Sometimes you really do get what you pay for. Take the free Windows 8.1 update, at least to hear its many critics tell it.
With the recent release of the second update for the Windows 8 OS, Microsoft is clearly refusing to accept that Windows 8 is a winner. While there are certainly some fans of the game-changing OS, thousands of other people are still searching for hacks to retrieve the original interface from Windows 7 (and even earlier).
The reality is that not even the latest update is going to win over the newest OS critics, and it may even prompt them to look for different web hosting options.
A number of people are begging Microsoft to at least blend the best of 8 and 7 (or 7.5), but the tech giant doesn’t appear to be budging. To understand how an update can change a person’s or company’s web hosting preferences, it’s first necessary to examine they changes.
First, recognize that the main purpose of these updates was to address usability issues (about which there have been nearly endless complaints). But the updates haven’t been enough to help Microsoft win the battle for dominance of personal computer space.
The biggest camps of fans and critics
Some people adopted Windows 8 immediately during the 2011 release, but the biggest group of haters is the computer techs charged with supporting the OS. According to an anonymous survey managed by OMG Technical Support, the Windows 8 complaints from techs go on and on, with “user frustration” at the core of the matter.
One respondent said, “People who have had Windows 7 on their computers several years are really used to being able to find tools easily from drop-down menus. With Windows 8, they are stuck with a system that requires the user to scroll through screen after screen of over-sized hyperlinks that they have to click on in order to get anything done.”
The goal of the latest updates was to make the OS more user-friendly, especially for traditional mouse/keyboard users. Users can now opt to keep the tiled user interface or go back to the classic interface. The “right click” option is back, but these changes are a Band-Aid approach to the real problem: Microsoft may have hit a plateau with its ability to supply what consumers want.
Money talks
There’s no denying that users have spoken with their wallets, given that millions fewer consumers have bought Windows 8 than Windows 7 in the first months after release. Microsoft has tried scare tactics, such as stopping support of older Oss, but that hasn’t been enough to force every consumer to shift to 8.
Consider that 20 percent of all PCs are still running on XP, and it’s clear that quite a few people can’t be bullied into settling for a system they don’t like. This subpar update might be the last straw that inspires consumers to abandon ship altogether, and maybe even shake up their web hosting preferences.
Currently, websites can be hosted on Windows 8 via IIS, but if people in the industry (tech supporters) are the biggest group to hate on Windows 8, there’s nothing to stop them from giving up this option cold. Maybe it’s time to start looking elsewhere, especially since Windows 8 almost never cracks the Top 10 lists for best web hosting options.
This might be yet another way for users to let Microsoft know that enough is enough, and putting lipstick on the proverbial pig isn’t going to cut it anymore.
