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Will Leap Motion save Windows 8?

pallentx

New Member
I appreciate that, but currently they are not, so why are desktop users being forced to use an OS that is Phone/Tablet optimised at a cost to productivity?
Not everyone agrees that there is a cost to productivity. I am very compfortable in the new environment and consider it an improvement over Windows 7 on a desktop with a keyboard and mouse. The goal is for people to learn one GUI and know how to get around on any windows device - tablet, desktop, laptop, and to some degree phone. No one has ever tried this before, so its going to take some time to work out the kinks. I am VERY happy with version 1 so far and expect it to only get better as the phone platform gets pulled into the unified development world and tweaks like blue start making their way out to the market.
 

DOS

Active Member
The goal is for people to learn one GUI and know how to get around on any windows device - tablet, desktop, laptop, and to some degree phone.

You’ve hit the nail on the head, but need to take it even further; add ATMs and all other Kiosks as well. Take it a step further, and in few years your TV could be running a similar OS.

Which brings us back on topic... Air Gestures could work well for televisions sets, however, it will probably be Microsoft’s Kinect for Windows that wins the day.

Of course, the only problem with Air Gestures on TVs, is the brutality that could ensue when fighting for the “virtual remote”. ;)
 

T3Jn

New Member
The whole "consists ux across all devices" reasoning, although makes sense feels to me like "one day cars will be able to fly like planes, until then we'll make planes work like cars and stop them from flying".

I appreciate that there are lots of people saying the new ux has no impact on productivity. I think it depends on what you do... on the surface the os is awesome, same on the phone. Sucks on multi screen desktop though. The arguments suggesting when all apps are modern UI the problem goes away... considering relatively simple apps like Skype are significantly lacking compared to the desktop counterpart how on earth are we going to be productive with Modern UI versions of SSMS and VS?

8.1 will be interesting.
 

J515OP

Super Moderator
The thread title should read " Will Leap motion save the OP" :wink:

I'll agree with that. While I like Leap Motion and think it does have a place in the future it isn't going to directly boost Windows 8 sales. In fact it is probably the other way, the more Windows 8 makes it on to computers the more Leap Motions that will be sold but I don't see people buying a Leap Motion and then rushing out to get a Windows 8 upgrade to compliment an accessory device :D Initially people who want a Leap Motion will be the same people who want to update to Windows 8 regardless but eventually as people get Windows 8 on new devices they may pick up a Leap Motion as an accessory to that just like a fancy keyboard or mouse (touch mouse, wedge mouse, arc touch, etc.) that will compliment Windows 8 touch features.
 
OP
mitchellvii

mitchellvii

Well-Known Member
Lol, you guys have no sense of the marketplace whatsoever. The #1 reason Windows 8 has not taken off more is that to use it properly you need a touch device and most people do not have a touch device and are not prepared to spend hundreds upgrading.

So, if you can introduce an inexpensive tool which allows users to turn their legacy (i.e., paid for) monitors into "touch screens", this will OBVIOUSLY drive sales of Windows 8.

J5, according to you the ONLY thing that will drive sales of Windows 8 is for the unclean masses to finally bend over and accept it as the future. You must secretly be the Head of Marketing for MS because he has been just about as wrong-headed. So far you have proclaimed that Windows 8.1 won't drive sales, a device which makes touch ubiquitous won't drive sales. Dammit man, WHAT will drive sales other than just blind acceptance?

You are a nice guy but when it comes to marketing you haven't got a clue.

** P.S., The touch protagonists in here have often made the point that touch is the future because we all want to eventually be like Tom Cruise in Minority Report. That's EXACTLY what Leap does, turns us all into Tom Cruise in front of our monitors rather than rubbing our greasy digits across the screen. Do not discount the COOL FACTOR when someone goes into BestBuy and suddenly they can control Windows 8 on a 27 inch monitor simply by waving their hands. And you think THAT sense of empowerment won't sell Windows 8?

Leap will make Windows 8 "cool" and "cool" sells.
 
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tonyz3

New Member
lol. all true. One thing anyone without a touchscreen and win 8 should have that gives full touch gestures is the $50 Logitech touch pad. I got one when i first upgraded to win 8 as my all in one did not support all win8 touch gestures. The Logitech works great but still does not compare to the real deal of a touch monitor or the SP itself. I think the Leap looks pretty cool but may be the same.. I will probably still get one though...
 

J515OP

Super Moderator
Mitchell, I disagree that Windows 8 requires touch to use properly though it does offer a more natural interface for certain tasks (the whole reason touch devices are popular). There are other options besides touch screens and LM. As far as simple and inexpensive tool, a touch mouse will work for quick access to Windows 8 gestures and are even more simple and cheaper than LM. Touch is becoming more integrated and cheaper all the time which plays into Windows 8 adoption.

Yes, blind acceptance will drive Windows sales just as it always has. The bottom line is there are no realistic alternatives to Windows at this time. I don't see people rushing to OSX, Linux and Chrome despite the apparent hatred for Windows 8. If that were the case we should have seen huge sales increases at least equal to the decline in Windows PC sales (meaning overall flat PC sales counting all OSes) for each as people rushed to flee from Windows 8 for other options. That simply hasn't happened.

So just like all the Windows before it, Windows 8 will be adopted as people upgrade and replace their computers. There has never been a single killer feature that has driven masses of people to Windows PCs (or Windows OS specifically) other than ubiquity. You get a Windows PC because that is what is available to the masses and what you are familiar with. The pace of replacement has slowed so it will take time but will eventually happen. Even if you want to be pedantic and say Windows 8 is going to be skipped then it will simply be an XP to Win 7 situation where people skip a generation but don't abandon Windows. It will eventually happen though because as nice as tablets are for now people still need PCs for some tasks. We are only in the first wave of touch devices with more to come this year.

Touch is already here and being integrated so that when people replace their current PC the chances are it will be with a touch enabled device. Most people aren't simply updating the OS on their current box or replacing their current box with another box. All in ones are replacing towers as desktops and laptop sales outstrip desktops with tablets quickly becoming the number 1 seller (probably this year). That means integrated touch without having to buy an expensive new touch screen either in an all in one, laptop or tablet. This is the replacement cycle and the way Windows 8 and its successors will work their way into our lives just like all their predecessors. No boost from peripherals is necessary to make this happen. BestBuy already has 76 touch monitors (starting at $260), 44 all in ones and 134 touch laptops listed on their website. There are plenty of touch options and more will come at ever cheaper prices. LM isn't gong to simply replace all all these touch options with people opting for it instead of touch. It will be lucky to achieve a small percentage of the sales of monitor/all in one/laptop touch sales.

The biggest threat to Windows (and more generally the threat is to PCs) is smart phones and tablets. If these two devices get to the point that PCs are truly irrelevant then Windows in its past state is in real trouble. Windows 8 is MS's first step to make sure that even if PCs do go away they will have at least some presence in the post PC era. We aren't there yet and there will probably always be a healthy market for PCs even if greatly reduced from historical numbers but the transition is happening and Windows is transitioning as well. We will see an organic transition of Windows 8 into the touch era and the post PC era as people gradually replace their current devices, which may be lasting longer than before but still will eventually be old and slow and need to be replaced.

At the end of the day what will drive Windows 8 sales? Tablets. Windows 8 will come on tablets and the more tablets people buy the more copies of Windows 8 will be sold particularly if people see the same OS on their work and home PC (if they keep one) and tablet. In a couple years time I fully expect to see Windows tablets/hybrid laptops replacing more and more desktops and traditional laptops.
 
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