back to article Windows 8 ads hit US screens: Death Metal, exploding laptops

Microsoft’s Windows 8 TV ads have started running in the US. Microsoft started running the spots during peak-time viewing for US sports audiences on Sunday, just 12 days before the launch date of the Windows 8 OS on 26 October. Pre-orders have been open since Friday. The ad pushes touchscreen PCs hard – showing off only one …

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  1. Sorry that handle is already taken. Silver badge
    Mushroom

    Came for death metal

    Leaving fucking disappointed.

    Such a shame you don't let us vote on articles any more.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Came for death metal

      It might be (or not) related to how some columnists delete comments they don't like... The votes on the article were all that was left for the comentards to express themselves, and some articles got heavily downvoted, which might have upset said columnists. Or maybe it has a completely different reason...

      1. Miek
        Linux

        Re: Came for death metal

        "It might be (or not) related to how some columnists delete comments they don't like" -- You must have tried to post a comment on one of Orlowski's "articles" ;)

    2. GhostSeven
      Unhappy

      Re: Came for death metal

      I have just noticed that you can't vote on articles now, when did this happen? Did someone hack get angry that the iPhone 5 fawning review was voted down to oblivion?

      Worrying trends of late with el reg...

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Came for death metal

        "I have just noticed that you can't vote on articles now, when did this happen? Did someone hack get angry that the iPhone 5 fawning review was voted down to oblivion?"

        Well, it was just after that, yes. I'd be surprised though, Lewis seems like he trolls on purpose, and isn't a delicate soul, probably taking a mischievous glee in being downright naughty. I'd have expected the cause to be the notoriously over-sensitive and combative (such a combo) Orlowski.. :)

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Fancy packaging

      Loud designs and loud music, to distract you while they rifle you wallet.

  2. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    easy for children

    yeah, right, but I'm not a f... child any more :(

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: easy for children

      Considering the UI design appears to have been copied from Fisher Price, it should be usable by a child.

      My kid has a Mobi Go... I'm not trading my smart phone in for one of those any more than I'd trade my Win7 work laptop in for a Surface.

      1. Miek
        Trollface

        Re: easy for children

        When I installed the Consumer Preview version, the installer asked me "Please choose a colour you like" for my desktop, it presented a choice of 16 colours and I thought to myself "Well, I don't like any of them, how do I choose a custom colour? Oh, I can't. Um, can I use an image? er no, WFT?"

  3. Naughtyhorse
    Mushroom

    bogusky

    an ad company telling the truth - who'd have thort it!

  4. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    So simple a child can use it...

    ... just like they can use Windows 7 or Linux .... its hardly a great selling point.

    I just hope that I can still pick up a Win 7 laptop when I head over in November.....

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: So simple a child can use it...

      Question is, would a child want to use it?

      This adult certainly doesn't.

  5. Miek
    Linux

    So Windows 8 has been designed for children, who'd of thought it?

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      @Miek

      Either them or chickens. I can't help heavily associate the music with the sound of a chicken. Screaming out in horror :)

  6. Mystic Megabyte
    Unhappy

    3 hands?

    If I have to hold a tablet with one hand and browse/swipe whatever with the other how the hell am I going hold my ciggie or cup o'tea?

  7. Chika
    Coat

    Rutabaga

    Oh dear. Can't count down past eight. Damn poor show!

  8. Tom 35
    Trollface

    Before they film their next touch screen ad

    Give the kid a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich.

    1. Miek
      Linux

      Re: Before they film their next touch screen ad

      Or a packet of crisps.

  9. D@v3

    "so easy a child can use it"

    or so simple an adult wont want to?

  10. jptech

    I've seen the ads

    But what I notice in all of the jubilee, you won't find one mouse.

    Everything is touch screen. My PC doesn't have a touch screen, so sod off!

  11. Haku

    Touch input?

    As a replacement to mouse & keyboard? No way, touch screen keyboards are horrible to use, and the five flesh pointers stuck on the end of your arm are not as precise on a touchscreen as a mouse pointer in a traditional GUI.

    As an addition to mouse & keyboard? Yes I can see that being an advantage.

    1. JDX Gold badge

      Re: Touch input?

      I wonder. Could MS "do an Apple" and bring an existing but unpopular tech to the masses... we all thought tablets were daft until iPad showed they can be useful. Maybe, just maybe, W8 could do the same for touch-screen PCs.

      I think it's pretty unlikely too, but you never know.

      1. Mark .

        Re: Touch input?

