Computerworld posted a story that computer sellers have scaled back their expectations of the sales pop they'll get from Windows 8 this year, an analyst said today.

Brian White, of Topeka Capital Markets, said that his checks of Asian computer manufacturers -- the relatively unknown firms that build desktop and notebook PCs to specifications issued by the likes of Hewlett-Packard and Dell -- found that orders last month climbed by less than half the average of the last seven years.

"With all of the sales numbers out for our ODM Barometer, October sales rose by 2% month-over-month and below the average performance of up 5% over the past seven years," White said in a note to clients earlier this month. "This is weaker than our preliminary estimate of up 5% month-over-month in October and speaks to the continued challenges in the PC market."

  Windows 8 PC orders weak, says analyst