QFT

My favorite online computer store is selling windows 7 & windows 8 for the same price. I'm still on XP & need to upgrade, guess which OS I'm going to buy. Hint, not 8.

PC Makers unfortunately have all their eggs in one basket. Until they break off the MS monopoly and find alternative OSes to promote and hype up to consumers MS holds the upper hand.

I really hoped that google would have built a decent desktop OS and progress from the big success that is Android. Samsung are well in the google camp but more manufacturers need to sign up.

This Windows monopoly has been going on too long. Of course you won't think that if you are a ...

I don't blame MS, they are only doing what they should, it's not their fault they hold this monopoly.
It's up to the others to step up and I think now more than ever is a good time in this fast changing world where buying power is shifting from the west to the east.

Is this a credible source...?

Actually the biggest part of all this will be next quarter when it will show how much of these liceses really have been sold and how many are stuck in warehouses across the globe. Next quarter will really show the big losses with Window 8

It doesn't need to be. That is the sad part.

This is from a highly rated paper in the UK, however, their business coverage isn't as good as cultural or political news, but its still pretty good.  I'm going to label this as pretty credible, and beats 99.5% of gaming journalism  any day of the week.

The problem with the marketing here I think has been the absolute focus on touch screen. Including on the traditional PC set up. I think MS overestimated the desire for touch screen PCs Tan people are looking at Win 8 adds and saying "not intereste, I like playing angry birds on the bus/train on my phone / tablet not when I'm home in my study. But that's what all the TV adds show these days, a pretty girl playing angry birds on her 22" touch screen PC. Only gamers buy PCs for games everyone else buys PCs for facebook, web browsing, youtube email and work type stuff. Those people might be interstted in a bit of minesweeper or solitaire but that's about it. Oh and gamers by PCs for high end games, not app games transferred from the mobile market.

So if Win 8 is underperforming then it's the marketing approach of MS that's at fault. There are loads of Win 8 machines at retailers so the product range is there.

If Google made an OS Microsoft would be shit out of luck. Chrome is destroying IE.

I think the time is right for a third "PC" OS to get into the mainstream market. Android in the mobile space has proven that a linux OS tweaked for dummies can be highly successful. It would be a doddle to make a PC OS for dummies based around one of the linux distros. All the basics are there in the linux playground: open office, thunderbird, firefox, for 90% of people that's all they need in a PC.

All you need is an attractive package and a catchy name. There's nothing written in stone that says MS must forever be the sole provider of OSs to the mass market non-Apple PC ecosystem. With the right timing, the right product and some good fortune a new OS could come in and secure 20-30% of the OS market on a long term basis.

Not sure Google being that player would be a good thing though. But who else is there realistically who can put something out there akin to Android in the mobile arena?