Microsoft Cuts OEM Costs as Windows 8 Adoption Falls Below Vista

[steve2470]

http://redmondmag.com/articles/2013/03/08/microsoft-cuts-oem-costs-on-windows-8.aspx

Microsoft is responding to a less than robust uptake of new Windows 8 devices by cutting the licensing costs for its original equipment manufacturing (OEM) partners.

The early numbers aren't looking good, with Windows 8 use trending lower than Windows Vista use at four months after operating system market launch, according to Net Applications' data. In February, Net Applications reported Windows 8 use at 2.3 percent of desktop use. In contrast, Windows 7 was trending at 9 percent of desktop use after four months of launch.

Microsoft officially launched its new Windows 8 operating system in October. The company has reported selling more than 60 million Windows 8 licenses by January 2013, although it's not clear that all of those licenses were activated. Some of the licenses may be stockpiled by OEMs.

There are many reasons for the lackluster Windows 8 adoption. Price is one of the factors, and Microsoft seems to be responding. The Wall Street Journal and DigiTimes, citing unnamed sources, both reported that Microsoft is offering its OEM partners discounted licensing on a Windows 8 and Office bundle for some touch-screen systems at a cost of $30, instead of $120.

[ohheckyeah]

1. I don't think lowering the price is going to help

much. From the people I know who got computers with Windows 8, they hate it. Somebody here, I think, summed it up well when he/she said it looks like a Fisher Price toy.

[hobbit709]

2. Like I said before "If I wanted a smart phone, I wouldn't have bought a computer"

[AgingAmerican]

3. Did they actually believe companies would use this for business?

Doing corporate spreadsheets on a Fisher Price-like tab OS?

Did they believe that Aunty Emm would be willing to learn a new OS to check her email and post photos of her grandkids?

Microsoft FAIL.

Good reason to get rid of Ballmer and have Billy Gate come back and save the company ala Steve Jobs - Macintosh.

Not like it would hurt Ballmer, he owns 4% of the company and sold another 4% back in 2003. He has something like $20 billion.

[Mnpaul]

4. Fisher Price - that's funny

You have to wonder about some of the people running these companies. Did they think all these people are going to run out a buy a touchscreen to use this mess?

[olddots]

5. Why did I buy this garbage ?

couldn't afford another mac so I figured what could go wrong with a 600 $ HP laptop with a new windows called 8 .
This is an exploding 73 Pinto .8 may be fine for touch screens but on a normal boring old type & mouse computer its chaos , you can have your hands 3 feet away and 8 will send you into other dimensions .
Another lemon we consumers can do nothing about because in computer land the user gets the snappy comeback " must be pilot error"
when the product is likely at fault and Bill Gates didn't write me a check for 780 $

[RoccoR5955]

6. FYI- Bill Gates doesn't run Microsoft any more

Steve Ballmer does. This, I believe is one of the reasons why windows 6.2 (aka windows 8) is a failure.

(simply open a command prompt, and you will see that it is actually version 6.2. This means that the base operating system is the same as vista. It just has different window dressing.)