The new Microsoft operating system that all the reviewers called confusing isn't exactly winning over consumers either. Since its launch less than a month ago, Windows 8 has seen weaker sales than its predecessor Windows 7, an NDP Group report via AllThingD's John Packzkowski found. Sources inside Microsoft also say that the company doesn't like the early sales numbers it's seeing either, reports Paul Thurrott who runs a Supersite for Windows. "Microsoft has not met is internal projections for Windows 8 sales," he wrote. Microsoft blames the PC makers, says Thurrott. "My source cited to me the PC makers' 'inability to deliver,' a damning indictment that I think nicely explains why the firm felt it needed to start making its own PC and device hardware," he writes. But we suspect it has more to do with the newfangled tile look, which has users hesitant to switch away from the familiar Windows 7 start screen. Or maybe that's something that just takes getting used to, in which case we should expect a slow build for Windows 8's impending smash success.
If the early reviews didn't scare off perspective users, this Use It rundown -- which asked 12 "experienced PC users" to test the new operating system on both regular computers and the Surface Tablet -- should do the trick. In "Disappointing Usability for Both Novice and Power Users," our experts computer users find plenty of reasons to stay away.
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