windows 8 metro

In the 1990s, IBM over and over again tried to convince the media that OS/2’s object oriented user interface was better than Windows 3.1’s graphical user interface and Windows 95’s Explorer interface. But IBM failed miserably, at least partly because the media — including many members of the trade press — had never actually used OS/2.

Today’s Challenge

Fast forward to the present. Most bloggers have seen and used Google Android and Apple iOS. The user interfaces are familiar and therefore seem extremely intuitive. In stark contrast, many bloggers have never used existing Windows Phone devices and are poorly prepared for the Windows 8 Metro user interface. (Yes, Microsoft has stopped using the Metro term amid a potential legal tussle. But for the sake of this article, let’s stick with Metro.)

Further complicating matters, negative Windows 8 user videos are going viral, such as this one:

How Microsoft Should Respond

What should Microsoft do?

Ironically, time is not on Microsoft’s side. Windows 8 and the Metro interface will arrive in October. In the meantime, Microsoft is taking some heat from many outspoken journalists and bloggers. In some cases, those folks are repeating the same complaints over and over again without really exploring what’s “right” with Windows 8.

The VAR Guy isn’t taking sides. But Microsoft, at a minimum, needs a strategy to more forcefully combat the naysayers. The software giant can’t silence negative voices. But Microsoft should empower more positive voices to be heard, in an authentic way. Otherwise, Windows 8 Metro could suffer the pains of OS/2 — experiencing “user complaints” before those “users’ have actually given the new operating system an extended test drive.