Microsoft Is Tired Of Listening To All The Windows 8 Bashing
In a Friday blog post, Shaw linked to stories that ran this week in The Economist and Financial Times as examples of media outlets getting carried away in depicting Windows 8's struggles in the marketplace.
"In this world where everyone is a publisher, there is a trend to the extreme – where those who want to stand out opt for sensationalism and hyperbole over nuanced analysis," Shaw said in the blog post, without naming names.
On Tuesday, Microsoft CFO Tami Reller told The New York Times' Nick Wingfield that Microsoft's first Windows 8 update—code named Windows Blue—will be easier to use than the current version.
"The learning curve is real and needs to be addressed," Reller told The New York Times.
Richard Waters of the Financial Times described Reller's acknowledgment of the problems with Windows 8 as "one of the most prominent admissions of failure for a new mass-market consumer product" since Coca-Cola introduced the New Coke in 1985.
After a consumer backlash, Coca-Cola brought back the traditional flavor three months later.
Shaw didn't take kindly to this characterization. Microsoft has sold 100 million copies of Windows 8 to date and will continue listening to user feedback and improving the product, he said.
"Unlike a can of soda, a computer operating system offers different experiences to different customers to meet different needs, while still moving the entire industry toward an exciting future of touch, mobility, and seamless, cross-device experiences," he wrote.