Microsoft Sold 40 Million Windows 8 Licenses in 1 Month

[mariusmotea]

For people with not a very good memory November 19, 2012: http://www.tomshardware.com/news/Windows-8-Sales-Microsoft-OS,19184.html . Don't forget what the Microsoft marketing departament can do (eg: Surface 32=16). In the best case, this number represents the suppliers of windows RT + windows 8 oem machines and without to decrease the downgrades to windows 7.

 

[davewolfgang]

Just wait until they try to pop a DVD in and play it..........and it doesn't work.

....or did ya'll FORGET about that?


And when it FORCES you to reboot - no matter what you are doing.

 

[Guest]

I really don't understand all the hate of Windows 8, it really is an excellent redesign. Like every other person bashing it during the beta, I couldn't understand why they got rid of the start menu nor could I fathom the Metro start screen on a device that uses a keyboard and mouse as the primary input. Then Windows 8 came out and for $50.00 I could upgrade. So I did a full Acronis backup of my machine and then upgraded to Windows 8. As far as the Metro start screen goes, you can pin any application from your desktop to the start screen and if you have a mouse with a scroll wheel (like they have been selling since 1990) then navigating the Metro start interface is just as easy as with a touchscreen. (I know because I bought the new dell touchscreen and I already owned a mouse with a scroll wheel). The lack of the start menu is something I'm still getting used to but I am getting used to the charm bar and the fact that I can access settings faster than if I used the start menu. Aside from those two things Windows 8 runs like Windows 7, actually a faster version of Windows 7. If all the whining people would just try the OS or even better have someone who is very familiar with the OS show you a few tricks than you might realize the Microsoft is indeed on the right track.

 

[epdm2be]

[citation][nom]RealiBrad[/nom]Wall of anti-M$.......GO!!!!!![/citation]

...if only it wasn't so Fugly...

 

[Wamphryi]

I would love to upgrade to Win 8 and I have my copy right here next to me. However I am a keen WC3 player and WC3 bins badly when run on Win 8. This could be a driver issue and time will tell but in the meantime I have had to go back to Win 7.

I can live without the Start Button but the lack of Aero in Win 8 and Office 13 does not please me at all. I suspect the lack of Aero is due to the fact Aero would be a liability on tablets but that is not the point. Aero made Vista and Win 7 much more modern looking than XP but Win 8 seems to take us back to the bland look of XP but minus the features staunch users of XP want such as the Start Button.

 

[JohnUSA]

Lies, lies and lies.

I do not believe Microsoft at all. Windows 8 is a huge failure and sneaky Microsoft is pulling all the tricks to promote this horrible and irritating new OS.

I just bought a new laptop and I made sure I got Windows 7 instead of the lousy Windows 8.

It is only a matter of time till stupid Microsoft pulls this garbage OS off the market, re-writes it and fixes it and releases the new Windows 9.

 

[DEVILVSANGEL00]

[citation][nom]bllue[/nom]I hate to pull the "have you even used it?" card but I have to. Really, have you used it at all?. No you're NOT forced to use the UI. I, in fact, spend 97% of my time in desktop mode. To say W8 is worse than vista just makes you look ignorant because this OS has already been proven to perform better than W7 (maybe not for gaming but overall it is). It's nowhere near what Vista was at launch. If you like start menu there are alternatives to bring it back, but I personally only ever used the old start menu to open control panel and everything else is done via keyboard shortcuts so this is a non-issue for me. I got W8 because it was a cheap upgrade but I really think people like you exaggerate wayyy too much. Much like the old start menu, MS will look at the data once again and realize that not many people on desktops use the new 'start' menu and will hopefully come up with something new and better to replace it for W9.[/citation]

