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Microsoft making nice with Windows 8 partners, Acer says

Acer has been a vocal critic of Microsoft and Windows 8, but now has some reason to be optimistic.

Roger Cheng Former Executive Editor / Head of News
Roger Cheng (he/him/his) was the executive editor in charge of CNET News, managing everything from daily breaking news to in-depth investigative packages. Prior to this, he was on the telecommunications beat and wrote for Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal for nearly a decade and got his start writing and laying out pages at a local paper in Southern California. He's a devoted Trojan alum and thinks sleep is the perfect -- if unattainable -- hobby for a parent.
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Microsoft appears to be listening to its partners a bit more when it comes to Windows 8.

That's according to Acer President Jim Wong, who spoke to The Wall Street Journal for a story published Thursday.

Acer has been among the most vocal critics of Microsoft, complaining that sales of Windows 8 devices have been disappointing and knocking the software titan's attempt to get into the hardware business with the Surface tablet. Even Microsoft has acknowledged that more work needs to be done to educate consumers on Windows 8 and Windows RT -- the latter being the stripped-down version of the operating system.

But Acer and Wong apparently had a change of heart, now saying that Microsoft has gotten more considerate of its partners and is more readily embracing their feedback.

Wong also told the Journal that his company isn't convinced that all devices will go touch screen in the next five years.

Microsoft has reportedly been working to bring some of the traditional touches back to the next version of Windows 8, including the Start button. Julie Larson-Green, vice president of Windows at Microsoft, hinted as much recently.

Acer, meanwhile, sees it as positive that Microsoft is starting to listen to its partners again. In an interview with the Journal, Acer Chairman J.T. Wang characterized it as Microsoft coming back down to Earth and learning "how people on Earth think."