Microsoft vice-president of corporate communications Frank Shaw took to the company’s blog recently to defend the software giant’s beleaguered Windows 8, which has now passed the 100-million user mark.
Shaw said Microsoft appreciates constructive criticism and strives to improve its products, including Windows 8, based on user feedback.
What he does not like, however, is when bloggers and publishers “opt for sensationalism and hyperbole over nuanced analysis” in a bid to get page views.
Criticism, however, has come from multiple reputable sources, including The Financial Times and The Economist.
A recent Financial Times article called Windows 8 “one of the most prominent admissions of failurefor a new mass-market consumer product since Coca-Cola’s New Coke fiasco nearly 30 years ago.”
The Economist, in a story detailing Microsoft’s plans to release an updated and improved version of Windows 8, quipped that “restoring the start button will not restore Microsoft to its former glory.”
IDC analyst Bob O’Donnell has been especially critical.
According to O’Donnell, the release of Windows 8 — which was expected to boost PC sales — did more harm than good to the market.
He blamed the 14 percent dip in global computer shipments in the first-quarter of 2013, in part, on Microsoft’s lackluster Windows 8.
“While some consumers appreciate the new form factors and touch capabilities of Windows 8, the radical changes to the (user interface), removal of the familiar Start button, and the costs associated with touch have made PCs a less attractive alternative to dedicated tablets and other competitive devices,” O’Donnell said. “Microsoft will have to make some very tough decisions moving forward if it wants to help reinvigorate the PC market.”
Shaw points out that Windows 8 must be a decent product to sell 100 million copies, but admitted that the software can still be improved based on user feedback.
He also alluded to The Financial Times’ article with one comment: “Windows 8 is a good product, and it’s getting better every day. Unlike a can of soda, a computer operating system offers different experiences to different customers to meet different needs, while still moving the entire industry toward an exciting future of touch, mobility, and seamless, cross-device experiences.”
“We are going to keep improving Windows 8, as we do with all our products, making what’s good even better,” he added. “There will be new devices, new use cases, new data that makes us think, ‘Hey, we should do more of this, or less of that.’ And we will. There will be people who agree, strongly. There will be those who disagree, equally strongly. All good, all expected.”
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Microsoft Addresses Windows 8 Critics
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