[OPLINTECH] Windows 8

[Nathan Eady]

"Shelley Bylica" <bylicash at oplin.org> writes:

> How many of you are being proactive and learning Windows 8 right away? 

Well, I've read up about it on the web.  Does that count?

> I had a senior patron come in with a laptop that has a Windows 8
> operating system 

I've had a couple of those here.  It took a couple of extra minutes, but
I was able to figure out what they needed to know (mainly, connecting to
the library's wireless access point).

But those are the outliers.  Vista is almost twice as common as Eight,
and XP is almost twice as common as Vista, and Seven is almost four
times as common as XP, according to the UA stats from our website for
April and May.  Also, Mac OS X, if you count all its different versions
together, is more common than XP at this point; Linux is more common
than Vista, (although I think that Linux number includes Android;
whereas, the OS X number does not include iOS).  iOS is more common than
Eight, at least for the moment.  All of these comparisons are based on
traffic to the Galion Public Library website only; communities vary
(sometimes by rather a lot), and you can presumably run your own
numbers.  It's useful to track these things, IMO, as it can sometimes
reveal surprises.  I was caught off-guard e.g. by how suddenly Android
adoption picked up.  Also, Seven adoption has gone faster than I
anticipated.

> Windows 8 - this intro disc is very *YAWN*.

*shudder*

> Still, are you all preparing now to train others on Windows 8 just as
> it is coming out, or are you planning to wait until wider adoption has
> been demonstrated? 

We would look at the option of providing training in Windows 8 when 
(or, at the rate things are going, if) patron demand for such training
becomes adequate to justify it.  

For training on a specific new Windows version that our laptop lab
computers don't already have, we would have to justify not only holding
a class but also purchasing the OS licenses that would be needed (unless
the patrons wanting the training were willing to all bring in their own
devices, but that would be unprecedented here; even at the ebook reader
class we offered, only one or two patrons brought a device), so there'd
have to be enough to fill *multiple* classes at the very least.  I'll be
watching the adoption rates, for sure, but Windows Eight training seems
unlikely to be a priority soon, especially given the overall decreases
in demand for computer training in the last year or two.

We did already add one book on Windows 8 (yes, as it happens, the
Dummies book) to the collection, and I check Windows book circ stats
periodically to determine whether we need to add more books on a
particular version; Eight is the main version I would be watching at
this point.

> This is more of a question for rural communities with slower rates of
> tech adoption.
  
We're only semi-rural (city of over ten thousand people), but we're in
an economically and educationally depressed area, and I would estimate
that we have a significantly slower rate of tech adoption than average.
Certainly our tech adoption rates are nothing like what you would find
in a predominantly white-collar community.

As far as library computers (which I will have to maintain) go, I try to
avoid upgrading to a new version of any Microsoft operating system until
*after* the first service pack comes out.  For one thing, the first
release almost always has technical problems.  Also, most of our staff,
let alone patrons, won't be familiar with it yet.  (For the same reason,
when I set up a new computer, I configure away as many UI changes as
possible.  It makes things feel more comfortable and familiar to our
users.  Aero Glass, for instance, is turned off.)  If a few people have
a newer version at home than what they see here, that's alright; the old
version won't freak them out like an unfamiliar new one would.  So I
tend to wait until at least SP1 is released before starting to get
computers with the new version.  This policy has served us well.
 
I made an exception for Seven, on the theory that it basically *was* a
service pack (for Vista), plus one major new UI feature (pinning) and
marketing.  But that's the exception that proves the rule.  I didn't
start getting computers with XP until SP1 came out, and with Vista I
waited for SP1, and as far as Eight goes I am definitely waiting for SP1
(or Blue or 8.1 or whatever they finally end up calling it) at the very
least.  Actually, given the massive scope of changes in Eight, I may
wait for SP2 if it seems feasible to do so.  I half-regretted not
waiting for SP2 before starting to adopt Windows XP.

I *am* thinking about getting computers that have Seven but include a
license for Eight (either via upgrade option or because Seven is an
exercise of the downgrade option, which amounts to the same thing), so
that I could theoretically choose to upgrade them later if it becomes
desirable to do so.  I haven't made this a requirement for our new
computers yet, but I may soon.  The most recent computer quote I got
included this.

-- 
Nathan Eady
Galion Public Library