back to article Win8 inventory glut? Yep, it's all Microsoft's fault, says HP

HP has criticised the way Microsoft rolled out the latest OS, claiming it was the root cause of an inventory pile-up of Windows 8 consumer PCs across the industry that will take time to “flush” through. Channel analyst Context recently revealed that no computers pre-installed with Windows 10 were sat with European distributors …

  1. Dan 55 Silver badge

    Now's the best time to buy HP

    "Buy now before we foist Windows 10 on you."

    1. Ken Hagan Gold badge

      Re: Now's the best time to buy HP

      If you've already got Win8.1, Win10 is such a tiny change that you might as well treat it as a service pack. (If you've got a Win7 box that you like, I'll concede that you might reasonably decide to stick with it.)

      1. Roland6 Silver badge

        Re: Now's the best time to buy HP

        Whilst the UI and some other technical features of Win10 may be a tiny change on Win8.1 (making it correct to regard Win10 as Win8.1 SP2); the EULA and computing paradigm it embraces and foists on users isn't, and in this respect MS quite correctly gave it a new version number. So you would be extremely foolish to treat it as simply a service pack.

      2. Trevor_Pott Gold badge

        Re: Now's the best time to buy HP

        The "Service Pack" being all the privacy stealing crap, forced updates that Microsoft won't explain and a newfound complete lack of reason to trust Microsoft with your personal or professional data?

        That's a hell of a Service Pack, mate.

      3. Dan 55 Silver badge

        Re: Now's the best time to buy HP

        As the other two gentlemen said, it's about the EULA and what is uploaded to Redmond.

  2. Howard Hanek
    Headmaster

    Glutten Free?

    Consumers are waiting for glutten free PCs?

    1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
      Happy

      Re: Glutten Free?

      Well, they are already FAT free

    2. Captain DaFt

      Re: Glutten Free?

      "Consumers are waiting for glutten free PCs?"

      "Gluten free, privacy free, it's all the same to the masses, innit?" - says an anonymous west coast source.

      (Yes, it's sarcasm, for those too jaded to notice.)

    3. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: Glutten Free?

      Is that gluten or glutton?

  3. N2

    Take time to flush through...

    Somewhat apt comment for a turd of an OS W8 was

  4. A Non e-mouse Silver badge

    Everyone knew Windows 10 was coming. We may not have known the exact release date but why didn't everyone wind down supply of Windows 8 machines? Would the loss of sales of Windows 8 outstrip the loss from inventory write-down on unsold Windows 8 machines?

    I seem to recall that Apple goods start becoming harder to get hold of before product launches as they stop production of older products.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Hazarding a guess but the very short dev-test-preview loop was far too short and the pipeline too long to work correctly. This was a first experience for Microsoft consumer software. We'll have to see how the enterprise lineup plays, but based on past performance, no worries there with delayed adoption.

      As for SO/HO SMB markets, that's the data I'd like (kill) to see. We're two conjoined businesses and everyone's already had KB3035583 (sheesh my tablet autofills it!) disabled. Some features still don't work right. "Waiting is."

    2. asdf

      death to OEMS battle cry

      >I seem to recall that Apple goods start becoming harder to get hold of before product launches as they stop production of older products.

      Yep that is what happens when the company that make the OS and the hardware are the same. HP probably isn't big on winding down sales for another companies convenience. Especially since Microsoft has pretty much blamed its problems on the OEMs (with some valid points) and semi declared war on them the last few years anyway.

    3. Roland6 Silver badge

      " why didn't everyone wind down supply of Windows 8 machines? "

      Because August~September is the time for "Back to School" and "Off to College/University" sales; there is only so much winding down of supply you can do in the highly competitive retail channel before you risk having an empty channel and missing the sales boat.

      What is interesting, is comparing the W8 and W10 retail launches. It is clear with W10 MS have lost the additional benefits of third-party advertising, which may mean that normal members of the public buying "Back to school" PC's etc. may be totally unaware of the existence of W10...

