Thanks go to Mary Jo over at ZDNet for uncovering a pretty important piece of work by the good people at Microsoft.
One big issue with Windows 8, and particularly Windows 8.1 and the forthcoming Update 1, is that Microsoft's latest, more modern OS is not for business consumption. Clearly, when Windows 8 first released, that was definitely the case. Some may argue the point, particularly folks from MSFT, but it’s a clear fact that Microsoft intended Windows 8 to be a touchscreen OS to help compete with the likes of Google and Apple. I stated recently that Microsoft ignored desktop users with the Windows 8 launch, even though those users are the reason Windows enjoys a large market share. If you ask anyone in business they'll agree.
But since Windows 8.1 brought the ability for users to choose to boot to the desktop instead of the Metro interface, and now that Windows 8.1 Update 1 will release with better options for desktop users, the value of Windows 8 for business is changing. To be up-front, I've used Windows 8 on my desktop since the beginning and have never had any problems with it. Of course, I had to alter some of my normal computing activities, but over time I coped, and I'm not exactly a normal user. And, since the release of Windows 8.1, things have gotten markedly better.
Still, Microsoft has quite an uphill road ahead to convince business users that Windows 8 is OK to use. Per Mary Jo's treasure hunt, Microsoft has started up a new blog series that lasts through the month of March leading up to the April release of Windows 8.1 Update 1. The series looks to cover all of the misnomers around using Windows 8 for business. Five posts in the series are ready to read now and the entire is schedule is listed. The topics range from touchscreens to security and there's a few I've tagged already to check back on once they are live.
Here's the site with links to the current ones and the schedule listing: Blog Series: Windows 8.1 for Business (or – Why you MAY be wrong about Windows 8.1)