We’ve argued in the past that it wouldn’t be fair to compare Windows 8 to Vista, in part because Vista was widely hated by many Windows users while Windows 8 is merely polarizing. In other words, even though Microsoft surely wishes more people liked Windows 8, it can at least take solace in the fact that the new platform has its share of passionate fans and advocates.
However, the well-connected Paul Thurrott says that’s not how Microsoft is internally looking at things. In fact, Thurrott says that Microsoft employees are internally referring to Windows 8 as “the new Vista,” which is a seeming admission that the platform has not achieved its goals of reigniting interest in PCs and needs some serious changes.
In a followup tweet, Thurrott explains that the view from within Microsoft is that Windows 8 has been at least as bad as Vista in terms of sales and market acceptance while adding that Vista might actually have sold better than Windows 8 when it was at this point in its life cycle.
Add it all up and it looks like Microsoft has a lot of work to do before it launches Windows 9 next year, because its big bet that making a more touch-centric version of Windows would revive PC sales has clearly not paid off.
