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Microsoft is the undisputed current leader of the desktop operating systems. Our ChangeWave Research division of 451 Research published this week an early look at the new Windows 8 OS in a survey of 1,602 corporate respondents involved in IT spending within their organization. They also asked 53 Windows 8 Beta testers their impressions of the OS.

Corporate respondents were first asked about whether their company has a Windows 8 upgrade plan.

Which of the following statements best describes your company's Windows 8 upgrade plan?

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Even though only 2% currently have a Windows 8 Upgrade Plan, 15% have an Informal or are Working on a Windows 8 Upgrade Plan.

Within your own company, are any planned PC or server purchases currently being deferred to wait for the release of Windows 8?

Interestingly 12% of respondents are currently deferring some of their planned PC/Server purchases to wait for Windows 8.

What about tablet purchases? Within your own company, are any planned tablet purchases currently being deferred to wait for the release of Windows 8?

Only 8% of tablet purchases are currently being deferred to wait for Windows 8.

When we asked respondents about their company's barriers to adoption, nearly one-in-five cited cost (18%) as the biggest barrier to the rapid adoption of Windows 8. Another 17% said there is simply no need to upgrade at this time, while 13% say they are waiting for the inevitable bugs to be ironed out in the new release before adoption.

A total of 58% of the corporate Beta testers say they are Satisfied with Windows 8 (28% Very Satisfied; 30% Somewhat Satisfied).

How "user friendly" would you say Windows 8 is compared to Windows 7?

The results were considerably closer in a head-to-head between Windows 8 and Window 7 - with 34% of Windows 8 Beta testers finding it to be More user friendly and 28% Less user friendly than Windows 7.

The Microsoft preview of Windows 8 (Beta) has been available since February 2012.

During May, we asked 53 corporate Beta testers to tell us about their experience to date with the new Windows 8 operating system, including their overall satisfaction with it, what they like and dislike most about it, and how user friendly it is in comparison to previous Microsoft releases.

Overall Satisfaction

A total of 58% of the corporate Beta testers say they are Satisfied with Windows 8 (28% Very Satisfied; 30% Somewhat Satisfied).

We also asked Beta testers to tell us what they like best and dislike most about the new Windows 8 OS.

Likes: One respondent liked the "easy installation … and the speed, (which) seems as fast as Windows 7 or faster." Another respondent liked it's compatibility with existing software: "Windows 8 seems to run most Windows 7 apps right out of the box."

Additional respondents were both impressed by Windows 8's new Metro User Interface and support for touch screens, including "gesture-based navigation." And one indicated, "If you have a touch-screen display, Windows 8 is easier to use than Windows 7."

Dislikes: Some respondents cited the lack of a start button as being a problem; one stated "Key features like the command line are hidden" in Windows 8.

Others find the new Metro User Interface "is not a good fit for power users or software developers." And "…the majority of the innovation lies in the surface refreshment. Below the new Metro interface, not much has changed."

Coming Up. In an August survey, we will be taking another look at Beta tester reactions to the newest Microsoft Windows 8 Release Preview, including how Windows 8 stacks up against previous Microsoft OS releases.

If you would like a copy of the report, please send me your name, company with a request to my email at lisa@changewave.com.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, and no plans to initiate any positions within the next 72 hours.