I HAVE tried windows 8 and I found it a joke, all they have done is take the exact same function that the start menu provided oversized it and made it a annoying instead of keeping it simple, fast and easy like it use to be, also the main reason windows 8 isn't as bad as vista when vista 1st launched is because its based on the windows 7 build just with a rebuilt interface that's 100x worse. As a consumer we don't want to have to rely on 3rd party software just to bring back the start menu which shouldn't of been removed in the 1st place, it was stupid and pointless to take away the start menu a system that allows you to access all of your programs, settings and other things you want with ease and a few clicks of the mouse. instead your having to learn and memorize a whole new bunch of different shortcut keys to do the exact same thing,

windows 8 wasn't even needed or asked for by the people that matter most.... the consumers all over the world, windows 7 was doing fine and didn't need replacing and is still the best windows based operating system you can buy hence why its not at a stupid low special offer price (even if its only the upgrade versions) unlike windows 8.

As many people have stated windows 8 is ideal for tablets or smartphones but on desktop platform it just not needed or wanted by the majority of consumers, I believe micro$oft only created windows 8 to generate more revenue and did a piss poor job (in comparison to what they could of created if they listened to the people) along the way.

Thanks

 

[epdm2be]

[citation][nom]rolli59[/nom]Just bought a copy for my son he has been running evaluation version since his upgrade late summer. I have multiple copies of XP that can take the upgrade and this is way cheaper than 7. I would never have considered this as an upgrade from 7 but from XP it is fine.[/citation]
because it's so fugly...
I'll keep running the 8400 build (consumer preview) because it has a full AERO Glass UI in Desktop-mode. If I wanted an flat 2D tame-coloured UI I'd have kept playing with my 1992 Acorn A5000 (RISC OS 3.1). At least that UI is consistent AND user-friendly.

Guess what, instead o/t Windows 8 launch events (that was invited to), I went to the local computer club celebrating the official RISC OS 5.19 release on the Raspberry Pi. Not only was that Pi more interesting but RISC OS ran absolutely fantastic on that little devil! A far more enjoyable evening.

IMHO more people should create apps for that combination instead of the boring Windows 8 'experience'. I whish the Raspberry Foundation and RISC OS Open LTD more success and the change to become 'important' then that MSFT-dinosour.

 

[epdm2be]

[citation][nom]edogawa[/nom]Windows 8 would have been fantastic for new computers for 40 bucks if it had no metro and had a start menu. I love start8 for bringing back the start menu for Windows 8.I'm sure Microsoft will reevaluate metro for the desktop and bring back the start button after all the hate.[/citation]
For god's sake, even Windows XP looks WAY better on the desktop than that pile.....
Who the hell designed that UI? A monke.... oh right, I forgot there are monkeys at the helm of these companies these days. Just look at terrible business decisions that some o/t supposedly Industries greatest like ...euhm.... Nokia made the last 2 years.

Naaaaah.... we're not doomed. That's no iceberg over there... it's a fluffy cloud, isn't it?

 

[Guest]

Once again M$ is just trying to force the Metro/Modern app store on us all! OEM's that have all the Licenses, not copies, for a cheep price, stored on a server gathering dust in their factory basements!
Most desktop users do not want or need an app store built into their third party OEM built computers and the Metro/Modern UI is just added Crapware/Bloatware baked into the windows 8 OS as a M$ way of imposing its closed ecosystem on everybody's PC! Let's see how many windows installed OSs there are when the real indipendent numbers arrive! My OS is not an App store/tiles based adware craptastic closed garden for M$, and it never will be!

