Windows 8 isn't the expected hit

For the last week or so I've been considering a new PC and the installation of Windows 8 upon it. I'm sure I'm not the only one who's thought about it and I know at least one friend who has dabbled, installing it as an upgrade on his current home PC ... I've seen his cursing on Facebook as a result.

However, so far I've yet to take the plunge myself, perhaps put off by the ragings of my friend, but also because... well, I just don't need to really. You see, I've kind of got used to my Windows 7 operating system, which was hastily upgraded as soon as it came out, following the disaster that was Windows Vista.

So now I have had a stable and working PC for the last few year, allowing me to get on with the more productive things in life, like actually using it for work.

Am I put off by having to learn yet another user interface? Yes

Can I be bothered to install it on my current machine and risk its stability, productivity and compatibility? No
(In other words, I'm not too sure I can run all the software I have installed on my current box and I'm in no mood to find out by a process of trial and error)

Apparently even Microsoft are admitting that sales of their new version are "disappointing" and to make matters worse... even the story explaining this lack of sales in The Register has scored even more points for Google:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/19/retailers_report_slow_win8_sales

I can't help but feel that Microsoft may not be winning this one...

Companies and the services layers

I recently received a report from McKinsey [link] that covered the topic of the 'corporate software layer'. This wasn't just another publication talking about application development standards, it referred to a metaphorical layer of services that surrounds the core 'hardware' processes and functions of an organisation. This software layer is an all-encompassing wrapper that the author described as including APIs, digital customer touchpoints and even Social Media.

Coincidentally I was chatting with someone in the Digital industry only a few days ago (thanks Wyndham) about how the use of web-based services can allow a company to incrementally develop its inner and external functions to remain agile & responsive to changes. I explained that via a Service Orientated Approach (SOA), a company could continually evolve its client-facing functionality (internal and external clients), wrap legacy functions and get the most from its digital agencies... by getting them to utilise any existing services.
Note:
We also questioned why digital agencies never seemed to develop work for clients using their own suite of web services to quickly deliver more intelligent work for their clients, but that's another topic for this blog sometime).

Anyhow.... Having thought about this some more, I do think there's the opportunity to not only merge the two topics mentioned above, but to then represent this in a similar (but perhaps more complex) way than McKinsey have done.

Here's what I mean:

1. McKinsey (perhaps in an effort to de-techie their report) haven't mentioned SOA and it's obvious benefit.

2. The 'software layer' is a little too catch-all for me.

3. Their diagram doesn't explain the big difference between the more technical machine-to-machine interfaces and the softer services that involve human interaction.

I guess what I'm saying here is that there might not be just one layer around the business, but possibly several service layers..... And the diagram needs to reflect this.