        No, we didn't think tablets were daft, nor did Apple bring them to the masses - people were using handheld touchscreen devices for years, we just called them different names - media players, smartphones, PDAs. It was mostly Android that brought touchscreen devices to the masses.

        The tablets which we thought were daft were tablet PCs, i.e., the same thing that people here are still calling daft. Now that's not to say that I agree with them - much of the problem with the older tablet PCs was that they tended to be even heavier than normal laptops. That's not true of smartphones, PDAs, or media player tablets (include Apple's), but it's also not true of the new upcoming Windows tablet PCs.

        An ipad is not a tablet PC, it's a big phone or media player. But I don't necessarily disagree with your conclusion, just the argument from Apple.

  12. Camilla Smythe

    The Eagles of Death Metal

    Blimey... 'The Eagles' are more 'Death Metal' than 'The Eagles of Death Metal'.

    1. TheOtherHobbes

      Re: The Eagles of Death Metal

      At least MS got the death part right.

  13. Chandy
    FAIL

    good showcase

    of why it doesn't work. Look at how close they are having to sit to the screen, and the awkward stretching over keyboards. I can feel my back seizing up already.

    1. Darryl
      Thumb Down

      Re: good showcase

      Yup, all those years and all that money spent on ergonomic-ifying (whatever) the workstation, all thrown out the window when workers start getting RSIs from reaching out to touch their monitors every few seconds.

    2. Arctic fox
      Windows

      @Chandy Re: "good showcase" The peripherals manufacturers are already way ahead of you.

      Like Logitech for example:

      http://www.pcworld.com/article/2011471/logitech-debuts-three-touch-friendly-mice-designed-for-windows-8.html

      Should take care of your back problem nicely. :P

  14. Wibble
    Windows

    I'm waiting, with popcorn in hand...

    I know what I think about the Metrofication of Windows. However, what I think is irrelevant as I'll have to use it to test websites, etc.

    What I'm waiting for is the unwashed plebs to get hold of Windows 8 on their non-touch low-end £300 laptop from PC World. Even if they add touch, it'll be interesting.

    Let the plebs speak!

  15. mraak
    Thumb Up

    This must be finally

    Year of Desktop Linux

    1. Spoonsinger
      Meh

      Re: Year of Desktop Linux

      Umm, I sort of like the enthusiasm, but no, it will be the same XP/Win 7 base.

  16. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Queens of the trust fund

    That's it with you and me Josh Homme; suing I Can't Believe it's Not Kyuss was bad enough but allowing your music to be used for a Microsoft commercial is the last straw. The ginger Elvis has left the building.

  17. Piro Silver badge

    Garbage

    Windows 8 can be man-handled into a usable state, no doubt, but that advert showed nothing good about Windows 8. It was full of touch screen gimmicks. If I want a touch UI I already have Android. Microsoft need to concentrate on business stuff, because otherwise the only competitor in that space will be XP and Windows 7.

  18. John G Imrie

    "so easy a child can use it"

    I want it so easy my parents can use it.

  19. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Forget that. I'll stick with XP or 7. When the wife starts touching an inanimate object more than me, it's time to stop upgrading. :D

  20. Anonymous Coward
    Pirate

    Microsoft desperate?

    I just noticed that retail Windows 8 Pro for pre-order sells for $69.99 (down from $199.99) at Amazon.com. For comparison, Windows 7 Pro sells for $264.28 and Windows 7 Ultimate for $279.95. Are Microsoft really getting desperate?

    Also: http://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-windows-8-sales-expectations-low-says-topeka-2012-10

    1. Neoc
      Stop

      Re: Microsoft desperate?

      That's because -as was explained in a previous article - all the Win8 products you wee advertised are Upgrade-Only. You must already have Win(something) installed. (there are Install versions of Win8, but they are a completely different kettle of fish and are pretty much OEM versions).

      So you are comparing Install prices for Win7 with Upgrade prices for Win8.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Coat

        Re: Microsoft desperate?

        Ah. Well, at least I have the BusinessInsider article to be cheerful about. And the articles saying that pre-release adoption of Windows 8 appears to be five-fold lower than for Windows 7 at the same point in time (relative to its release in 2009).

    2. P. Lee
      Mushroom

      Re: Microsoft desperate?

      > Windows 7 Ultimate for $279.95

      $445 (that's 455.8580 US dollars) in my local Officeworks - I checked on Friday.

      Oh wait, I remember, there are "local factors" which make Australia more expensive. Probably the lack of land to build shops on.

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