    4. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      "Everyone knew Windows 10 was coming. We may not have known the exact release date"

      The release date was trailed well enough in advance. The only uncertainty, I suppose, was that they may have delayed. But the point is well made.

  5. Mpeler
    Alert

    'Need to flush through existing stock before Win10 really take hold'

    Flush is about right.

    Pull the chain to ease your pain...

    (man the pumps, full bilge ahead)

  6. graeme leggett Silver badge

    graeme@the-leggetts.org.uk

    If HP rebranded the stock as "Windows 10 pre-pre-install".

    It would convert a load of stock they didn't sell last period, into inventory expansion for the coming year

    profit! Or something

  7. asdf

    can't resist

    HP is just flushing old inventory because they are about to release the memristor equipped computers here right around the corner in 2028.

  8. Nolveys
    Trollface

    HP Computers

    They're HP computers, just take them to the landfill. It's not like they cost anything to make and they'll all be at the dump within a year anyhow.

    Dump the ones with Windows 10 installed too, it will save consumers the hassle.

  9. Charles Manning

    How about a Coke Classic move?

    There are some of us old enough to remember the New Coke/Coke Classic débâcle of 1985.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Coke

    If one substitutes Apple == OSX(*) and Coke == Windows you get a pretty good analogy.

    Perhaps Microsoft should just bring back XP.

    (*) Somewhat fitting in that John Sculley headed Pepsi until Steve hired him away for Apple.

  10. ITS Retired
    Big Brother

    Obligatory Linux post.

    Why not reload the excess computers with some flavor or other of Linux? The sellers and re-sellers might come out ahead a buck or two by being able to sell them in a timely manner.

    There'd be less chance of big brother spying on you, if nothing else.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Obligatory Linux post.

      My guess that they'd probably load Ubuntu complete with the Amazon search thing installed.

      There are better Linux distro's but to many Linux ==== Ubuntu.**

      Quite how the spotty faces sales droids in PC-World would make of something that isn't Windows. God knows they already struggle with OSX. I really don't know what they'd make of 'apt-get'. :)

      Still it would be interesting to see what happens if a major maker was to do this.

      ** AFAIK, Canonical is out to make a profit these days so how long before some sort of spyware or other nasties are included in their 'retail pack'?

      I expect to get a good number of downvotes for the last statement but I do seem to recall Mark S saying something like that he does not have bottomless pockets and it will be time to get some return on his investment.

      1. Paul Crawford Silver badge

        Re: Obligatory Linux post.

        I think most Linux users have no problem with making an Amazon search available, nor with the concept of a Linux distro making money. What pissed them off was having it slipped in to the desktop search which very likely would be used for private matters.

        Again an example of arrogance (as one must assume Mark S is not stupid to have got so far), and it could have all been avoided by simply having two search buttons "local" for your own file system, and "everywhere" for Internet + local files.

    2. kb
      FAIL

      Re: Obligatory Linux post.

      Because as we saw with Linux netbooks (which just FYI saw a 400% higher return rate, I'm willing to provide a link if you wish) if the software that people want to run won't work on the PC they send it back and the software they want is on Windows NOT Linux.

      I'm sorry to burst your bubble but as long as 95%+ of the commercial software will not run on Linux? Then you might as well be offering to trade folks their shiny new PC for a Llama for all the good it will do 'em.

      1. Paul Crawford Silver badge

        Re:@kb

        Yup, and just look at all those folk returning their iPads and Android tablets because they don't run windows stuff...

        1. kb
          FAIL

          Re: kb

          LOL are you SERIOUSLY comparing a tablet, a device designed for passive viewing and very little interaction, to a full fledged computer?

          Why don't you show us how much you've guzzled the koolaid and start bringing up supercomputers and routers, after all they all have processors so they count...amirite?