 

[DEVILVSANGEL00]

[citation][nom]NotMyGarden[/nom]Once again M$ is just trying to force the Metro/Modern app store on us all! OEM's that have all the Licenses, not copies, for a cheep price, stored on a server gathering dust in their factory basements!Most desktop users do not want or need an app store built into their third party OEM built computers and the Metro/Modern UI is just added Crapware/Bloatware baked into the windows 8 OS as a M$ way of imposing its closed ecosystem on everybody's PC! Let's see how many windows installed OSs there are when the real indipendent numbers arrive! My OS is not an App store/tiles based adware craptastic closed garden for M$, and it never will be![/citation]


well said here here

 

[ven1ger]

[citation][nom]DEVILVSANGEL00[/nom]
windows 8 wasn't even needed or asked for by the people that matter most.... the consumers all over the world, windows 7 was doing fine and didn't need replacing and is still the best windows based operating system you can buy hence why its not at a stupid low special offer price (even if its only the upgrade versions) unlike windows 8.[/citation]

Agreed. Don't really understand the reason to replace Windows 7 at this point. It wasn't that it had problems up the wazoo like Vista, but seriously, Windows 7 is only currently replacing XP at many large offices nationwide. Damn, even our offices has finally decided baselining all computers OSes to Windows 7 instead of a hodgepodge between XP and Win 7. Oh well, by the time our office decides to change OS's again, it'll be around Windows 10 or 11. Only reason to followup this quick with a new operating system is for the money, if they don't change operating systems more frequently requiring others to buy into them, where is the bulk of their profits going to come from to pay for the high salaries of the MS execs.

 

[fimbulvinter]

[citation][nom]davewolfgang[/nom]If you are spending "97%" of the time in Desktop mode..............WHY have Metro in the first place??????? Oh, that's right - for $$$$$ for the apps store.[/citation]

Damn corporations trying to make money! It's almost as if they think we live in a capitalist society.

 

[yoji]

Well.. I bought the upgrade... installed it (really nice install process) to replace my Win7 Ult and tried it for a bit. Im back on Win 7... Its a disaster. The Metro is horrible on a desktop machine.. the metro apps in metro mode are laughable... so as a relatively power user - I found myself sepnding all my time in desktop mode... but with no start button. So ended up thinking "whats this giving me over my Win 7 exactly?" apart from a few nice features... I decided it was mainly giving me grief... so went back.
I will go back to it when they fix it.
Cheers

 

[belardo]

Since you can use the same Win8 key to install Win7... every NEW PC sold, even when its *SIDE-GRADED* to Windows7... counts as a Win8 "sale"...

I have 3 XP retail discs, 3 Win7 discs... I can easily get 6 $40 Win8 upgrade keys... NOT GOING TO DO IT! Waste of $40 a pop.

 

[belardo]

[citation][nom]Yoji[/nom]Well.. I bought the upgrade... installed ~~ So ended up thinking "whats this giving me over my Win 7 exactly?" apart from a few nice features... I decided it was mainly giving me grief... so went back.I will go back to it when they fix it.Cheers[/citation] YEP! Other than the new task manager, copy/move window, slightly improved Explorer (Oh wow! They put back the UP button that came with WinXP) and its hybrid re-boot function (who gives a crap? My SSD cold boots in 20 seconds, and I only reboot/shut-down when doing an update! About once every 2 weeks. Otherwise its a 2~3 seconds to wake up from sleep mode.

So what is $40~150 really buying? Nothing. but an ugly stupid mess.
Funny... if Win8 is REALLLLLLY doing so well... why was the head of Win8 just fired?

 

[apache_lives]

[citation][nom]davewolfgang[/nom]Just wait until they try to pop a DVD in and play it..........and it doesn't work.....or did ya'll FORGET about that?And when it FORCES you to reboot - no matter what you are doing.[/citation]

.... XP?

 

[killerclick]

Combination of actual sales and channel stuffing. Like it or not, when you buy 90+% of PCs today, that counts as a Windows 8 sale.

The real test for Microsoft is not even how many people use Windows 8, but how many people use Metro, how many people buy W8 tablets (and WP8 devices) and how many people buy/download apps. That's the entire reason behind Windows 8 being the way it is, and Microsoft could sell 500 million copies of Windows 8 tomorrow, if customers use it exactly how they used Windows 7, Microsoft loses their big gambit.

