Baxter-Reynolds On Windows 8
The same people who Baxter-Reynolds says hate Windows 8 love the iPad. The iPad is an alien UI to those used to Windows 7 or Vista, but it doesn’t need Start menu replacements to be understood.
The issues with Windows 8 are endemic; the way Microsoft designed the platform (with their two UI metaphors and such) have crippled it. However, I strongly feel that it didn’t have to be this way. I disagree with the analysts who say that Microsoft was doomed to fail, because of their legacy.
If Microsoft had presented a new OS that didn’t look or act like Windows 7 at all, I think it would have been much better received. Instead, they produced a half-hearted attempt, making compromises to try to appease both their incumbent customers and new demographics simultaneously. As a result, everyone ended up with a worse final product.