Windows 8 – Key to Microsoft’s future
Windows 8 could prove to be the key to Microsoft future fortunes, because it could be the only chance the company has of competing in the touch and tablet sector.
Microsoft appears to be stagnating, which is hard for a fan of the company and its products to admit, but admit it I will. While Apple, Google, even Amazon have forged ahead new ideas, innovations, and product lines, Microsoft has concentrated on what we already know it does well. That is Windows and Office mainly, with a little Xbox, Bing, and Windows Phone 7 on the side.
This is working out OK for Microsoft. It’s still a huge and hugely successful company with money seeping from every orifice, but should the company settle merely for OK?
The past few days have seen various rumors surrounding Windows 8, Windows Next, or Windows Whatever the hell Microsoft decides to call it in the end. Steve Ballmer may have made the first official reference to it and announced it will be arriving next year; Steven Sinofsky may be revealing it live on stage sometime next week; the tablet version may be released before, after, or at the same time as the main product. That’s a lot of may for May 2011.
We can assume Windows 8 will arrive sometime in 2012, probably towards the end of the year. And when it does eventually show up it will demonstrate whether Microsoft is going to continue wilting on the vine or blossom once more.
I firmly believe tablets and/or touch interfaces are the future of computing. And not just because of what I’ve seen in all the best futuristic sci-fi shows. Windows 7 is the best version of the OS I’ve used to date, but it’s not built for tablets or touch interfaces. This means Microsoft has to deliver on this front with Windows 8. It’ll be too late by the time Windows 9 is ready to roll, especially as Microsoft is already falling behind the competition.
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May 26th, 2011
Microsoft maybe late in the catching up game, but imo they see where the flow is and made it better. Their idea is not always popular but ms listen to fans.
For example from Xbox to 360, from window 3.1 to window 7, WP7, currently Xbox going 3D and Skype too.