14 DAY TRIAL // While Microsoft refuses to comment on Windows 8’s sales performance too often, so-called industry experts continue to criticize the company’s new operating system, describing it as a confusing, different and complicated working environment.
Windows 8 received two serious hits this week, as both MIT professor Philip Greenspun and Great Big War Game developer Rubicon have blasted the new software.
First, it was professor Greenspun who emphasized in a blog post that Windows 8 is nothing more than a “Christmas gift for someone you hate,” explaining that it lacks all the good features of other operating systems on the market, such as Android and iOS.
“Microsoft has had since October 2008 to study Android. It has had since June 2007 to study iPhone. It seems as though they did not figure out what is good about the standard tablet operating systems,” he wrote on his blog.
Windows 8 is fairly confusing, Greenspun continued while claiming that the only device offering such a disappointing experience was the Blackberry Playbook.
“Given how misguided the whole design of Windows 8 seems to be, why have tech journalists given it basically positive reviews? My theory is that journalists love anything new, different, and complicated. Windows 8 is all of those things,” he added.
Second of all, Great Big War Game Rubicon has also slammed Microsoft for its Windows RT platform, after the company recorded sales of only $84 (€65) in a week on the market. The firm invested around $16,000 (€12,300) to port the game for Windows RT, so chances are that its investment will never pay off.
“Needless to say we will not be working with Microsoft again to bring any of our titles, old or new, to this platform. A snub is never a nice thing to receive, but when it’s from someone who needs you more than you need them, it’s doubly insulting,” Rubicon explained.
Microsoft hasn’t yet replied to all these attacks, but the company is currently involved in a bigger war with Google. Too bad the search giant refuses to play along.