I can believe it..Would never buy Win8..would rather by a used computer and put Win7 on it..some of the newer 8 models, the manufacturers don't have any win7 drivers..

I hope its true, maybe then they will go back to doing good OS like XP and W 7.

The Windows 8 OS for desktops is obviously a work in progress rushed early to market. The future home "desktop" and its OS some years out will need to stop being a commodity churned out in the hundreds of millions as an afterthought and must go upmarket to handle data volume and computing power needs we can hardly imagine today.

The heading of this thread somewhat mischaracterizes what the article is saying.

I think it's tablets and smartphones that have poached PC sales.

In my view, the OS is as much a factor in PC sales as are tires for new car sales. Each is very needed but the buying decisions are based on other things.

I hope this is not the case of the Hudson or studabaker.Windows 8 is great but I think they lost a lot and this is from the lips of a senior dummie I will keep trying.

My neighbor's children have all gone to tablets and they run a zoo so you know there is a lot involved. They love tablets and are going to buy her one for her birthday. I sure hope they don't do away with desktops. I like mine and I don't know what I would do without my wallpaper hobby.

Emma, that's beautiful!

Thank you, I think it is the nicest one I have. Just made it.

I don't like tablets and small cell-phone screens. I don't like e-readers either. Much prefer a book in hand.

Jane

More to read and digest.

Here is a link that might be useful: Don't Blame Windows 8.....

Jane I like holding a book also, but after years of holding one I have a callous. You can't believe how sensitive a callous can be when you resting a 3 lb on it. LOL I re read the Earth Children Series and the Outlander series once a year and they are very big books. I want those on my tablet for that reason.

Microsoft has sold 60 million copies of Windows 8 and that does not include enterprise sales.

Best Buy has 420 Windows 8 notebooks for sale and 620 notebooks with Windows 7 hence it is difficult to understand how Windows 8 is killing PC sales.

Some of it has to be tablets. Apple has reported cannibalization of its Mac line due to iPad. Mac sales were down in calendar Q4 2012 and we'll know in several days how Mac sales fared in Q1 2013.

Real incomes are down and computer components are more reliable than ever so users do not need to buy as often as before. Fold in the tablet effect and you got yourself a slowdown.

Another consideration is that perhaps everyone and his dog now owns 2 computers so it is only minimal numbers of new user sales and those replacing older machines.

I only have one system, and I don't own a dog either. :-)

DA

We've been swamped with PC service, repair and upgrade work as more customers than ever are keeping/fixing/repairing/upgrading what they already have due to their personal economic situation.

I can flip decent used laptops (Core 2, i3, i5, i7) in minutes/hours/days due to the economy as well. At my peak I had more than 200 used computers, all of which I sold in less than 6 months.

Even though computer work is only a side business, we've performed 60 plus Windows 8 Downgrades to date. Many want Windows 8 to look and feel like Windows 7, so we use freeware utilities, or install Stardock's Start8.

More and more people are using tablets and handheld devices to surf the net.

Plenty of internet downgrading going on as well.

Many households have several computers and/or several other devices capable of surfing the net, so it's tough to sell them new computers.

Most new sales we see are due to failure of hard drives, power supplies, screens, mainboards etc.

Laptops are frequently dropped, crushed, damaged by liquid spills, overheated, stolen etc, however many people aren't replacing them.

Many want their data recovered, backed up and transferred to an existing desktop, laptop, netbook, drive etc.

I tried a Win8 laptop with a touchscreen in 10/12, and just this week tried a Samsung Activ 11" tablet with Win8 (the full version, not RT). The laptop got returned because of a bug in the OS that wouldn't allow some functions. The tablet was returned because of Microsoft's way of handling user accounts and support.

I kinda liked Win8 on both devices. I was willing to deal\cope with incompatibilty with my printers and other devices, and expected some bumps in the road.

Win8 on both devices was awkward in terms of the touch features compared to android. Also, I don't know why Microsoft hides so many functions so deep in menus and makes them so hard to find, even for experienced users.

I found the Microsoft account isn't very consumer friendly. I was able to log in to it, but never was able to find much useful information there.

Did you know - if you change your password on your Microsoft account it is automatically changed on all your Win8 devices. I can see how this might be useful for some. But I lol when I thought about people buying WIn8 devices for their kids, changing their passwords, and the pandemonium when the kids freak out because they can't use their devices.

I was a little put off when a Microsoft tech advised that some Win8 functions won't work unless you are logged in to the Microsoft account.

The tablet return was prompted by Microsoft. The tablet itself was nice, worked fine, and I liked it. When I called Microsoft, several times over about 2 hours, each time I was transferred numerous times, each time because I was asking about a Win8 tablet. Each time I was finally routed to their Surface department (the name for the Microsoft tablet) where I was promptly told I would not be helped because my tablet was not made by Microsoft.

So, since Microsoft wouldn't provide support for a very minor issue with their OS I decided it wasn't worth the time and $. The Win8 tablet was returned and replaced with an android tablet.

I haven't experienced W8, but I agree MS does hide things. MS Word is set for almost everything to be automatic and put out there for business people who do charts, etc., but even for them it would be difficult. Printing in black is another thing that is hidden. Everyone I asked was telling me you can't print in black only. Well, you can and I do.

As with grocery bags and suitcases, everything can't be on top.

Microsoft doesn't hide anything.

Settings and features for complicated programs aren't intuitive, aren't intended to be so, and aren't easily used without study and preparation. It can take years of heavy duty use to become proficient. Even then, most will say that 80% of features are rarely used. If what you're looking for happens to be in your 80%, you can expect you won't know where it is or how to use it.

Take a class or buy a guidebook or two to become better informed.