 

[apache_lives]

[citation][nom]Yoji[/nom]Well.. I bought the upgrade... installed it (really nice install process) to replace my Win7 Ult and tried it for a bit. Im back on Win 7... Its a disaster. The Metro is horrible on a desktop machine.. the metro apps in metro mode are laughable... so as a relatively power user - I found myself sepnding all my time in desktop mode... but with no start button. So ended up thinking "whats this giving me over my Win 7 exactly?" apart from a few nice features... I decided it was mainly giving me grief... so went back.I will go back to it when they fix it.Cheers[/citation]

Your not a power user

 

[milktea]

Yes, I know the new metro/start screen sucks. But aside from that...

Got mine upgraded for $15.99 from the new win7pro PC upgrade offer. It was cheap, and I got a "genuine" license code for an extra Win8 OS that I could play with on my VirtualBox, for all my sandbox experiment. Time to throw away those old WinXP Virtualbox licenses.
By the way, Windows 8 pro "64-bit" runs quite stable on Virtualbox, if any of you care to know.

 

[apache_lives]

[citation][nom]belardo[/nom]Since you can use the same Win8 key to install Win7... every NEW PC sold, even when its *SIDE-GRADED* to Windows7... counts as a Win8 "sale"...I have 3 XP retail discs, 3 Win7 discs... I can easily get 6 $40 Win8 upgrade keys... NOT GOING TO DO IT! Waste of $40 a pop.[/citation]

You do know discs are meaningless right?

 

[apache_lives]

[citation][nom]ven1ger[/nom]Agreed. Don't really understand the reason to replace Windows 7 at this point. It wasn't that it had problems up the wazoo like Vista, but seriously, Windows 7 is only currently replacing XP at many large offices nationwide. Damn, even our offices has finally decided baselining all computers OSes to Windows 7 instead of a hodgepodge between XP and Win 7. Oh well, by the time our office decides to change OS's again, it'll be around Windows 10 or 11. Only reason to followup this quick with a new operating system is for the money, if they don't change operating systems more frequently requiring others to buy into them, where is the bulk of their profits going to come from to pay for the high salaries of the MS execs.[/citation]


So whats the actual real differences between Vista and 7 - you list them for me, NOT including a color scheme change.

 

[infecthead]

[citation][nom]techguy911[/nom]Yes and they are all on oem machines sitting around in stores, i run a computer store and sold ZERO copies, my suppliers in Toronto sold a few copies and say it's not selling.The board i'm on technibble most of have not sold any either and most are downgrading from 8 to 7 for customers and i have done same for laptops that came with windows 8 customers hate it and downgrade to 7.[/citation]

No, you hate it and manifest that hate in the minds of the consumer, who then make a decision based on your shitty input.

The massive hate on Windows 8 is hilarious. It's much faster, more responsive, easier to navigate (unless you're completely fucked in the head or just don't want to learn), and I don't even miss the start menu.

 

[Guest]

just another M$ Failure.
It is expected.. we are on the Failure cycle of M$-Crap software.
The next release of M$-9 will be at least workable.
As to the Bul$ headlines. M$ Just released the sales figures of the OEM forced sales..

nuff said

 

[twelch82]

[citation][nom]RealiBrad[/nom]Don't hold your breath. Tablets will soon dominate PC sales. Putting Metro on Windows 8 is about getting people used to what MS will use on Tablets. If people become used to the look and feel of metro, then they will be more likely to get a MS tablet, vs another tablet with a different OS. They have the obvious market share of PC, and they know that market is getting smaller.MS is looking to the future at the expense of what people believe they want in a current OS. As for the 40 mill being on OEM machines, I doubt it. Lets say only half of those were sales in the US. Take 20 mill and / it by 50 states, 400,000 machines. That would be a quite a few OEM PCs.[/citation]

What do you use your PC for that you could replace it with a tablet? I have a tablet, and it's fine for a few things, but it couldn't replace my PCs.