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Windows 8 gets bashed again

The fortunes of Microsoft, hardware manufacturers, and computer makers from all around the world are closely tied together. When Microsoft offers popular software, such as a new version of its Windows operating system, sales of PCs can increase significantly.
 
Dong-soo, a Samsung executive, recently said that Windows 8 is "no better than the previous Windows Vista platform", according to Forbes. The exec also blamed the poor sales of ultrabooks on the "less competitive Windows platform."

Due to the disappointing adoption of Windows 8, Samsung is focusing the attention of its memory fabrication business to mobile chips instead of traditional memory used in notebooks and desktops.
 
However, Forbes puts a different spin on the “poor” memory market with the keen assertion that Windows 8 lacks the bloat that requires such high amounts of memory as in previous versions of the operating system.

While reducing the amount of bloat in the operating system is a good thing for consumers, obviously memory makers don't feel the same way. An operating system that needs less memory means less profit and sales for these memory makers.
 
Samsung isn’t the only company to take jabs at Microsoft and Windows 8. Acer executives have not only blasted Windows 8 sales, but also Microsoft’s poor efforts in educating customers on the differences between Surface RT and Surface Pro.

Source: Forbes


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Cannabilism
By crimsonson on 3/11/13, Rating: 0
RE: Cannabilism
By Luticus on 3/11/2013 9:36:52 AM , Rating: 5
People aren't buying as many desktops because hardware is at a point right now where even the newest software can run on older hardware. We've just hit a point where software has been surpassed greatly by hardware. Old computers are lasting much longer because of this. I only replace my rig ever 5 or so years because I tend to build one that is so advanced that it'll take 5 years for software to catch up. Also, those of us who do buy desktop pcs aren't buying form samsung, we're buying from newegg. My desktop runs windows 8 pro and has 32GB of RAM, I'm not the only one doing this. The new standard for desktops is 8 - 16GB.

Yes, I also own a tablet, but that's not my primary computer. My desktop will be primary for a LONG time to come. Granted that's just me personally, but I don't think I'm alone.


RE: Cannabilism
By max_payne on 3/11/2013 10:03:37 AM , Rating: 2
I agree with you Luticus. No one in his right mind will ditch their main computer for a freaking 7/10 inches tablet. Personally I use my smart phone for outside but at home it`s still my desktop and I have no use for a tablet. Now Samsung complaining that it is not selling memory because of W8 is far fetch. The problem is that there is already too much production so the price is rock bottom. They should be happy with that even PC come with way too much memory for normal usage. I rarely pass two gig on my computer. Samsung own a big portion of the memory market which most of it is re-branded. They should however thanks Crytek for their new release as it push the hardware market more then that new idiotic MS OS.


RE: Cannabilism
By cruisin3style on 3/11/2013 10:18:05 AM , Rating: 4
I agree, people on a "deals" forum i go to are always bashing AMD or Intel when a laptop deal comes up, saying the other is better and this and that.

The reality is that almost every current piece of cpu technology is overkill for what most people do with their computers anyway. The only chips that aren't 100% fantastic are Atom and AMD's equivalent C or E series (or whatever it is now), otherwise it's just a matter of AMD for graphics speed or Intel for processing speed...with the other half of the equation not being exceptional but good enough (AMD's processing, Intel's graphics)


RE: Cannabilism
By crimsonson on 3/11/2013 10:33:47 AM , Rating: 1
Exactly. Power users are the only one needing desktop still in the personal level. A lot of power users will build or upgrade current CPU.

Casual users - email, web browsing, photos, Twitter and Facebook users - are able to satisfy most of their needs with tablets and smartphones.

With the price of desktop somewhere starting around $300 in the US, you may as well upgrade your current smartphone or tablet. At $300 you are in the mid to high end range of this mobile devices.

So again, tablet and smartphones have changed the purchasing patterns for many users, to the point that desktop purchase is like 2, 3 or even 4th on their list.

Blaming an OS (which I am not even a fan of) is stupid and just shows Samsung unable to recognize market patterns that they themselves have fostered.


RE: Cannabilism
By retrospooty on 3/11/2013 11:17:56 AM , Rating: 2
"We've just hit a point where software has been surpassed greatly by hardware. "

Exactly... Really, anything from 2006's Core2duo on up is more than plenty fast enough to run anything that 98% of people do today. Internet browsing, email and office type apps cover almost everyone's needs. Todays latest and greatest Intel CPU's really dont run them any better, not by a margin noticeable enough to make any normal person want to upgrade. That and tablets makes me surprised its still as good as it is. I would think PC sales would even be lower.


