PC Demand Picking Up, But Windows 8 Adoption Still Lagging

[Johnny]

By Rob Wright
August 07, 2013

Cut!

Aristeo Torres, owner of Post Computer Systems in Wilbraham, Mass., said
his hardware sales are strong because customers are coming to his
business to find new Windows 7 systems -- which are nearly impossible to
find through retail outlets.

"We've seen recent growth in hardware sales, and Windows 8 is actually
driving -- but not because we're selling Windows 8," he said. "The great
majority of customers that are buying hardware from us are buying
Windows 7 machines. And, our sales are being driven by the fact that
Windows 8 was such a radical departure." There are also migration issues
looming; Windows XP systems can be directly upgraded to Windows 7 -- but
not Windows 8...

http://www.crn.com/news/mobility/24...g-up-but-windows-8-adoption-still-lagging.htm

 

[SC Tom]

By Rob Wright
August 07, 2013

Cut!

Aristeo Torres, owner of Post Computer Systems in Wilbraham, Mass., said
his hardware sales are strong because customers are coming to his business
to find new Windows 7 systems -- which are nearly impossible to find
through retail outlets.

"We've seen recent growth in hardware sales, and Windows 8 is actually
driving -- but not because we're selling Windows 8," he said. "The great
majority of customers that are buying hardware from us are buying Windows
7 machines. And, our sales are being driven by the fact that Windows 8 was
such a radical departure." There are also migration issues looming;
Windows XP systems can be directly upgraded to Windows 7 -- but not
Windows 8...

http://www.crn.com/news/mobility/24...g-up-but-windows-8-adoption-still-lagging.htm

THere is no "direct upgrade" from WinXP to Win7. You could attempt the XP ->
Vista -> Win7 route, but there are no guarantees that all will work after
that; I tried it as an experiment some time ago, and even though it *looked*
like everything had upgraded, there were a few programs that needed to be
re-installed.

But to go directly from XP to Win7, you'll have to re-install all of your
programs. Using Windows Easy Transfer, you can import all of your saved
games and settings prior to the installation of those programs, but if
you're anything like me, you'll have years of programs on your XP box, and
for probably close to half of them, you don't have the installation disks.
Not much sense saving the settings for them :-(

To use the same logic that Aristeo uses, going from XP to Win8 would be like
going from ME to Win7, and there is no direct route there either. So what's
the big deal about not have a direct route from XP to Win8? I'm glad he's
making money, though; that's a good thing

 

[Steve Hayes]

"We've seen recent growth in hardware sales, and Windows 8 is actually
driving -- but not because we're selling Windows 8," he said. "The great
majority of customers that are buying hardware from us are buying
Windows 7 machines. And, our sales are being driven by the fact that
Windows 8 was such a radical departure." There are also migration issues
looming; Windows XP systems can be directly upgraded to Windows 7 -- but
not Windows 8...

As I recall Windows XP systems can't be upgraded to Windows 7. You have to
downgrade them to Vista first, and Vista can then be upgraded to Windows 7.

 

[J. P. Gilliver (John)]

THere is no "direct upgrade" from WinXP to Win7. You could attempt the
XP -> Vista -> Win7 route, but there are no guarantees that all will
work after that; I tried it as an experiment some time ago, and even
though it *looked* like everything had upgraded, there were a few
programs that needed to be re-installed.[/QUOTE]
[]
Not as in "things will still all work" - you have to re-install the OS
(though does it allow dual-boot?) - but how are things financially: is
there an "upgrade" version of 8 (albeit one that requires a
reinstallation) which is valid with XP as a starting point, that is
_cheaper_ than a from-scratch version? I am pretty certain that applies
to 7, but I thought I'd read somewhere that so-called "upgrade" versions
of 8 wouldn't "upgrade" (even if a reinstall) from anything earlier than
Vista.