AfterDawn: Tech news

Windows 8 'largely irrelevant' to PC users: IDC

Written by James Delahunty @ 06 Dec 2011 8:17 User comments (7)

Windows 8 'largely irrelevant' to PC users: IDC

Users unlikely to want to upgrade, IDC says.
As part of its "Worldwide System Infrastructure Software 2012 Top 10 Predictions," research group IDC examined the Windows 8 operating system, and what it could expect from the market next year.

The group expects that Microsoft will have Windows 8 available to be installed in new PCs by August 2012, but it does not expect it to gain much attention from potential upgraders. "Windows 8 will be largely irrelevant to the users of traditional PCs, and we expect effectively no upgrade activity from Windows 7 to Windows 8 in that form factor," IDC predicted.

It also predicted that while Microsoft might expect some success with the Windows Server 8 software, it will be another disappointed year for it in the tablet PC space, despite the Windows 8 launch with the Metro touch-screen user interface.

"This is a tall order for Microsoft, and while the x86 tablet strategy makes sense as a transitional solution for today?s PC users, it will be the ARM-based devices that need to shine and clear a high bar already set by Apple."

Previous Next  

7 user comments

16.12.2011 08:52

i am sure they will make a DirectX 12 or 13 or whatever and then make it only available on Windows 8, thereby "encouraging" PC gamers to upgrade.

26.12.2011 10:23

If it was cheap & an easy safe upgrade I could see private buyers being interested (aside from the usual new PC buyers) but besides a few interface tweaks I'm hearing nothing that has me especially interested in it.

36.12.2011 16:18

Originally posted by keola37:
i am sure they will make a DirectX 12 or 13 or whatever and then make it only available on Windows 8, thereby "encouraging" PC gamers to upgrade.
Yeah...........that would suck!

47.12.2011 04:08

so a file copy function that doesn't stall when doing more than one copy at a time is irrelevant?

57.12.2011 07:17
ihs_2
Unverified new user

when relesing windows 8 tel me ok

613.12.2011 17:30

Originally posted by hearme0:
Originally posted by keola37:
i am sure they will make a DirectX 12 or 13 or whatever and then make it only available on Windows 8, thereby "encouraging" PC gamers to upgrade.
Yeah...........that would suck!


It doesn't matter to the technically competent. There are work arounds that get higher versions of DirectX installed on the platforms they're not supposed to support. I've got DX11 on XP right now.

714.12.2011 22:27

Originally posted by Tarsellis:
Originally posted by hearme0:
Originally posted by keola37:
i am sure they will make a DirectX 12 or 13 or whatever and then make it only available on Windows 8, thereby "encouraging" PC gamers to upgrade.
Yeah...........that would suck!


It doesn't matter to the technically competent. There are work arounds that get higher versions of DirectX installed on the platforms they're not supposed to support. I've got DX11 on XP right now.
LOL....

always some person has to try and PROVE he is better than everyone else.

btw.. there is a difference between being "technically competent" and just being someone who is too cheap to buy Win7.

Comments have been disabled for this article.

News archive