RE: Cannabilism
By CaedenV on 3/11/2013 11:38:25 AM , Rating: 2
Agreed. The bulk of 'software' in use today is web content like facebook, netflix/hulu/youtube, and news sites. If you have an old pentium 4HT with 2-4GB of ram and windowsXP then you can do all of that with no problem (so long as you are patient with your initial boot time). Annoyed that your system runs slow? Throw in an SSD and a little GPU and watch your old machine feel like new.

Fact of the matter is that most 'software' in use today is written with phones and tablets in mind, and that carries over to the desktop. these experiences are brought to people through the web, and so their internet connection is their primary limiting factor, not things like the hardware or software running on their local machine.

If we get faster phones/tablets, and better internet, then you know what happens to the average computer user? They will tie their portable device to a screen and keyboard and simply replace their desktop. When I got my phone, it replaced every portable device I own. It is awesome to have a single reliable and capable device rather than a ton of nearly-useful single-purpose devices, and I imagine that the phones and tablets that come out in the near future will have more than enough power to replace most people's desktops (provided they have the ability to hook into larger screens/speakers/keys/mice to bring the desktop experience).

My own system is nearly 2 years old now and can do just about everything without breaking a sweat, and it will probably last another 5-7 years with little upgrades here and there, and so I really wonder if I will ever build another computer for myself from scratch, or if this will turn into my home server at some point, and in 5-7 years I move to all dockable portable devices for my enduser machines.

The new consoles coming out, and 4K displays may make upgrading needed (at least for the GPU), but I can't think of another thing that I would want to do on my PC that would require any more hardware than I already have, and I am a pretty heavy user.


RE: Cannabilism
By ipay on 3/11/2013 1:06:23 PM , Rating: 2
Bingo.

I take the same approach: I spend big and then don't need to replace for a few years. 24 gigs of RAM, SSDs and VelociRaptors, overclocked i7 extreme edition with 6 cores (and 6 hyperthreaded ones), etc, etc.


RE: Cannabilism
By Saldrin on 3/11/2013 1:51:47 PM , Rating: 3
I'm surprised no one mentioned gaming. It is the only reason I keep a desktop PC. With the aging consoles dictating how games are developed there has been no reason to upgrade much. Most games that come out are still DX 9 games because that is the API used on the 360. According to wiki, there were 20 PC games in 2012 that supported DX 11 link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_games_with_Di...

That is not much of a push for PC gamers to upgrade.


RE: Cannabilism
By andrewaggb on 3/11/2013 2:02:06 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah gaming is it for me as well. Otherwise I'd be all laptops at this point.


RE: Cannabilism
By Iketh on 3/12/2013 12:10:31 AM , Rating: 2
yea and then factor in that only a fraction of DX 11 tech is getting implemented in most of those games... DX 11 isn't close to stretching its legs yet


RE: Cannabilism
By Strunf on 3/12/2013 6:30:36 AM , Rating: 2
True, there are only a few games that will require a high-end PCs to be perfectly fluid (as in 60+fps) most will play nicely even on low end machines, that said we can finally push AA and AF to its limits without much of problem...

That said I've been playing Skyrim and my 2 years old PC did show it's age when I installed some Mods.


Software is at fault, not the OS
By Targon on 3/11/2013 10:00:28 AM , Rating: 5
The purpose of the operating system is really to serve as a way to make use of the computer hardware, so applications sit on top of the OS. Now, if applications are being toned down so they can run on much lower end machines, including game consoles and tablets, this means you don't NEED a higher end computer to run anything.

Quickbooks doesn't require all that much by modern standards, most people don't bother with applications like Photoshop since many of the most commonly used features are put into cameras and phones today, and then CAD doesn't NEED the highest end machines anymore.

Basically, to push PC sales, and memory demand, more and more intensive applications are needed, but what is pushing the limits at this point? Games have been a "lowest common denominator" environment for years now, where game designers are targeting the console market, and limiting what games require or even use so they can make the same title for the console as they do for the PC.

Multi-threading as well, you don't see games pushing it where you WANT an 8-core processor, or at least one that uses hyper threading.




RE: Software is at fault, not the OS
By merc14 on 3/11/2013 10:49:46 AM , Rating: 2
I think desktops are becoming almost a niche now that laptops have become so powerful. Some examples of peopl that require ppowerful deskops are:

1. Ripping music and videos requires a powerful desktop computer if youwant to complete the task speedily.

2. Science and advanced engineering require powerful desktops that utilize the graphics card(s) as a massive parallel processor.

3. Creating animation/CGI also requires a powerful computer.

Most any other task can be done on a new mid0level laptop.


