It will take more than skipping a version number forMicrosoft to pick up from the Windows 8 fiasco.
If ever anyone was entitled to say "I told you
so", it's those people who told Microsoft from the very beginning that it
was heading down the wrong path with Windows 8. And that was a lot of people,
but Microsoft refused to listen until the damage was already done.
The idea of Windows 8 was sound, but the execution smacked
of Balmer-esque arrogance as Microsoft crammed it down people's throats whether
they wanted it or not. The Modern UI tile-based interface has merit and the
quest to connect desktop and mobile devices is surely a noble one. Microsoft
just forced too much change on people too quickly – hampering the success of
slick Windows tablets and smartphones in the process.
While touch-friendly gadgets were finding their way into our
homes, customers who were familiar with the traditional desktop interface
didn't necessarily want their PC converted into an overgrown iPad.For the time
being office workers had very little interest in wading through the
touch-centric, consumer-focused tiles just so they could find the desktop and
get on with the day's work.
After two years only 20 per cent of organisations have
migrated to Windows 8, according to tech research firm Forrester. Those numbers
would be much higher if Microsoft had let people make the transition to Modern
UI in their own time.
As an alternative the software giant has spent the last two
years backtracking on Windows 8 in order to appease frustrated users. It could
have saved itself a lot of trouble by simply letting Windows boot up into the
traditional desktop – complete with the customary Start menu – and then
gradually encouraging more people to use Modern UI.
In dispute whether or not people really need the Start menu
is to miss the point. The point is that people tend to resist change and
Microsoft did an appalling job of managing this. Had it changed tack, by now
Windows 8 might be approaching the kind of take up that it dreamed of, and
Microsoft could be contemplating the future – such as tightening the link with
Windows Phone 8 to rival Apple's slick ecosystem.
The cross-platform Windows 8 was Microsoft's chance to
actually leap ahead of Apple, by creating a seamless touch-centric ecosystem
that spread across desktops, tablets and smartphones. But Microsoft also took
Apple's "father knows best" arrogance to the next level and in the method
alienated an entire generation of Windows users.
The failure of Windows 8 on the desktop thwarted Windows 8
tablets and smartphones – which meant Microsoft didn't achieve the vital mass
of mobile users required to make cross-platform compatibility a major selling
point. Meanwhile Apple tread more carefully and now looks set to succeed where
Microsoft failed, although Apple does have the advantage of a more fanatical
user base which blindly accepted whatever Steve Jobs foisted upon it.
You might argue that it's easy to criticise Windows 8 with
the profit of hindsight, but the fact is that its failure was predicted from
the very beginning. Microsoft refused to heed the warnings and make simple
changes that would have made a significant difference. When you're too stubborn
and proud to listen to a chorus of criticism from your own long-time users then
maybe you deserve to fail – a lesson that Apple should take onboard in the
post-Jobs era.
Now instead of looking to the future, Microsoft appears to
be looking backwards with Windows 10 – at a time when the PC is already
struggling to remain relevant. The major selling points of Windows 10 include
restoring the Start menu, embracing multiple desktops, fast app switching and
letting the Modern UI tiles behave as desktop applications. None of these seem
like a main step forward.
There's also a greater focus on "Universal" apps
to run across desktops, tablets and smartphones – which sounds promising but
would be more appealing if Microsoft hadn't worked so hard to sabotage its
cross-device ecosystem by turning people adjacent to Modern UI.
Perhaps Windows 10 should be dubbed Windows 7.5 – the
stepping stone we should have had before Microsoft forced Windows 8 upon us.
Convincing us that it's a worthy upgrade will be the biggest test of new
Microsoft chief Satya Nadella. Simply skipping over the number 9 isn't enough
to convince long-suffering Windows users that 10 is a major step advance.