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Windows 10: Familiarity breeds contempt

Microsoft's unveil of Windows 10 yesterday was one of the most humble, apologetic things I've ever seen in technology. After years of defending Windows 8's weird mashup of new Metro and old Desktop, there wasn't a glimmer of hubris or righteousness on the face of Microsoft's Myerson or Belfiore as they showed off an early version of Windows 10. Windows 10 is basically the upgraded version of Windows 7 that we've always asked for -- but is that a good thing?
By Sebastian Anthony
Windows 10 Tech Preview Start menu and desktop

Microsoft's unveil of Windows 10 yesterday was one of the most humble, apologetic things I've ever seen in technology. After years of defending Windows 8's weird mashup of new Metro and old Desktop, there wasn't a glimmer of hubris or righteousness on the faces of Microsoft's Myerson or Belfiore as they showed off an early version of Windows 10 (a video of the event is embedded below). The entire event could be summarized in two sentences: "Mouse-and-keyboard users and enterprise customers: Please come back to Windows. We know we messed up, but we're going to make it good again."

Windows 10 is a completely unabashed and deeply apologetic love letter to Windows 7 -- and to everyone who used and loved Windows 7, too. Windows 10 -- at least what we've seen so far -- is what the people have been asking for since it became clear that Microsoft really was doubling down on the Frankenstinan trainwreck of Windows 8. Windows 10, despite the utterly weird version number (more on that later), is essentially an upgraded version of Windows 7. It'll be the best version of Windows 7 there ever was. There are even some tweaks on the enterprise side of things, too, to sweeten the deal for IT admin types. It's everything Windows 8 should've been, and more! I mean, seriously, one of the major features that Microsoft showed off during the unveil of Windows 10 was an updated version of Command Prompt.

Unless Microsoft does something weird (which is quite possible), I'm sure Windows 10 will make a fine upgrade from Windows 7 and will go on to rule the slowly dwindling Desktop Empire until it finally evaporates under the red-hot advance of smartphones, tablets, and the cloud. The bean counters at Microsoft, who get their billions of beans from sales of Windows, Office, and server tools, will be happy. Enterprise customers, who prefer things to slowly change over a number of years rather than boom, here's a new Metro interface, will like Windows 10's return to the status quo. Consumers, who have been using Windows with a mouse and keyboard for up to 25 years, will like how Windows 10 looks kinda new but is ultimately very familiar.

But sometimes, familiarity breeds contempt. Sometimes giving the people exactly what they want is a good short-term tactic, but a very poor long-term strategy.

Windows 10 Task View and improved snappingThe Windows 10 Task View (bottom left) with some improved snapping Windows 10, with a Metro app running in a windowWindows 10, with a Metro app running in a window

Let's not kid ourselves here: Creating an updated version of Windows 7 is the easy way out. Yes, Windows 10 brings some nice new features for mouse-and-keyboard users, but bear in mind that it's now five years since Windows 7 was released and eight years since development began. Enterprise tweaks not withstanding -- and there are quite a few -- there isn't that much actual new stuff in Windows 10. In terms of actual, brand new features, there's Task View, which makes it easier to see what apps you have open; virtual desktops; and improved window snapping.

It's still fairly early days for Windows 10 -- more features like a notification tray and Cortana integration should be added -- but this obviously isn't going to be the most innovative and ground-breaking desktop OS ever made.

That's the problem with kowtowing to your users: Rather than being innovative and potentially creating a new market, you become the self-styled vigilant defender of status quo. You take on the responsibility of keeping decades of legacy installations and applications working, and your customers happy. This isn't necessarily a bad thing; following the money is usually a good thing. But eventually, something does have to change. Microsoft simply can't keep making desktop operating systems and software for ever. That well will dry up sooner rather than later -- and then like IBM, Nokia, and other behemoths that have been around long enough that the world itself has changed and their current way of doing business is no longer tenable, Microsoft will have to pivot.

Next page: But pivoting Microsoft would be like trying to right the Titanic

Righting the Titanic

Clearly, Microsoft knows about its impending course adjustment. When you have competitors like Apple and Google posting huge gains every month and your own platforms are only just managing to cling onto the nearest horizontal grid line, it's hard not take heed that something is happening to your core business. When it picked up the Metro ball and ran with Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, and Xbox One, Microsoft really was trying to pivot towards the cloud/mobile/touch triumvirate.

Now, however, after the Windows 8 backlash and poor adoption of Windows Phone, Microsoft seems to be dialed things back a notch. With what we've seen of Windows 10 so far, Microsoft is admitting that it went too far in completely alienating some 1.5 billion existing mouse-and-keyboard Windows users -- and Windows 10 will go a long way to fixing all that. But what else does Microsoft have planned?

I had a dream when I was young, A dream of sweet illusion, A glimpse of hope and unity,

And visions of one sweet union.

At yesterday's Windows 10 event, Microsoft told us about its grand plans to have a single platform, powered by a common code base, running universal apps from a single store on every screen size from 4 to 80 inches. Except for a brief demo of Continuum -- a method for two-in-one devices to switch between mouse-and-keyboard laptop mode and touchscreen tablet mode -- Microsoft showed us nothing about how it will actually go about achieving this rather lofty goal.

For a couple of years now, Microsoft has moving towards a single platform. Windows Phone 8 borrowed lots of code from Windows 8. Ditto, the Xbox One is underpinned by the Windows 8 kernel. The first universal apps -- which are bought once and then run equally on Windows, Windows Phone, and Xbox -- have started to emerge. Windows 10 is the next step -- or rather, given its rather ominous name, Windows 10 is the final step -- in Microsoft's plan.

Windows 10: One product family, one platform, one storeWindows 10: One product family, one platform, one store

If Windows 10 can actually pull it it off -- if Microsoft can transition billions of phones, PCs, game consoles, and software developers over to Windows 10 -- then the next few years would be a renaissance indeed. That's a big if, though, and it relies on those 1.5 billion mouse-and-keyboard users actually embracing the new live tile portion of the Start menu and using windowed Metro apps on the Desktop.

For now, Microsoft has really only shown us that Windows 10 will be a decent upgrade over Windows 7. The next bit -- proving that Microsoft and Windows 10 can be entrusted with running everything from our smartphones to our televisions to our PCs to our servers -- will be a lot harder. Good luck, Microsoft.

Now read about all of the changes and new features in Windows 10

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