RE: Software is at fault, not the OS
By Ammohunt on 3/11/2013 3:05:20 PM , Rating: 3
You forgot serious gaming. For the price laptops are not there yet


RE: Software is at fault, not the OS
By Cypherdude1 on 3/11/2013 8:49:53 PM , Rating: 2
You left out other certain major applications. No laptop or Win8 Pro Tablet can do this:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/customer-media/product-ga...

Overall though, most people can use an 11" Windows 8 Pro Tablet. The problem is Win8 Pro tablets are currently expensive. It will probably be a year before the price comes down to $700 for a Win8 Pro tablet with a cellular connection, 256 GB mSSD, 8 GB RAM, Intel Haswell 4 core CPU, USB 3.0x, VGA and mini-HDMI:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HDMI#Connectors

It would also be nice if it had quad speakers such as the Lenovo Idea Tablet S2109 9.7-Inch 16 GB Tablet. That would be really cool:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0089SZ8PM

One application which requires a tablet is travel. If you wish to travel, you really must have a tablet. Laptops are simply too heavy to carry around along with all your other things.

Let's hope Lenovo comes out with a tablet with all the above features, including the ability for the user to replace the RAM and mSSD himself.

Finally, I want to comment on Windows 8 Pro which is included with new desktops and laptops. Desktops and most laptops do not have a touchscreen. Win8 Pro is simply not meant for these devices. Whenever I look at new laptops, Win8 is a major reason for me not to purchase it. Microsoft's brand nomenclature is also confusing. I cannot tell if Windows 8 RT is included which I don't want, or Windows 8 Pro is included which I do want.


RE: Software is at fault, not the OS
By tng on 3/12/2013 7:32:56 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
One application which requires a tablet is travel. If you wish to travel, you really must have a tablet. Laptops are simply too heavy to carry around along with all your other things.
Not true, I spend 50% of my time on the road and looked at getting a tablet of some kind when my last laptop was getting long in the tooth. The problem is that none of them really were versatile enough for what I do, and some of them (iPad especially) are little more than expensive toys and book readers.

I got an ultrabook with W7 and I am quite happy with it.


Money. (Does not grow on trees)
By Gunbuster on 3/11/2013 10:15:52 AM , Rating: 2
Samsung sells a phone (galaxy note II) that costs $329.99 WITH a contract. $799.99 without contract.

That money comes from someplace. You don’t get to complain when it’s you who have convinced the consumer to shift their spending to a different product.




By TheSlamma on 3/11/2013 3:44:19 PM , Rating: 2
They are just mad cause they thought that like the dot com, the junk bonds and the housing bubbles that the frenzy was supposed to just keep on going and going.


Can't sell it.
By mike66 on 3/11/2013 6:13:49 PM , Rating: 2
Even though the discount period ended at the end of February my local Harvey Norman has Win8 in a bargain bin at the bargain price, says a lot when a major retailer has no room on it's shelves.




By ssnova703 on 3/11/2013 10:41:15 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
However, Forbes puts a different spin on the “poor” memory market with the keen assertion that Windows 8 lacks the bloat that requires such high amounts of memory as in previous versions of the operating system.


Samsung says they'll focus more on tablet/phone ram, which is even less in capacity when compared to a PC! How could they even use that as a valid argument???

If you ask me, it's more like following the trend, rather than an off-speculation that Windows 8 is too efficient and it doesn't require more RAM.

Everyone knows that the PC market is dwindling(not saying dead, so don't go there), just look at Dell(who hasn't made announcements yet), HP, and Lenovo, which are all investing towards more mobile devices such as phones/tablets.




Scapegoat
By TakinYourPoints on 3/12/2013 5:10:08 AM , Rating: 2
As easy as it is to bash on Windows 8, and I'm not a huge fan myself, that isn't the real problem.

Computers last a hell of a lot longer than they used to for most people. Even niche groups like gamers are able to run most new games very well on three to four year old hardware.

Aside from that, most people don't need to use a desktop computer for most of the things that they used to need them for (web, email, light gaming), they can do those on portable devices like phones and tablets instead. This also reduces the need for multiple computers in a single household.

So yeah, fewer computers are being sold simply because they aren't as necessary anymore, most are already "good enough" and have mostly been replaced in daily use by portable devices. You'll always need a desktop or laptop for typing out long documents or doing real work, but you sure as heck don't need one for most common uses these days.




Memory hog
By biostud on 3/11/2013 10:05:09 AM , Rating: 1
So since win8 is not a memory hog, memory makers complains...

More graphical eye candy -> worse battery life.




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