There’s no doubt about it that Microsoft’s (MSFT) upcoming Windows 8 is a huge upgrade. Gone is the Start menu and in its place is a Windows Phone-inspired Start screen populated with flat and colorful tiles for launching applications. Unlike the transition between previous Windows operating systems, Windows 8 is mostly a fresh break from a user interface standpoint. It’s designed for touchscreen tablets, Ultrabooks and hybrid tablet PCs, and it will take some getting used to. One tech geek decided to find out what people who have never seen or tested Windows 8 really think about Microsoft’s new OS and the reactions are not only hilarious, but downright truthful: people are going to be confused.
Chris Pirillo isn’t trying to troll unsuspecting strangers in public for the sake of mocking Windows 8 but in his video, he finds users who are clearly baffled by Windows 8’s revamp. Reactions ranged from “Why is this not like other computers?” to “That’s the most confusing Windows I’ve ever been on” to “I like the pretty icons they have on here. That’s about it.”
Other observations gleaned from Pirillo’s video suggest people aren’t ready for a complete change in Windows, with people unable to immediately find a quick way to turn off the operating system to users saying the UI feels better fit for a smartphone.
“There is going to be a lot of retraining. People are going to look for things that are familiar. Things are not familiar. Definitely not familiar. I would need a tutorial,” said one user.
While the sample of users in the video might not be indicative of Windows 8’s success or failure, it does at least show that there will likely be a lot of initial resistance. Microsoft is definitely going to face an uphill battle to convince consumers and businesses why they should upgrade to Windows 8.
Pirillo’s video follows below.
