Damned if you do

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There is much speculation as to the content of Windows Blue, the codename for the major update of Windows 8 that has been dubbed 8.1.

One of the things expected in it is the return of the start button to the desktop, as well as a boot to desktop option that bypasses the Modern UI.

These moves have been called Microsoft’s "New Coke" moment as it embarrassingly climbs down from its earlier assertions of this approach being the future.

To be honest, I think this is a little harsh. There is no doubt at all that in many cases, innovation has been hit or miss. Henry Ford famously said that if he had asked people what they wanted, they would have said a better horse. The point is that user feedback and input can be useful, nay (pardon the pun) indispensable, in refining a product, but it can often be inhibitive in the face of true innovation.

However, the fact remains that the majority of feedback on Windows 8 seems to be that users want an option to have their start button back and to be able to boot directly to the desktop. But now that Microsoft appears to be acknowledging this, instead of receiving praise for responding to user demands, it is getting flak for an embarrassing U-turn. Damned if you do…

However, one thing that Redmond seems to be having a bit of a blind spot on is Windows 8 sales. Keen to emphasise how well the OS is doing, figures of 100 million licences sold have been claimed. But, Charles Arthur in the Guardian has done some research, and it must be said, a bit of extrapolation, that would suggest that of the 100 million licences out there, only about 60 million are actually in use.

Based on browser usage worked out by analysts at Moorehead, Arthur reckons that the real figure of Windows 8 machines in use is 58.6m to about 66.4 million. Even at the upper range, that falls far short of the 100 million mark.

Now, Microsoft receives information on activations and so it knows exactly how many Windows 8 licences are actually being used, and so could answer all of this quite easily. However, it is unlikely to clear the fog any time soon.

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