Although most USENET newsgroup clients work well on the new OS, Windows 8 has had a tough run, and the number of people taking issue with the OS keeps growing. Now Samsung executive Jun Dong-soo has taken shots at the operating system, blaming it for not improving demand for PCs.
Asked for his take on recent reports that the PC market will continue to contract through 2013, Jun Dong-soo — president of Samsung’s memory chip division — said he doesn’t expect the PC industry to rebound anytime soon. And if and when it does, that rebound won’t be driven by Windows 8.
“The global PC industry is steadily shrinking despite the launch of Windows 8,” Jun was quoted as saying in one USENET newsgroup post. “I think the Windows 8 system is no better than the previous Windows Vista platform.”
Jun isn’t the first OEM executive to fume about Windows 8, of course, but his remarks are particularly interesting because they come shortly after Samsung decided to pull its Windows RT-based ATIV Tab off both the German and American markets.
It does seem disingenuous for PC makers to pin the blame solely on Microsoft’s operating system, as if the hardware is without fault. So far, PC makers haven’t put forth much in the way of compelling Windows 8 hybrids and convertibles, and the ones that did launch late last year were in short supply.
It’s possible that next-generation processors from Intel and AMD, along with refinements to the Windows software in an update codenamed Windows Blue, could make for a healthy second wave of software.
If other OEMs become similarly frustrated with their inability to move Windows 8 and Windows RT machines over the next few months, it could be a very long year for Microsoft.
