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I don't understand why you say "A company like Microsoft... has really, really carefully thought through its plans... [but?] the desktop-metro split... was han

I don't understand why you say "A company like Microsoft... has really, really carefully thought through its plans... [but?] the desktop-metro split... was handled clumsily in Windows 8." I'm connecting whole thoughts of yours unfairly to show how fundamentally contradictory those two thoughts are. The desktop-metro split was, in my opinion, absolutely the most important part of Windows 8, that they HAD to get right, and upon which its entire success or failure would be based. Do you disagree with my assertion that the desktop-metro split was the most important aspect of Windows 8? Isn't Microsoft the kind of company that "really, really carefully [thinks] through its plans"? So then why was it handled clumsily?

corporalagumbo 13y ago
It was handled clumsily because the Windows team had to move fast and break things. Windows 8 has a lot of pretty important under the hood changes. And it's no trivial feat to try and develop and implement a future-proof new UI style that can be layered over the old system. Anyway, this comparison is apples to oranges: Microsoft's top level long-term strategic vision compared to the Windows' team's short-term execution. You might argue that the Windows team dropped the ball and didn't get enough right with this release. I would agree that they didn't get everything right, but long term I see the specific success of Windows 8 being of little consequence to the company - simply because future releases will continue to build on every aspect of Windows 8, as, out of the current Cambrian soup of a halfway OS, confused consumers and eclectic OEM devices, a new consensus about how computers should work is forged.