Windows 8 Crashes PC Market

Well it seems that Windows 8 is actually slowing the industry instead of doing anything positive.

Shipments of PCs in the first quarter fell by 13.9% from the same quarter in 2012. The forecast decline had been 7.7%, according to International Data Corp.'s Worldwide Quarterly PC Tracker. That makes the worst quarter ever tracked by IDC, which started issuing the reports in 1994.

Mini Notebooks saw the biggest decline on the low-end, but the whole market was affected by what IDC calls "weak reception for Windows 8," Microsoft's (MSFT) answer to the rise of the tablet. The operating system that incorporates elements of tablet OS's "not only failed to provide a positive boost to the PC market, but appears to have slowed the market," said IDC's Bob O'Donnell, in a statement. He said Windows 8 is just too radical a departure from what consumers have come to expect from Windows, and too expensive. The OS has "made PCs a less attractive alternative to dedicated tablets and other competitive devices."

The thinking is that there is a needlessly steep learning curve with Windows 8 so people just buy a tablet instead. I mean if you have to learn something you might as well do it on a totally different device. I think Windows 8 will be corrosive acid that eats on Microsoft for years. I'm sure Windows 9 will be great but many people might never look back once they leave.