David Pogue of The New York Times suggests “this may be the biggest week in Microsoft’s 37-year history.” Yesterday, the company demonstrated its very first computer — the Surface tablet, the new Windows Phone 8 operating system, and, “believe it or not, two PC operating systems”
“I’m not talking about Windows 8 and Windows RT, which are, in fact, two new and distinct operating systems from Microsoft,” writes Pogue. “I mean the two different worlds within Windows 8 alone, one designed primarily for touch screens, the other for mouse and keyboard.”
“Individually, they are excellent — but you can’t use them individually,” he adds. “Microsoft has combined them into a superimposed, muddled mishmash called Windows 8, which goes on sale Friday at prices ranging from $15 to $40, depending on the offer and version.”
Pogue suggests that these two environments, which he calls “desktop” and “TileWorld,” are confusing, inefficient and redundant paired together.
“Windows 8’s desktop is basically the well-regarded Windows 7 with a few choice enhancements, like faster start-up, a Lock screen that displays a clock and notifications, and more control over multiple-monitor arrangements,” he explains.
“Here, you can run any of the four million traditional Windows apps, which Microsoft calls desktop apps: Photoshop, Quicken, tax software, games,” he notes, adding that users can log into any Windows 8 PC with a Microsoft ID and have all their settings, accounts and information immediately available.
“TileWorld is modeled on Microsoft’s lovely Windows Phone software. It presents a home screen filled with colorful square and rectangular tiles. Each represents an app — and, often, that app’s latest data,” he writes. All the apps must come from the Windows Store. It works well on tablets, poorly on PCs.
“Two worlds means insane, productivity-killing schizophrenia. The Windows 8 learning curve resembles Mount Everest,” according to Pogue.
David Pogue of The New York Times suggests “this may be the biggest week in Microsoft’s 37-year history.” Yesterday, the company demonstrated its very first computer — the Surface tablet, the new Windows Phone 8 operating system, and, “believe it or not, two PC operating systems”
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