For years, Microsoft jammed the Start Menu where it didn't belong (Windows CE), now they're stuffing a tablet interface where it doesn't belong.
I'm extremely suspicious of their interpretation of usage statistics. As a "power user" I habitually decline any offer to track my behavior. Also, as discussed in the previous article about Explorer changes, do the statistics speak to the number of people who choose other methods, or to the lack of UI discoverability? Clutter up the desktop of your freshly-bought PC with enough partner icons, and the Start Menu gets lost in a sea of visual information.
The new interface reminds me of the old app-launchers/menus in the pre-Windows days.
They are looking at the change in usage, not the total usage. Your complaints would be more apt if they were just looking at data for a single release, rather than a trend across releases. If users are switching to another method, regardless of what it is, you can argue that this is a failing of the Start menu.
No, not at all. But that's the problem: to my knowledge, they haven't disclosed much about their methods of collecting data, nor how they've come up with their percentage numbers. Since Microsoft seems to be ruled by politics and pet projects, I'm extremely suspect of the objectivity of their statistical analysis.
I'm extremely suspicious of their interpretation of usage statistics. As a "power user" I habitually decline any offer to track my behavior. Also, as discussed in the previous article about Explorer changes, do the statistics speak to the number of people who choose other methods, or to the lack of UI discoverability? Clutter up the desktop of your freshly-bought PC with enough partner icons, and the Start Menu gets lost in a sea of visual information.
The new interface reminds me of the old app-launchers/menus in the pre-Windows days.