Microsoft Scraps Windows 8 Major Updates. Bets The Farm On Windows 9

Sorry. Missed something there? Look back where?

I was quoting what I read in your post. As I implied, no criticism was implied at that point.
But, with my quote, if you feel they did "try to kill off the desktop", and if other potential users saw windows 8 like that, then, of course, it would account , in part at least, for the "utter failure " of Windows.
I do read this in the link:
"Desktop users can now live almost entirely in the desktop interface if they so wish, the merger of desktop and Windows 8 apps is well underway, it is increasingly friendly to touch, mouse and keyboard interaction and is arguably the fastest and most stable version of Windows to date."
My own opinion is that MSs mistake was to send the early Beta out to the public for comment. Unfortunately, in this case, pundits condemned it before working through its options. Those pundits were then rhetorically echoed on forums such as these.
There were, at the same time, some accomplished users who did quickly examine the possibilities and, as you will find on these pages, were, and are still, very happy with Windows 8.
The same problem could occur with the early public release of Windows 9 (or whatever it may be eventually called!)

As for the start menu. Well, if you look in to the Windows 7 forums, you will find scores of posts regarding the installation of the Classic menu. I have, from word go, always installed third party programs which I felt suited me better than those which were built in. It doesn't, therefore, hurt me to install a third party start menu, if I felt the need.
You do not need to use Bing, or the Apps, or, for that matter, the cloud. All are offered as first choice in the original installation, the second choice is yours.
If I had been the MS programmer for any of those products, I would most certainly have put them up as the first choice.
Can't comment on Aero as I have never used it.
Not sure about the "many" other Windows 7 options they dropped?

What. . .no source. . everyone is commenting on what may be just nothing, but hog wash. . .:)
Here is some very interesting reading . . .

Agreed. All a non issue to me also. Most of those dropped have been replaced, by necessity, by methods more appropriate to the new interface.
I would say,imo, that the Windows 7 beta did not harm the market, as it was viewed as a welcome relief from Vista, for right or wrong. Vista was a major change in interface and use, from XP, and, as such, was a useful interlude for users to get accustomed to the almost identical Windows 7 - helped a lot in a rather distorted and unintended way.

lehnerus2000, post: 35041, member: 428 said:

Here is Wikipedia's list of removed features:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...d_in_Windows_8

Most of those are a non-issue to me personally.

Thank you, that is very useful.

I personally use/used at least a 1/3 of the items removed, if not more. But I run networks with many computers and devices attached, and help maintain a lot of peoples systems. Every little tool is helpful, so Windows 8 was not an improvement in my life, and made it more costly and difficult to maintain.

Lee, post: 35017, member: 135 said:

What. . .no source. . everyone is commenting on what may be just nothing, but hog wash. . .:)
Here is some very interesting reading . . .

Thanks for that link:
Here is some more updates coming tomorrow.

https://support.microsoft.com/kb/894199

The individual KB's are not available as of yet.

Jim :win: