Sales of Windows 8 PCs are "well below Microsoft's internal projections" and have been described within the company as "disappointing". That's according to a "trusted source at Microsoft", talking to Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows.
The unnamed source told Thurrott the company is putting the blame squarely at the feet of PC manufacturers, noting their "inability to deliver". If Microsoft annoyed its partners by launching its Surface tablet as a competitor, it's not looking to patch things up any time soon.
The report is a little short of hard numbers. The official word from Microsoft is that it's sold 4 million copies of Windows 8, and that sales of its Surface tablet have been "modest", but the report doesn't mention how many of either the company expected to ship. There are 1.25 billion people using Windows software in the world, so 4 million is a tiny fraction.
Steven Sinofsky, Microsoft's man in charge of Windows, was handed his marching orders a few days ago as well, hinting maybe everything isn't hunky-dory in Redmond.
The Pro version of Microsoft's Surface tablet that runs Windows 8 won't be out until next year, which could spur sales, with people skipping the RT model. It does seem a bit of a blunder to launch the RT version but not one with full Windows 8. Add to that the economic climate, and it's hardly surprising so few people are rushing out to buy a new computer.
Windows 8 launched at the end of October, around the same time as Windows Phone 8, Microsoft's similar new mobile OS. CEO Steve Ballmer said it heralded "the launch of a new era at Microsoft". You can find all our how-to guides and other coverage of Windows 8 here.
What do you think of Windows 8? Are you enjoying using it? If not, where did Microsoft go wrong? Let me know what you reckon below in the comments, or on our Facebook page.
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Ian Woodward 19 November, 2012 12:07
Windows 8 is totally "meh" to me. I think this is the case with a hell of a lot of people. We just got Windows 7 working beautifully after a few updates to rid our minds of Vista so why would we rush out to buy Windows 8 when all Microsoft v1.0 releases are buggy as hell?
I ran the upgrade assistant just out of interest on my 1yr old PC and 22 of my 120 programmes would need to be reinstalled under Win8. Messing about retrieving registration codes and emailing developers is not something I need in my life and I would expect such a new PC to be able to upgrade to the newest OS without such hassle.
anonymous 19 November, 2012 12:58
I think I might ditch OSX for windows 8. Not...............!
Eric Manktelow 19 November, 2012 13:06
Using it for the past weekend and in my view it's got some good ideas that have been completely fudged and botched.
It's not a streamlined OS like Windows 7 was, it's Windows 7 with a tablet UI forced onto parts of it then some of the functional parts of Win7 removed to try and force you to use the tablet UI by removing the choice.
If the "Modern UI" is so good then give us the choice and we'll choose to use it, but it isn't.
It's clunky with a keyboard and mouse and promotes Windows phone UI over productivity.
Eric Manktelow 19 November, 2012 13:07
Just to add I'm glad I only paid £25 for it.
anonymous 19 November, 2012 13:25
Each to their own I guess.....
I've been running Windows 8 Enterprise for a couple of months now and absolutely love it, that's not to say that everyone will love it as that is obviously not the case, but I know around 15-20 friends that now run it and have nothing bad to say about it. It's just different.
I can see why some people would prefer Windows 7, and I for one have never done an upgrade as I just format and reinstall, far quicker for me.
And with regards to OSX, that again is your opinion, I personally hate OSX and found it clunky and poorly designed at best, hence to the title "Each to their own..."
anonymous 19 November, 2012 13:44
Non intuitive. To run windows media player I hat to go to it's folder. Tried right mouse button on the exe file to send it to metro, the option was not there. This is just an example.
We are no longer in the era where to use a product you have to read a manual. Certainly not an it product.
Mike0124 19 November, 2012 15:11
I am a desktop user and can't see any advantage in upgrading from Win 7 which works well for me, I don' have touch a enabled monitor and can't see the point of that ugly metro win phone interface(a phone which virtually nobody seems to be buying anyway)
jayce35 19 November, 2012 15:30
ms only ever release figure when there good not when there bad like wp7 , so sales are probably bad
anonymous 19 November, 2012 16:06
"Win8 does have an option to temporarily show a second area in a small part of the screen, but none of our test users were able to make this work."
Your testers were idiots.
Dsellars 19 November, 2012 16:28
OSX and Win 7 FTW :D
anonymous 19 November, 2012 20:21
Windows 8 has all the features of Windows 7, plus a lot more. The "Start"concept in Windows 8 with its tiled applications is the same as "start" on your taskbar in Windows 7 which calls up the programs, except now it is right there - you don't have to click on start.
If you want to find what you are used to knowing in Windows 7, being the desktop, simply click on the Desktop app tile in Start, and stay there.
I first downloaded and installed Windows 8 Enterprise trial version, and after a few days I was sold. I did not simply want to go out and buy Windows 8, just in case I hated the experience. I was also prejudiced about Windows 8, until I tried the trial version. I thought: "What could be better than Windows 7? Then I discovered that my prejudice was unfounded and Windows 8 was not only better, but much better! :)
Everything works as well as in Windows 7, just visibly faster, especially some things. The only thing that doesn't work, is my TV card, but I never use it anyway, so big deal.
I can understand how some people, especially older people, would find Windows 8 totally counter-intuitive, but if you like to experiment and try new things, Windows 8 will be a breeze for you. It works like a charm and everything is much more accessible and easier to find than in Windows 7. You definitely don't need a manual, just a few quick tips, which you can easily find on the Internet by a bit of browsing and / or reading Windows 8 reviews.
