For many that owned a computer through the 90s and 00s, preparing for that big Windows upgrade every three or four years was a major event. In more recent years, you were even inundated with a menagerie of retail versions and had to decide if you were more a Windows “Starter” person, a “Home Basic,” or maybe a “Ultimate” or “Super-Duper Platinum Premium” power user. (Okay, maybe not that last one, but you get the idea.)
Honestly though, let’s recall that only a few years ago
Windows 7 had a total of six different retail versions.
But no more.
Microsoft has announced that landmark major retail updates and even the inane version types are coming to an end, and frankly, we say “good riddance!”
An Eye to the Future
Microsoft’s decision to stop producing major Windows versions after the debut of Windows 10 is a decision made with an eye to the future.
Microsoft’s development executive, Jerry Nixon, said flatly in a recent conference speech that there won’t be a Windows 11, and that Windows 10 is the “last version” of the Windows desktop operating system.
But why? What does looking to the future mean in this case? And what does Nixon mean by “last version?”
Microsoft explained that prior practice was to round up the troops every three or four years and sit down to “create ‘the next great OS’.” The problem with this thinking is it’s terribly antiquated now. Developing such a major release in this fashion ensures the company can’t keep up with the pace of technological development in the outside world. By the time Microsoft shipped their new product to store shelves previously, that product reflected what people wanted in an OS three years in the past, when the Windows team first sat down to brainstorm on that “next great OS.”
Microsoft realizes that this past approach is no longer a tenable solution in 2015 and beyond.
Inspired By Competition
While Microsoft didn’t specifically address the competition, their move to an iterative, regular update schedule with Windows 10 is likely partially a hat tip to what others around them are doing.
Despite the fact that
Windows still rules over the desktop OS market in a wickedly dominant fashion, Microsoft has no doubt noticed the positive feedback Apple has received following an adaptation of their desktop OS development strategy to more closely mimic iOS development. While Apple still releases new “versions” of their Mac OS X desktop operating system following the same new naming conventions they have in the past, the company now focuses on regular, yearly, iterative updates to the operating system with a focus on digital distribution. Oh, and there aren’t a bunch of crazy versions for each release, either. No “Super-Duper Platinum Premium” to be found here.
Moreover, Apple’s pricing reflects the more iterative nature of their updates and the sentiments of today’s market when it comes to paying for regular software updates. A few years ago Apple adjusted Mac OS X desktop operating system updates down to $29.99. Now, these updates each year are entirely free for OS X users. Microsoft is likely to make some aggressive price restructuring to reflect this strategy going forward. Indeed, the company has already announced that those upgrading to Windows 10 from Windows 7 or 8.1 will be
able to do so for free in the first year.
Shifting Into High-Gear
If you’re a small business owner dependent on the Windows platform and worried about the company’s ability to deliver a high-end, feature-rich product that keeps up with the latest tech advances, your worries are likely unfounded.
As previously mentioned, Microsoft looks at their new strategy of smaller, more regular updates to Windows 10 as a way to more efficiently provide updates to their users that speed up the pace of feature development for the platform, not slow it down.
“It doesn’t mean that Windows is frozen and will never move forward again,” says Steve Kleynhans, a research vice-president at analyst firm Gartner. “Indeed we are about to see the opposite, with the speed of Windows updates shifting into high gear.”
Smaller, iterative updates to the upcoming Windows 10 operating system will ensure Microsoft is more flexible and able to keep up with trends and market demands, including what small business owners are currently looking for from an operating system.
Conclusion
In sum, this should only be a good thing for small business owners and Microsoft’s wider consumer base. The hassle and hullabaloo behind major Windows retail releases will be a thing of the past, and updating existing Windows 10 installations should be an easier affair. Additionally, any upgrade fees should come in smaller, more easily digestible chunks, instead of requiring a lump upgrade sum of several hundred dollars every time you want to update your OS.
We’ll keep all of you updated on Windows 10 as the desktop operating system’s arrival nears. Until next week, dear
#TechTuesday readers!
