Windows 8 is designed for touchscreen devices, no two words about it. Microsoft has clearly envisioned a touch future as far as its operating systems are concerned, and the company has confirmed this on more than a few occasions.
Most of the touch optimized features of Windows 8 also transition over to Windows RT.
Despite all the emphasis on touch, Redmond’s newest operating system has also been developed to serve as a major upgrade over the popular Windows 7. But what of the fine folks who have not upgraded to touchscreen devices, what of them?
David Johnson, a senior analyst at Forrester is of the view that the new operating system does not make much sense on a computer that does not feature a touchscreen display.
In an interview with InformationWeek the analyst noted:
“We’re hearing from buyers of Windows 8 PCs looking to downgrade to Windows 7 on non-touch hardware, and enterprises are not keen to move to Windows 8 — particularly on older hardware — as a result. For non-touch-enabled PCs like traditional notebooks and desktops with only a touchpad and keyboard, Windows 8 offers no significant advantages, and in many ways offers a worse experience than Windows 7.”
In fact, recent reports seem to suggest that many Windows 8 PC buyers are actually asking retailers to downgrade to Windows 7 — even if their new computing units come with a touchscreen display.
And this, for Microsoft, is a worrying trend.
While Redmond is betting big on touchscreen devices, the company nevertheless promotes Windows 8 as the right choice for desktop computers, without or without touch capabilities.
Company executives have go so far as to blame PC manufacturers for the slow early uptake of Windows 8, claiming that most of the large computer hardware vendors of the world have failed to bring enough touchscreen devices to the market running its latest operating system.
Your take on all this, folks? Have you found Windows 8 on non-touchscreen devices an inferior experience than Windows 7, or is it just analyst jibber jabber? Leave your comments in the usual place.
All Comments
I have Windows 8 on three computers. Only one of these computers has a touch screen (Acer). I have not found any problem using either the touch screen and/or mouse. Both work very well.
Windows 8 is better than 7. Not doubt.
An annoyance with Windows 8 on a non-touch PC is scrolling left/right through the start screen by rolling the mouse button up/down. It sounds trivial but I find it very annoying. I wish that a mouse had a horizontal wheel as well as a vertical one. Plus, I find it annoying to access the charm bar with the mouse. The analyst is right, Apart from apps, for most users there is practically no advantage to having Windows 8 on a non-touch PC compared to Windows 7.
It depends on how connected you are. Windows 8 offers all the windows 7 features plus many other hidden treasures. Windows is is simpler, you simply have to be in the mood to learn how it works. I think it was a necessary change.
Pro tip: there are (even cheap) wireless, stylish mice which have a touch area on the place of the midden scroll button (besides the two left and right click buttons), and speed can be set up for own taste, if is a desktop PC.
I am using win8 w/o touch screen and don’t find any inconvenience. But of course, I need to add some shortcuts to make it easier to use. I can live w/o start button but my life is much easier with the shutdown shortcut. Scrolling app screen left and right is not so easy especially the scroll bar will disappear if you stop scrolling even your mouse is just sitting on it.
Honestly when you get used to working wiothout the start menu and having to go throught the computer program to access the control panel, it’s way better than windows 7 in terms of performance