When I saw some early images of the new Windows 8 desktop, I wasn’t crazy about the change in appearance.  It looked fine for a tablet device or smartphone but those new windows/buttons seemed too clunky and primitive for my liking.

But then again, maybe I just don’t like change and after using it, it’d grow on me.  However, this new layout combined with some ambiguous promotion has led many in Japan to believe that it suddenly transforms your regular old computer monitor into a touch screen.

Clearly, there’s no way an operating system can change the way your physical monitor was built.  For many of us that’s common sense.  But a fair chunk of us are not so computer literate.  Especially in Japan where the population over 65 years old is around 25% and steadily rising, a large portion of the PC market might not really understand how they work.

With that in mind here are some advertisements for the new OS.  First, an English language one:

http://youtu.be/baFyCJywaH4

In it we can plainly see someone operating Windows 8 with a mouse and distinctly alongside a tablet device.  Next, in Japan:

http://youtu.be/gnCeeTHNnQ4

In this commercial there is no indication how you interface with the system, just some guy doing parkour.  At the very end you can see a tablet, laptop, and monitor standing by itself. If you’re a 70 year old retiree watching this, it’s not unreasonable to assume you might think that you could use the monitor as a touch screen.

Even on morning tabloid shows, the information on Windows 8 has been ambiguous with headlines like, “Windows 8 On Sale Today: PC to Tablet.”

It reminded one commenter of the Windows 95 debacle where people in Japan, trying to keep up with the times, bought the operating system without first considering purchasing an actual computer.

I’m probably going to hell for this but I can’t help chuckling at the thought of a little old lady touching the monitor of her computer going “something’s wrong.”  It’s sad and cute at the same time.

Source: J-Cast via My Game News Flash (Japanese)
Top Image: RocketNews24
Inset Image: My Game News Flash