Another week to go and then the big debut …. oh, sorry, I didn’t mean an Apple announcement. This is about Microsoft’s long march to the Oct. 26 official launch of Windows 8.
There’s no doubt that a lot is riding on the latest version of the operating system, which for the first time puts a unified face on PCs, tablets and smart phones running a Windows operating system. According to this piece by Gartner analyst Michael Gartenberg for ComputerWorld U.S., IT managers might be persuaded to upgrade but it depends how well Microsoft tells its story.
“[W]hile this might well be the best version of Windows that Microsoft has ever created, it’s also the version that will need the best story ever told for an operating system,” he writes. That’s because the new tile interface (above) is mean for touch devices, not desktop PCs or laptops with keyboards and mouse.
While Gartneberg sees the bright side, here’s a link to an earlier look at Win8 from Cnet’s Seth Rosenblatt, who found the new OS boots fast but — in the tile version — has a steep learning curve.
Prediction: Enterprises won’t move fast to upgrade.