Microsoft's Monopoly, Rights & Responsibilities

Natural Monopolies

 

I just don't agree. For professionals who need to access and juggle large numbers of programs and data files and storage locations, cascading menus and folder lists are a far more efficient way of doing it. I know from previous discussions that you find them slippery and annoying, but most users don't - most users in the sectors in question love them. A small, condensed, text-heavy GUI on a large screen is a good way of handling large amounts of data and programs; a large, spread-out, icon-oriented display like the All Apps list in W8.1 just doesn't make good use of an office PC's screen and does a terrible job of making a large number of installed programs easy to navigate.

I have a feeling this basic disagreement won't be resolved. You seem to genuinely think the W8 interface improves productivity and is efficient for a business environment, and my experience has been the exact opposite.

(I realise I set out to separate the GUI discussion from the discussion about Microsoft's business conduct and obligations, but disagreements about the latter come down to disagreements about the former, so I don't think it's possible to only deal with one.)

 

Admin staff are not power-users. Neither are NHS clinicians or managers or any other professionals who have to use computers, but are not computer professionals. They want something simple and transparent. Friendly, colourful grid of icons, iOS-style. It's why tablets are doing so well.

Apple OSX does not have a Start Menu, but this seems never to have been a problem with power users or regular muggles. So I can't help but wonder if this is simply about people struggling with change. But let's not have that old debate again... there's another thread for that already.

 

Greetings!

This.

You noticed how non-StartMenu OSes dont have the same penetration as StartMenu OSes?

 

Yah, iOS and Android have tiny share of the computing market. If you think that the historical dominance of Microsoft Windows in PCs is due to the Start Menu, I think you should stop doing those magic mushrooms and step away from the keyboard until you've come down.

 

Greetings!

At a desk? Using KB+M?

 

IOS and Andriod combined have more users than all other OS combined. For the record.

Desk is not just the OS market anymore. Its the reason why Microsoft do not have a monopoly at last check they bearly have 40% of the total user share anymore.

 

Greetings!

You heard anyone complaining about Metro in touch-world?

 

Please, you're grasping at straws now. To argue that the Start Menu accounts for Windows' dominance of the PC market is to live in utter ignorance or denial of computing history. So let's pretend you didn't say it and move on.

 

Greetings!

You were the one who brougt iOS and Android to a desktop related talk.

 

The fact that desktop sales are declining and mobile/tablet sales have replaced that space makes it totally relevant and also applies to the point regarding a "monopoly" that windows possesses. There is no monopoly when there are viable options.

 

Greetings!

At a desk? Using KB+M?

 

Yes, it's: not sitting at a desk, using keyboard and mouse. That's why tablets are doing so well and PC sales are slumping.

It's not science if you keep excluding data that doesn't fit your hypothesis.

 

Greetings!

Desktop sales are decreasing and mobile\tablets sales are increasing, however you dont see mobile\tablets replacing desktops, especially in a work environment. Desktops are still where most of the work is done. What happens is that an 3-4 year old desktop is still adequate for most tasks, it doesnt need to be replaced as often as in the past.
Mobile\tablets are nice to very light workloads, fast access to documents and communication on-the-go (calls\SMS\e-mail\social\...), and, at a personal use, to entertainment.
Once the mobile\tablet market is saturated and desktops start being replaced sales will stabilize and most desktops will still have Windows.
Point is that a desk fixed PC, attached to a large monitor, linked to a network and a printer, having KB+M as the primary means of interacting with the OS will still be nedded, and it will probably still run Windows (if Microsoft doesnt screw things even more...).

 

Yup, and that has nothing to do with whether Windows has a Start Menu or not.

 

Greetings!

We will have to wait to see if next Windowses bring back the option of a StartMenu.

 

As I have said before Windows only has a monopoly in big business ( Who have niether the finance or time to migrate to other devices). Its days as a monopoly in Home Usage ended once the Ipad became as successful as it did.

They work out the Monopoly by devices that can connect to the internet and users who use it. ( Wether its wrong or not is not up for discussion this is how the monopoly board decides if you have a monopoly in tech. This was updated at Microsofts own request a few years back when they were been accused of been a monopoly to begin with)

Apple has something like 45% of the total Usage market at the moment, Andriod has 25% with Microsoft the rest at aprox 30% these were the figures posted last year by independent researches.

Desktop sales been declining has little to do with the home market who are probably still buying as many as they used to. Big business who buy 10000 desktop pcs at a time in some cases have stopped upgrading there computers every year and are now in 2-4 year upgrade programs.

Start menu or lack of one has little if anything to do with its lack of usage. Even if big business had all upgraded to windows 8 you would not see figures any more better than they are as very few of those pcs are connected to the internet directly.

They all use inhouse Systems to access certain data from the internet, The amount of pcs with a direct internet access in a big financial institute is less than half.

Look at a college or school all the data they receive is monitored before its allowed access to the network for certain reasons.

 

Don't most independent researches use the information gathered from web browsers ?
I didn't think it mattered if you are not connected to the internet directly.

 

We will also have to see whether we're going to have an early spring. Neither has anything to do with your argument.

 

Greetings!

I believe it does. I doubt a StartMenu-less Windows will get adopted by big businesses.