Why does Fox News hate Windows 8?

Fox News Windows 8 number 1

Now, I could go into detail about how badly it was written, how misleading it was, how wrong it was  but I won’t. I won’t because anyone in tech who reads that article will instantly recognize all those things. In addition, Ed Bott wrote a good rejoinder here so no need. Needless to say, the article was pretty weak. So surprise surprise, this afternoon, look what I saw: [caption id="attachment_7203" align="alignnone" width="590"] Fox News Windows 8 number 2[/caption] Hmm. Let’s take a look at this article and see what they point out. The three reasons they cite are:

Compatibility Headaches

First there are the usual complaints about compatibility issues. One striking piece of news: The tablet-style version of Windows 8 (called Metro) is going to pull a Steve Jobs and stubbornly refuse to work with Adobe’s Flash. Yes, the dominant way that consumers watch videos on the Internet will not function in the glitzy version Windows 8. It will work in a “classic” desktop version of Windows 8, but who wants that old software on their shiny new Windows tablet? Furthermore, you won’t be able to get any old application to work with the Metro version of Windows 8. Shunning the one feature that helped make Windows a near monopoly — just about every program worth having worked on it — Microsoft will switch to a gated community approach like that of Apple. Want a new app for your Windows Metro tablet? You’ll only be able to purchase it through the Microsoft Store. (We’ll see how well that model works against the iPad.)

A Whole New World

Annoying as these problems may be — and things may change before the final version is released — the biggest problem for Windows 8 is simply that the world may have passed it by. The last version of Windows was released in 2009. Since then, the iPad was introduced, TVs connected to the Internet have become commonplace, and smart phones have become the computers we use most. Not to mention the fact that more people have become accustomed to using their game consoles as Web browsers. Even the cybercriminals and hackers have begun turning away from desktop computers and Windows and begun to focus more on infecting Web sites and smartphones.

Microsoft’s Lost Clout

Back in the day, just the mere whiff of a rumor that Microsoft was going to release a new version of its OS would freeze the market. Companies would halt IT purchases. Consumers would stop upgrading or buying new applications. No one would buy hardware. All for fear that whatever was purchased today, wouldn’t work with the new version of Windows tomorrow. But we’re not in a holding pattern any more.

Ridiculous. I usually have the patience to break these down in detail but not today. I’ll be brief.

• Yes, Flash may not make the cut – after Apple’s discipline on the issue, nobody really cares.
• Your windows 7 apps will work in classic Windows 8 desktop mode. Metro is an option (or the desktop is an option depending how you look at it).
• How do you respond to the “A whole new world” paragraph? It’s asinine. Of course things have changed – so?
• Microsoft’s lost clout? —????

Here’s the bottom line. Fox News need to take their heads out of their asses and try and understand technology a little better. After attending the BUILD conference, i can tell you that there may be some challenges with Windows 8 (look for more on this on the site later) but  the nonsense in this article doesn’t even come close. It seems like there are 3 options here:

• Not very capable technology writing
• Inherent anti-Microsoft bias
• Both of the above

Whatever.]]>