  11. Henry Wertz 1 Gold badge

    Slow sales too.

    "Hazarding a guess but the very short dev-test-preview loop was far too short and the pipeline too long to work correctly."

    I think this supply pipeline also has become "longer" than usual, as inventory of Windows 8/8.1 systems have built up on the warehouses and store shelves.

    "Why not reload the excess computers with some flavor or other of Linux? The sellers and re-sellers might come out ahead a buck or two by being able to sell them in a timely manner."

    It seems like the OEMs etc. should do something, stick a nice Linux distro on there, or throw Win10 on them as the case may be. But maybe the inventory of Win8.1 systems is still draining out fast enough for them, I don't know.

  12. JakeMS
    Thumb Up

    Windows 10 is a success

    I firmly believe Windows 10 has done me a great favour. For a while now I've been 'supporting' a few family members and a neighbour with their Windows PCs helping fix problems and keep them running.

    It sucks as I'm not a Windows user and haven't been for over 10 years now, so my windows specific skills are slowly lacking more and more as the OS changes meanwhile my Linux skills are constantly improving.. naturally so. But it does make fixing Windows users computers a pain in the rear for me.

    Anyhows, so since Windows 10 has been out and all the buzz on privacy issues hit the streets I've been asked about "other" operating systems. Yup, you guessed it, I stuck Linux Mint 17.2 Cinnamon on a USB stick after asking about their usage/application requirements and then booted it up on their PC to show them how it works.

    I was expecting a "Oh it's too complicated.." or some other type of confusion.. nope. The response was "So how do I go about making this permanent? This feels much more comfortable than Windows 8"

    ...

    I was dumbfounded. And am now working on plans to migrate data and install Linux. This also means helping them will be much easier.

    So yes, Windows 10 is indeed a success! :-).

    Well, sort of.

    So realistically this is what HP should be advertising with their current Win8 machines, get them now before "secure boot" completely locks out Linux installs!

    They will sell them in a jiffy!

    1. Doctor Syntax Silver badge

      Re: Windows 10 is a success

      Much the same except I used Zorin. It offers to set up dual boot which is set up with Linux as the default. This retains all their original files with the Windows partition appearing as another drive which Linux can then access. I found that it was quite quick to partition if you accepted the split it suggested but if you set the Linux partition larger it had to do a defrag which took hours on an old box.

  13. DavCrav

    Never never never Windows 10

    You offered it me for free and I still didn't want it. This tells you just how much you gone fucked up.

  14. Mage Silver badge
    Paris Hilton

    Horrible Win8 + Bing?

    If they had offered them with out bloatware, decent default settings and Win7 ?

    It's not really to do with Win 10. People are not "upgrading" as often, the majority of laptops have terrible shiny screens and poor viewing angle. Really the entry level laptop is replaced by Tablets (now saturated) and only people wanting better than 1080 resolution, and portable workstation are much buying laptops.

    My wife spent hours recently looking at new laptops and ordered a new battery pack instead.

    Perhaps HP made too many of something people don't want any more no matter what OS is on it and MS Win 10 is a convenient scapegoat, very believable too, given MS rush-out-too-quickly Win10 and OEM vs download approach.

  15. Mikel

    An OS people don't want, or an OS people don't want

    The choice is clear: No. Just... No.

  16. Planty Bronze badge

    exec said the feedback for Microsoft’s latest OS is “pretty good”

    They said that about windows 8...

    10 is better than 8, like a ford escort us better than a Austin allegro.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    FAIL

    Got to love HP

    Calling all consumers! Please purchase our piles of unsellable old tat now, as we have piles of unsellable new tat that needs warehouse space!

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Ever the optimist, the exec said the feedback for Microsoft’s latest OS is “pretty good” and should stimulate some demand.

    See: autonomy.

  19. Nameless Faceless Computer User

    not quite right

    There is no such thing as a FREE Win10 upgrade.

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