: one, it would be amazing on tablets, and, two, people would love it, and the OS would become the new standard. Here’s what really happened. People kept buying Apple and Samsung tablets, and everyone hated the “tiles” setup on Windows 8. Not putting too fine a point on it, given those assumptions, Microsoft went 0-for-2. While it was a bit slow to respond, Microsoft attempted to “fix” the worst issues with 8 by releasing the “new and improved” Windows 8.1. While that OS did repair some of the damage, and Windows 10 went even further in that direction, Microsoft definitely damaged its brand in forcing customers to adapt to two faulty assumptions.