Windows 8 has just been released. For those of you with desktop (aka 'normal') computers, here's all you need to know about Windows 8:
For Microsoft, the existential crisis is the movement away from traditional desktop computing.
I wrote a review on the beta version here. It's morphed into an operating system designed for tablet computers, but as I note in the review:
The one big downside to the 'quickie' areas is that they're too simplistic. The weather just gives a few stats, but no radar map where you can gauge any oncoming rain clouds, which might be the most common reason to suddenly want to check the weather while on the road. So, you end up using your regular browser to access your usual weather site. Ditto the 'Stocks' area, and the 'News' feeds are restricted to just what's listed, and the little synopsis in the small tablet box usually doesn't say enough to explain what the article is about.
So even the things that make it handy and tablet-y are semi-worthless. And while the Desktop is still available for 'normal' computer work, it's missing a few things. Otherwise, it's just Windows 7 right down to the exit sound.
My guess is that the New Wave crowd — those who just gotta have the latest trinket, like a tablet computer — will rave about it, but otherwise I think it'll be something of a flop. Regular (also known as 'normal') computer users will just stare at the opening screen...
...and wonder why the hell they should want to check the weather (when a glance out the window should suffice) or their vast stock portfolio (that's your stock broker's job) when all they want to do is get their damn email and hang out on the web for a while.
If you have, or are thinking of buying, a tablet computer, by all means read some reviews and buy the best tablet software. If you're just a regular ol' slob like me using one of them archaic desktop computers, forget you just wasted two minutes reading this post. Sorry. Blame Microsoft.