JP
ElDiabloJuanCarl 19 November, 2012 20:24
Windows 8 ain't perfect, but I personally like it. A few design mis-steps to be sure, but nothing that can not be tweaked.
CaptainPicard 19 November, 2012 22:51
I really like the Windows 8 interface, it really looks like something from Star Trek!! But Windows hasn't really changed over the last 10 years - my workplace still uses Windows XP and so do many hospitals, job centers and other public offices. What can Windows 8 do that Windows XP, Vista and 7 cant do? I know it bridges the gap between a PC and a tablet, but I feel like I've seen it all before.
Tim Acheson 20 November, 2012 14:49
These "rumours" constitute little more than anti-Microsoft propaganda, and seems to spin the original source while placing disproportionate emphasis on one aspect of the story.
Adoption of a major new PC OS takes time. Windows 7 is still more than good enough, and will be officially supported until at least 2020. — probably some way into Windows 9.
E.g. A major airline has just announced a big adoption plan – and this is how adoption will ramp up, slowly at first.
http://www.smartplanet.com/blog/bulletin/emirates-issues-windows-tablets-to-onboard-airline-staff/6136
How quickly people forget. It took Windows XP four years to take off. Slow initial adoption is normal and expected for new versions of Windows:
http://www.zdnet.com/windows-8-is-the-new-xp-7000006095/
PCs are built to last. If you purchased a new PC 5 to 10 years ago, it is generally just as useful today, so there is no need to upgrade the OS or replace the machine. Windows 7 has only just overtaken Windows XP as the most popular OS, after 10 years — despite Win 7 being the fastest-selling OS of all time.
anonymous 21 November, 2012 16:00
windows 8 release preview made me want to die.
jim 22 November, 2012 00:53
The idea that the W8 UI is essentially for tablet based systems is, I think, the greatest problem for MS. I would think that MS might have incorporated a choice initially for either a touch screen or mouse which might make it more palatable. Also MSs proclivity for hiding background operations has moved up to a new level which keeps me from wanting to use this OS.
jim 22 November, 2012 00:54
The idea that the W8 UI is essentially for tablet based systems is, I think, the greatest problem for MS. I would think that MS might have incorporated a choice, initially, for either a touch screen or mouse which might make it more palatable. Also MSs proclivity for hiding background operations has moved up to a new level which keeps me from wanting to use this OS.
anonymous 22 November, 2012 15:31
MS have abandon their loyal followers with Windows 8. They hope to enter a market that they have continuously failed in and are completely ignoring the market that has brought them success, namely the Desktop PC Market. Even OSX Mountain Lion boots to the desktop and then give the ‘option’ to open Launchpad (an IOS like application launcher).
MS should have given the user the choice of Metro or Desktop at start up, as it is, there is no room for Windows 8 in the workplace.
Microsoft have made a bad move which could have easily been corrected before the product was launched and which I predict will be corrected in SP1.
anonymous 24 November, 2012 05:31
It simply won't do what I need it to do - run an application program of the left half of the screen and a tabbed browser on the right half fo the screen. This, along with one or two file folders which I can pop up with Alt-Ctrl. This is child's play with W7.
anonymous 25 November, 2012 06:01
Well, I've been playing with windows 8 for a while now. I think Metro isn't just counter intuitive, it isn't Windows. You can't multitask with Metro apps. You can keep them open and switch between em, but there's no real multitasking....video app in one window. Word in another. IE in a yet another etc. You can squeeeze two on a screen and switch between em, but the smaller of the two isn't really useable. So, Microsoft really is trying to turn the desktop into a Tablet. One app at a time. Just dumb. For me, I downloaded a program Classic Shell (one of several apps that do roughly the same thing). This returns the Start button, looking like a shel,l to the desktop corner. So now I have windows 8 booting straight to the desktop. Win 8 is faster than windows 7, so that is a plus. The new front end, .....is just a bunch of whoeeee
Tim Acheson 28 November, 2012 13:05
Windows 8 outsells Windows 7
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/microsoft/9707731/Windows-8-outsells-Windows-7.html
Lloyd David 5 December, 2012 14:24
Annoying, windows 8 is "ok", using now to type this, why they're complaining that they didn't get enough money is not amusing... They should be doing something themselves to get better sales... They have the money...
Max Goodman 18 December, 2012 06:15
Microsoft has a point with its partners. I just bought an Ultrabook (Samsung Series 5) for my daughter for Xmas and it came with Windows 7. I can upgrade it to 8 of course but that's a whole additional headache I didn't need.
In the meantime I upgraded my own PC from XP to 8 only really because I thought it was about time. I've had XP for about a decade.
Overall I like using 8. The metro interface doesn't really bother me at all - in fact - I hardly ever use it!
Once you have setup the machine and created shortcuts on the taskbar you can live on the desktop almost entirely. At first I was surprised by this but actually it makes sense. I rarely used the start-button on XP.
What remains after that is simple a faster version of XP. There are a few head-scratching moments but nothing I haven't been able to figure out. For example I received a PDF attachment over email yesterday, double clicked on it and it opened in Microsoft's metro-viewer. Great - but there was no print option to be found - and this was a form I needed to fill in. That's bizzare! As soon as I opened it in Chrome there was a print button - so problem solved but that's quite an oversight IMHO.
anonymous 27 December, 2012 23:32
Running dual boot with Vista and Win8.
If I needed to purchase a new computer right now, it would have Win7 not Win8.