New
#261
In computers, SOHO means Small Office/Home Office
Let's be real here... we're talking about computers here.. not human lives. Microsoft could decide to give up on software and start selling boats next week and leave everyone in the lurch and there's nothing we could do about it. They have no responsibility to us legally (other than contracts they may have with companies, in which case they would have to either fulfill those contracts or buy them out) or ethically. They are only beholden to their shareholders. All companies are. That's the way the world works.
You need to start thinking about your computer and your OS as products you buy, not as lifelines that need support for all eternity.
Not in the U.S. they would have to file 13 bankruptcy first before Microsoft could do that. I am sure Apple or Ubuntu or Redhat would buy the operating system division if that happened. I am not totally disagreeing with you. I am just trying to be logical here. Hospitals use computers by the way, so you could be talking about human lives.
No they wouldn't. I didn't say anything about going out of business. I said, they simply stop making their product lines and switch to something else.
There is no bankruptcy required for that. Certainly, they could try to file bankruptcy to get out of their obligations for contracts they have.. but it would be hard for a company with billions of dollars in assets to do that.
Ok we're starting to dip into philosophy and other irrelevant fluff. I admit I was a part in that.
Back to square one, the OP is asking "Why would I change from Windows 7 to Windows 10," or basically "What makes it preferable to use Windows 10 instead of 7." Bear in mind that the last time that the latest OS was a clear refinement over an older OS was Windows 7 vs XP. With 7 vs XP it was clear that 7 had significant improvements in security and system efficiency/hardware use, but from 7 to 10 it's less defined (Windows 10 vs 8.1 is no competition thanks to interface improvements). With 10 the security and efficiency aspect has still improved (but not as dramatically), but mostly the changes are to the interface and available platforms (such as tablets and Hololens). Unlike sticking to XP; if you are using Windows 7 you're not really putting yourself in constant danger, and the OS is pretty well able to take advantage of the hardware it is on (except touchscreens).
I do have to accept that personal preference and circumstances can easily play a major role in the decision making. Although 10 has improvements across the board, it's too early to be calling people who want or need 7 Luddites. Especially since Windows 10 is still in beta, and not yet actually qualified as a replacement. Plus there may be new features and such on the retail version that become deal-makers.
But most importantly: The OS will be free if you upgrade during the first year (a permanent license, NOT annual). You should at least consider it.
Mystere, this is a good point . I guess it's a gut feeling that makes people accept or reject an OS. And a lot of it is hearsay and first impressions. Vista had a bad start because of the drivers. W7 was smooth and eye appealing. W8 was confusing and people got shocked.Windows 7 was a very minor upgrade over Windows Vista, but yet it was, by most peoples accounts, a significantly better user experience. Meanwhile, Vista was a HUGE upgrade over XP, but people really didn't see much value in it. So go figure.
I think the people that will take W10 the easiest are those that use W8 and W8.1 now. The W7 crowd will be more difficult to move because for them it is a bigger step and the XP people are hopeless because they stay on XP for specific reasons.
So although W10 seems to be a fine system and a good playground for the enthusiasts, I think it will be an uphill battle to get large volume. What might help is that all the people who postponed the purchase of a new PC because of W8/8.1 may have to buy a new PC one day during the W10 timeframe.
All I'm saying is that either you like the direction, or you don't. If you don't, you better look for an alternative because nothing seems to be changing MS's mind. And that's their right. They own the OS. They can decide where they want it to go. They're certainly interested in making changes to make the transition as appealing as possible, but the transition is happening.
It's not so much that people who refuse to upgrade are considered luddites, it's that they can't seem to recognize that this migration is happening and that nothing they can say or do will stop it. The decisions have been made, and so many billions have already been spent on this and are being spent on this.
Too many people seem to think that if they complain loudly enough, Microsoft will just go "Oh, we're sorry, we didn't know how you felt, here, we'll just throw always everything we've been working on for the last 5 years and go back to just giving you a better desktop PC, despite the fact that all market research shows this avenue is a dead end, that sales are declining, that OEM's are going out of business, that mobile, tablet, IoT, and interconnected device sales are through the roof and projected to be orders of magnitude more in sales than the desktop market...."
Desktops will never go away, but they are no longer the dominant market. And, they are no longer the driving factor in most commercial non-enterprise application development. Desktops have to exist in the same market as everything else if they want to stay current, otherwise nobody will develop for them.
Desktop users should be HAPPY Microsoft is dragging the desktop along with it's mobile development. If they didn't, it would eventually be left behind by app developers.
So the point is not that they're luddites... it's that they're just not seeing what's happening, or just not caring... and expecting the rest of the world to conform to them. It's not going to happen. There's far too much money to be made in the new markets.
Besides, Luddites sabotaged new technology that they saw as taking their jobs away. In some cases, that may be the case with newer versions of Windows (people who have skills in the old ways of doing things are afraid they won't have any value any more). But, for the most part, I think its just that people really don't understand that this really is a paradigm shift that is underway... They just keep being confused why each new version of Windows has less and less desktop functionality and don't really understand whats happening.. and so are feeling defensive... like "What is this new version going to take away this time?" rather than "What is this new version going to enable me to do this time?"
Last edited by Mystere; 04 Feb 2015 at 12:54.
Hi there
If you don't like what Ms is doing then buy something else.
As far as Hospitals are concerned - yes modern technology helps saves lives - but it's still HUMANS who do the work. If Ms stopped selling Windows TOMORROW hospitals wouldn't stop working -- the windows OS'es would probably run for YEARS while an alternative was being worked out.
I mean sometimes some OLD WWII (1940's or so) Ordnance is still uncovered. Although the fact that that type of weaponry hasn't even been MANUFACTURED for over 70 years hasn't rendered it any less Lethal and people still have to know how to deal with it.
People should get REAL. Ms isn't going to suddenly stop selling windows --and even if it DID disaster wouldn't happen immediately.
(If SHELL stopped selling GAS in the US the cars would still work --you just use an alternative).
Time to get the thread back on to more realistic tracks -- lets keep the other problems of the Planet for the Ballot Box or alternative discussion groups (or both).
Cheers
jimbo
Mystere,
Here is how it looks to me as a consumer.
It looks to me like windows 10 is being marketed to business and enterprise users.
It also looks like Microsoft is making it easier for developers and third party to run their program on mobile, and desktops.
Microsoft would never stop supporting the desktop, the reason is laptops. A laptop is a mobile desktop.