Former Microsoft Windows Chief Steven Sinofsky talked about some of the thinking behind the creation of Windows 8 during a public interview Thursday. During AllThingsD's D11 conference, Sinofsky said it was impossible to predict what the public's reaction would be to Windows 8, but said he knew some early adopters probably wouldn't like it.

"All the pre-release testing in the world doesn't necessarily help a product that's going in a different direction," Sinofsky said in response to a question about the "disruptive" nature of the Windows 8 experience.

SEE ALSO: Can Windows 8.1 Make My Wife Love Windows Again?

"There's no magic answer, but you can't A/B test your way to it, because a billion people don't get your product until a billion people have your product."

Sinofsky went on to explain why he thinks pre-release testers don't give the feedback that a radically changed product really needs.

"When you test a product before it's in market, the people who naturally go to use it will push it in the same way they pushed the old one," he said. "They like the old direction — that's why they signed up [for the] pre-release. You have to break from them, and those first hundred people will be very upset, but you want a million people, not a hundred."

Looking at the PC market, Windows 8 has struggled, failing to reverse or even pause the slide of PC sales, which dropped more than 13% in the first three months of 2013, according to IDC. Microsoft has said it has sold 100 million Windows 8 licenses, although that isn't a reflection of actual use.

When questioned about whether he was disappointed with Window 8's performance, Sinofsky cited Microsoft's statistic. "It's hard for me to look at selling 100 million of something and not be happy," he said.

Sinofsky also had a little to say about Microsoft's foray into hardware with the introduction of the Surface tablet, and why it's adopting an Apple-like approach to some of its products.

"When you sum up all of the parts of the ecosystems that are involved, delivering a great experience is about the connections between all of those parts," he said. "That's an engineering thing. There are really people who have to sit in an office and write code to connect two things. And on top of that, you have to choose which things you're connecting."

You can watch the full video at the D11 site.

Do you think Sinofsky is right about pre-release testing of disruptive products like Windows 8? Share your thoughts in the comments.

BONUS: Windows 8.1 Preview

Windows 8.1 Screen Shots

Image courtesy of Microsoft